[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 208 (Friday, October 28, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page ]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-26865]


[Federal Register: October 28, 1994]


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Part VI





Department of Education





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Office of Elementary and Secondary Education



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34 CFR Part 200, et al.



Title I--Helping Disadvantaged Children Meet High Standards; Proposed 
Rule
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 
Office of Elementary and Secondary Education

34 CFR Parts 200, 201, 203, and 212 

Title I--Helping Disadvantaged Children Meet High Standards
AGENCY: Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, Department of 
Education.

ACTION: Request for advice and recommendations on regulatory issues 
under Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.
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SUMMARY: The Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education 
(Assistant Secretary) solicits advice and recommendations from the 
public--including Federal, State, and local administrators, parents, 
teachers, and members of local boards of education--prior to publishing 
proposed regulations to implement programs under Title I (formerly 
Chapter 1 of Title I) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 
1965, as recently amended. Programs under Title I are designed to help 
disadvantaged children meet high academic standards and include 
programs operated by local educational agencies in high-poverty schools 
(Part A), Even Start family literacy programs (Part B), programs for 
migratory children (Part C), and prevention and intervention programs 
for children and youth who are neglected, delinquent, or at risk of 
dropping out (Part D).

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before November 22, 
1994.

ADDRESSES: All comments concerning programs under Part A, Part B, and 
Part D should be addressed to Mary Jean LeTendre, Director, 
Compensatory Education Programs, Office of Elementary and Secondary 
Education, U.S. Department of Education, 600 Independence Avenue SW., 
Portals Building, room 4400, Washington, DC 20202-6132. Internet 
addresses for submitting comments are as follows: Part A--
[email protected]; Part B--Even__S[email protected]; and Part D--TitleI__N-
[email protected]. The fax number for programs under Parts A, B, and D is (202) 
260-7764.
    All comments concerning programs under Part C should be addressed 
to Bayla White, Director, Office of Migrant Education, Office of 
Elementary and Secondary Education, U.S. Department of Education, 600 
Independence Avenue SW., Portals Building, room 4100, Washington, DC 
20202-6135. The Internet address for programs under Part C is 
TitleI__M[email protected]. The fax number for programs under Part C is 
(202) 205-0089.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For programs under Part A, Wendy Jo 
New, Telephone (202) 260-0982; for programs under Part B, Patricia 
McKee, Telephone (202) 260-0991; for programs under Part D, William 
Lobosco, Telephone (202) 260-0823: Compensatory Education Programs, 
Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, U.S. Department of 
Education, 600 Independence Avenue SW., Portals Building, room 4400, 
Washington, DC 20202-6132. For programs under Part C, James English, 
Office of Migrant Education, Office of Elementary and Secondary 
Education, U.S. Department of Education, 600 Independence Avenue SW., 
Portals Building, room 4100, Washington, DC 20202-6135. Telephone: 
(202) 260-1394.
    Individuals who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) 
may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339 
between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., Eastern time, Monday through Friday.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On October 20, 1994, the President signed into law Pub. L. 103-382, 
the ``Improving America's Schools Act of 1994,'' amending the 
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA). Title I of the 
ESEA reauthorizes, for a five-year period, programs currently under 
Chapter 1 of Title I of the ESEA. Programs under Title I are designed 
to help disadvantaged children meet high academic standards and include 
programs operated by local educational agencies in high-poverty schools 
(Part A), Even Start family literacy programs (Part B), programs for 
migratory children (Part C), and prevention and intervention programs 
for children and youth who are neglected, delinquent, or at risk of 
dropping out (Part D).
    The Department intends to encourage broad State and local 
flexibility in implementing programs under Title I. In particular, the 
Department intends to issue regulations only where absolutely 
necessary--for example, where the statute requires a regulation or 
where a regulation would provide flexibility for States, school 
districts, and schools. The Department will also provide nonbinding 
guidance, including through a Policy Manual, respecting legal and 
policy issues under the Title I programs. This nonregulatory guidance 
can serve to inform parents, schools, school districts, States, and 
other affected parties of the flexibility that exists under the 
statute, including multiple approaches that may be available in 
carrying out the statute's requirements.
    The Assistant Secretary invites advice and recommendations from 
interested parties--including Federal, State, and local administrators, 
parents, teachers, and members of local boards of education--concerning 
issues on which regulations may be necessary or with respect to which 
nonregulatory guidance would be helpful to clarify statutory 
ambiguities and to provide for flexibility.

Negotiated Rulemaking

    Section 1601 of Title I requires that, before publishing any 
proposed regulations to implement programs under Title I, the Assistant 
Secretary will establish a negotiated rulemaking process on issues 
involving a minimum of two key provisions in the statute--``schoolwide 
programs'' and ``standards and assessment.'' Therefore, the Assistant 
Secretary specifically invites comments on these two provisions, 
including whether and where regulations are necessary and nonregulatory 
guidance would be helpful. The appendix to this notice describes the 
two statutory provisions in greater detail and raises questions for 
consideration. Commenters should use this discussion to guide their 
thinking. The discussion, however, is not intended to restrict the 
issues that commenters may address.
    The Assistant Secretary will select individuals to participate in 
the negotiated rulemaking sessions to be held in Washington, DC from 
among the individuals or groups providing advice and recommendations. 
The Secretary will publish a separate notice in the Federal Register 
providing details about the negotiated rulemaking process.

Invitation to Comment

    This request for comments is designed to elicit the views of 
interested parties, particularly Federal, State, and local 
administrators, parents, teachers, and members of local boards of 
education on regulatory issues under Title I. In addition to inviting 
specific comments on schoolwide programs and standards and assessment, 
the Assistant Secretary invites comments on other potential regulatory 
issues concerning provisions under Title I. Since the Department 
intends to minimize regulations and support flexibility, the Assistant 
Secretary also seeks recommendations concerning where guidance might be 
necessary. The Assistant Secretary requests that each commenter 
identify his or her role in education and the perspective from which he 
or she views the educational system--either as a representative of an 
association, agency, or school (public or private), or as an individual 
teacher, student, parent, or private citizen. The Assistant Secretary 
urges each commenter to be specific regarding his or her 
recommendations, including identifying the particular section of Title 
I pertinent to the comment.
    All comments submitted in response to this notice will be available 
for public inspection during and after the comment period in rooms 4400 
and 4100, respectively, Portals Building, 1250 Maryland Avenue SW., 
Washington, DC, between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday 
through Friday of each week except Federal holidays.

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Numbers: 84.010, 
Educationally Deprived Children in Local Educational Agencies; 
84.011, Migrant Education Basic State Formula Grant Program; 84.013, 
Chapter 1 Program for Neglected or Delinquent Children; 84.213, Even 
Start Program)

    Dated: October 25, 1994.
Thomas W. Payzant,
Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education.

Appendix--Questions for Consideration on Schoolwide Programs and 
Standards and Assessment

    Listed below are discussions and related questions for 
consideration on two Title I provisions--schoolwide programs and 
standards and assessment--that are required by statute to be 
addressed during the negotiated rulemaking process. The Assistant 
Secretary specifically invites comments on these questions but 
welcomes other comments, as well, including whether regulations are 
necessary and whether nonregulatory guidance would be helpful.

Schoolwide Programs

    Under section 1114 of Title I, a local educational agency (LEA) 
may use funds received under Part A of Title I, in combination with 
other Federal, State, and local funds, to upgrade the entire 
educational program in schools in which not fewer than 50 percent of 
the children enrolled are from low-income families or that are 
located in school attendance areas in which not fewer that 50 
percent of the children are from low-income families. (The poverty 
threshold is 60 percent for the 1995-96 school year and decreases to 
50 percent in subsequent school years.) A schoolwide program school 
must conduct a comprehensive needs assessment of the performance of 
all children in the school in relation to the State's content and 
performance standards and implement schoolwide reform strategies 
that provide opportunities for all children in the school to meet 
those standards.

--Under section 1114(b)(1)(B)(iv), each school operating a Title I 
schoolwide program must address the needs of all children in the 
school, particularly children who are members of the target 
population of any program included in the schoolwide program, and 
determine if those needs have been met.

    What guidance, if any, should the Department provide to ensure 
that schoolwide program schools develop a comprehensive plan that 
results in a coherent rather than fragmented instructional program 
while addressing the needs of specific target populations?

--For the Migrant Education Program (MEP), under section 1306(b)(3), 
a schoolwide program school must address the needs of migratory 
children, identified through a Statewide migrant comprehensive plan 
required under section 1306(a), that result from the effects of the 
children's migratory lifestyle or that are needed to permit them to 
participate effectively in school. Unlike the Part A program, a 
State MEP establishes a set of service priorities to govern the 
expenditure of MEP funds within the State.

    What guidance, if any, should the Department provide to promote 
the integration of an SEA's Statewide MEP comprehensive plan and 
priorities with the overall reform strategies of those schools that 
operate schoolwide programs?

--Section 1114(b)(1)(H) requires a schoolwide program to ensure that 
students experiencing difficulty mastering any of the standards 
required by section 1111(b) during the course of the school year are 
provided with effective, timely additional assistance.

    What guidance, if any, should the Department provide regarding 
this provision?

--The provision for schoolwide programs is predicated on the 
assumption that a well-coordinated, comprehensive schoolwide program 
that combines all available Federal resources to improve the 
effectiveness of the entire instructional program in the school will 
help all at-risk students in the school reach the State's 
challenging academic content and performance standards better than 
fragmented, categorical programs aimed at specific target 
populations. Thus, section 1114(a)(4)(A) authorizes the Secretary, 
through publication of a notice in the Federal Register, to exempt 
schoolwide programs from statutory or regulatory provisions of any 
noncompetitive, formula grant program or any discretionary grant 
program administered by the Department (with the exception of grant 
funds allocated under the Individuals with Disabilities Act), if the 
intent and purposes of such other programs are met.

    If clarification is necessary, how should the Department clarify 
how the ``intent and purposes'' of exempted programs can be met?

--Section 1114(a)(4)(B) specifies that the Secretary may not relieve 
schoolwide programs from certain requirements, including 
requirements relating to student and parental participation and 
involvement.

    What guidance, if any, should the Department provide to clarify 
this provision, particularly in the context of overall school reform 
envisioned by schoolwide programs?

Standards and Assessment

    Under section 1111, each State must develop or adopt challenging 
content standards and student performance standards that will be 
used by the State, its LEAs, and its schools to carry out Part A 
programs. These standards must include challenging content standards 
in academic subjects that specify what children are expected to know 
and be able to do, contain coherent and rigorous content, and 
encourage the teaching of advanced skills. The standards must also 
include challenging student performance standards that are aligned 
with the State's content standards, describe two levels of high 
performance--proficient and advanced--to determine how well children 
are mastering the State's content standards, and describe a third 
level of performance--partially proficient--to provide complete 
information about the progress of lower-performing children toward 
achieving the proficient and advanced levels of performance.
    Each State must also develop or adopt a set of high-quality 
assessments, including assessments in at least mathematics and 
reading or language arts, that will be used as the primary means of 
determining the yearly performance of each Title I LEA and school in 
enabling children served under Part A and each State and local 
operating agency under Part C to meet the State's student 
performance standards. Among other things, these assessments must be 
the same assessments used to measure the performance of all children 
if the State measures the performance of all children, be aligned 
with the State's content and performance standards, be used for 
purposes for which they are valid and reliable, and assess progress 
in the academic subjects in which the State has adopted content and 
performance standards.
    If a State has content and performance standards and assessments 
for all students developed under the Goals 2000: Educate America Act 
or another process, the State must use those standards and 
assessments, modified if necessary, to meet these requirements. If a 
State has not adopted State content and performance standards or 
assessments for all students, the State must develop standards and 
assessments for students served under Part A and, where feasible, 
Part C (according to section 1304(c)(5)) in subjects determined by 
the State, but including at least mathematics and reading or 
language arts.
     Under section 1111(b)(1), States are not required to 
submit their content and performance standards to the Secretary. 
However, a State must demonstrate in its State plan that it has 
developed challenging content and performance standards.
    What guidance, if any, should the Department provide to clarify 
what information a State must submit to enable the Secretary to 
evaluate this portion of the State plan?
     Under section 1111(b)(7), a State that does not yet 
have the required assessments may propose to use a transitional set 
of yearly Statewide assessments that will measure the performance of 
complex skills and challenging subject matter. For any year during 
which a State uses transitional assessments, the State must devise a 
procedure for identifying LEAs and schools in need of improvement 
that relies on accurate information about the educational progress 
of each Title I LEA and school.
    What guidance, if any, should the Department clarify the 
provisions governing transitional assessments?
    What guidance, if any, should the Department provide to promote 
high quality assessment systems?
     Under section 1111(b)(3), a State's assessments must be 
administered at some time during grades 3-5, grades 6-9, and grades 
10-12. Under section 1116(c)(1)(B)(ii), a targeted assistance school 
(i.e., one that is not operating a schoolwide program) may be 
reviewed for accountability purposes on the progress of those 
students that have been or are served under Part A.
    What guidance, if any, is necessary to address accountability 
provisions for Title I schools that do not serve the grade levels 
covered by the State's assessments or for schools in which Title I 
services are not provided at those grade levels?
     Section 1111 requires that States use challenging 
standards and high-quality assessments in examining the 
effectiveness of the Part A program at the school, LEA, and State 
levels. For the MEP, section 1304(c)(5) requires that the 
effectiveness of State programs and their local projects will be 
assessed, where feasible, using the same approaches and standards 
that will be used to assess the performance of students, schools, 
and LEAs under Part A.
    What guidance, if any, should the Department provide on how to 
assess the effectiveness of State Migrant Education programs, their 
local projects, and LEAs under Part A, that serve children who move 
across State lines?
     Section 1111(b)(2) requires that a State plan 
demonstrate what constitutes ``adequate yearly progress'' of Title I 
LEAs and schools toward enabling children to meet the State's 
performance standards. The statute further specifies that States 
must define ``adequate yearly progress,'' consistent with guidelines 
established by the Secretary, that results in continuous and 
substantial yearly improvement of each LEA and school sufficient to 
achieve the goal of all children served under Part A meeting the 
State's proficient and advanced levels of performance.
    What guidelines should the Secretary establish? Should the 
guidelines be contained in regulations or in nonregulatory guidance?
     Under section 1111(b)(3)(I), a State's set of student 
assessments must ``enable results to be disaggregated'' within each 
State, LEA, and school for several categories of children. Likewise, 
under section 1114(b)(2)(A)(v), a schoolwide program plan must 
provide ``for the collection of data on the achievement and 
assessment results of students'' disaggregated by the same 
categories. However, a schoolwide program must publicly report 
disaggregated data only if statistically sound. Finally, section 
1116(a)(4) requires an LEA to publicize the results of its annual 
review of schools served under Part A in individual school 
performance profiles that include statistically sound disaggregated 
results.
    What clarification, if any, should the Department provide on the 
various provisions in Part A concerning disaggregation of data?
     Given the requirement of section 1111(b)(3)(E) that 
assessments involve multiple measures of student performance, what 
guidance, if any, should the Department provide to help clarify how 
schools, LEAs, and SEAs review results to determine whether adequate 
progress is being made?
[FR Doc. 94-26865 Filed 10-27-94; 8:45 am]
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