[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 165 (Friday, August 25, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44390-44391]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-21114]




[[Page 44389]]

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Part II





Department of Education





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Waivers Granted Under the Authority of the Elementary and Secondary Act 
and the Goals 2000: Educate America Act; Notice

  Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 165 / Friday, August 25, 1995 / 
Notices  

[[Page 44390]]


DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


Waivers Granted Under the Authority of the Elementary and 
Secondary Act and the Goals 2000: Educate America Act

ACTION: Notice of waivers granted by the U.S. Secretary of Education 
under the authority of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and 
the Goals 2000: Educate America Act.

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SUMMARY: States and communities have new opportunities for flexibility 
in the use of Federal education funds in order to improve school 
effectiveness and academic achievement. The Improving America's Schools 
Act (Pub. L. 103-382), which reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary 
Education Act (ESEA), the Goals 2000: Educate America Act (Pub. L. 103-
227), and the School-to-Work Opportunities Act (Pub. L. 103-239) 
provide States, school districts, and schools with significant new 
opportunities to seek waivers of certain requirements of Federal 
education programs in order to improve teaching and learning.
    This notice identifies the waiver requests approved by the U.S. 
Department of Education under these new waiver authorities through June 
30, 1995. This notice also identifies one State that has had its 
Education Flexibility (Ed-Flex) Partnership Demonstration Program 
application approved and that has been delegated the Secretary's waiver 
authority under the Goals 2000: Educate America Act. As of June 30, no 
waivers had been requested under the general Goals 2000 authority or 
School-to-Work Opportunities Act.

Application Approvals

    Through June 30, 1995, the Secretary has approved 14 applications 
for waivers and one application for Ed-Flex. The successful 
applications are described briefly in this notice, which is published 
as provided for in section 14401(g) of the ESEA and section 311(g) of 
Goals 2000. These summaries are presented to illustrate some of the key 
elements of the approved requests. Each waiver application is reviewed 
and evaluated based on its individual merits in accordance with the 
statutory criteria.

(A) Waivers Approved Under the General Waiver Authority in Section 
14401 of the ESEA

    (1) Name of Applicant: Palm Beach County School District, West Palm 
Beach, FL.
    Requirement waived: Section 1113(a)(3) of the ESEA.
    Duration of Waiver: One year.
    Summary: The district will not allocate Title I funds to four 
eligible secondary schools for one year. This will enable the district 
to continue improvement strategy efforts in 22 elementary schoolwide 
programs and follow through with plans to begin six new elementary 
schoolwide programs in the upcoming school year.
    Date Granted: March 9, 1995.

    (2) Name of Applicant: School District of Lancaster, Lancaster, PA.
    Requirement waived: Section 1113(a)(3) of the ESEA.
    Duration of Waiver: Three years.
    Summary: As part of its comprehensive approach to using Federal, 
State, and local education resources, the district will use its Title I 
funds in 11 elementary schools, including two schools otherwise 
ineligible for Title I funds. While the district will not fund an 
eligible middle school, it will devote substantial non-Title I 
resources there. Title I funds will continue to support an early 
intervention program serving children from preschool through grade 3. 
The district points to strong indications of prior success of this 
program and describes plans to monitor the program for long-term 
improvement.
    Date Granted: May 23, 1995.

    (3) Name of Applicant: Riverside Unified School District, 
Riverside, CA.
    Requirement waived: Section 1113(a)(4) of the ESEA.
    Duration of Waiver: Three years.
    Summary: The district will not serve three newly Title I--eligible 
elementary schools, in order to continue Title I services for children 
who reside in an eligible attendance area but who, under the district's 
voluntary desegregation plan, are transported to an elementary school 
that has a lower rate of poverty than the newly eligible schools. The 
school to be served has been identified by the State as a 
``Distinguished School,'' with Title I as the centerpiece of its 
program.
    Date Granted: May 23, 1995.

    (4) Name of Applicant: Fort Worth Independent School District, Fort 
Worth, TX.
    Requirement waived: Section 1113(c)(1) of the ESEA.
    Duration of Waiver: Three years.
    Summary: The district will provide a greater per pupil allocation 
of Title I funds to four high-poverty elementary schools than to other 
schools that rank higher in poverty. The four schools operate 
schoolwide programs that will aim to increase the quality of 
instruction and improve academic achievement through reorganizing 
staff, lengthening the school year, providing extensive professional 
development, focusing heavily on reading and math, and strengthening 
links to the community.
    Date Granted: June 5, 1995.

    (5) Name of Applicant: Penn Manor School District, Penn Manor, PA.
    Requirement waived: Section 1113(a)(2)(B) of the ESEA.
    Duration of Waiver: One year.
    Summary: Consistent with its strategic plan, the district supports 
an early intervention reading program and will provide Title I services 
to all educationally at-risk first grade students. The waiver will 
enable the district to serve three elementary schools that are 
otherwise ineligible for Title I funds. The school poverty levels in 
this district are relatively low and span a small range.
    Date Granted: June 8, 1995.

    (6) Name of Applicant: South Eastern School District, South 
Eastern, PA.
    Requirement waived: Section 1113(a)(2)(B) of the ESEA.
    Duration of Waiver: Three years.
    Summary: The district has adopted a strategic plan stressing early 
intervention. The district will provide Title I funds to two otherwise 
ineligible elementary schools so that they may continue their Reading 
Recovery programs. This is a relatively low-poverty school district, in 
which all of the schools fall within a small range around the district 
average.
    Date Granted: June 8, 1995.

    (7) Name of Applicant: Hillsborough County Public Schools, Tampa, 
FL.
    Requirement waived: Section 1113(a)(3)(B) of the ESEA.
    Duration of Waiver: Three years--6th Grade Center; Two-years--
Junior High School.
    Summary: The district will delay providing Title I services to a 
6th grade center (for three years) and a junior high school (for two 
years). Both of these schools are undergoing major physical and 
institutional restructuring efforts, including school closures and 
changes in grade spans served. Assuming continued eligibility, Title I 
services will be provided at both schools at the end of the waiver 
period.
    Date Granted: June 12, 1995.

    (8) Name of Applicant: Huntingdon Area School District, Huntingdon, 
PA.
    Requirement waived: Section 1113(a)(2)(B) of the ESEA.
    Duration of Waiver: Three years.
    Summary: The district will provide Title I funds to two otherwise 
ineligible elementary schools. Consistent with the district's three-
year strategic plan, the funds will enable the district to provide 
Reading Recovery programs in the two schools. Both of these schools 
formerly 

[[Page 44391]]
were eligible for Chapter 1 funds under the no-wide variance provision 
of Chapter 1.
    Date Granted: June 27, 1995.

    (9) Name of Applicant: Nash-Rocky Mount School District, Nashville, 
NC.
    Requirement waived: Section 1114(a)(1)(A) of the ESEA.
    Duration of Waiver: One year.
    Summary: This waiver will enable an elementary school, with a 
poverty rate near the 60 percent requirement, to implement a Title I 
schoolwide program one year early. Requirements pertaining to 
schoolwide programs other than the poverty level of the attendance area 
still apply.
    Date Granted: June 27, 1995.

    (10) Name of Applicant: Knoxville Community Unit School District 
No. 202, Knoxville, IL.
    Requirement waived: Sections 1113(a)(2)(B) and 1113(c)(2) of the 
ESEA.
    Duration of Waiver: One year.
    Summary: The waiver will enable the district to plan for the 
termination of the Chapter 1 program in one elementary school, allowing 
the district to minimize the negative impact of the discontinuation and 
develop alternatives to meet the educational needs of the students who 
would no longer be served.
    Date Granted: June 30, 1995.

    (11) Name of Applicant: West Chester School District, West Chester, 
PA.
    Requirement waived: Sections 1113(a)(2)(B) and 1113(c)(2) of the 
ESEA.
    Duration of Waiver: Three years.
    Summary: This waiver will enable the district to provide Title I 
funds to three otherwise ineligible elementary schools, attended by 24 
percent of the district's identified low-income students, and to 
maintain its early intervention program in all 10 of its elementary 
schools. The schools' poverty levels are closely clustered, with the 
three ineligible elementary schools ranked within 1.1 percentage points 
of the district average. Instead of allocating funds strictly based on 
poverty, the district will fund equally a reading specialist position 
in each of the ten schools.
    Date Granted: June 30, 1995.

(B) Waivers Approved Under the Special Waiver Authority in Section 
1113(a)(7) of the ESEA
    (1) Name of Applicant: Metropolitan School District of Decatur 
Township, Marion County, Indianapolis, IN.
    Requirement waived: Sections 1113(a) and 1113(c) of the ESEA.
    Duration of Waiver: Three years.
    Summary: The waiver allows the district to provide Title I funds to 
two schools with poverty rates below 35 percent but above 25 percent 
and to fund all elementary schools at a rate less than 125 percent of 
the minimum per pupil allocation. This waiver allows the district to 
provide services in schools where students are transported under a 
court-ordered, cross-district desegregation plan. The district will 
maintain substantial services in its higher-poverty schools.
    Date Granted: May 17, 1995.

    (2) Name of Applicant: San Diego City Schools, San Diego, CA.
    Requirement waived: Sections 1113(a) and 1113(c) of the ESEA.
    Duration of Waiver: Three years.
    Summary: The waiver allows Title I funds to be allocated to 33 
schools with poverty levels below the district average and 10 schools 
at less than the minimum required allocation. All such schools serve 
students transported from higher-poverty attendance areas under the 
district's court-ordered desegregation plan. The district will allocate 
funds to schools eligible without the waiver based on the total number 
of poor children, both bused and resident. Allocations to schools 
served under the waiver will be based only on students bused into the 
attendance area, although the funds will serve any child at risk of 
failing to meet State standards.
    Date Granted: June 7, 1995.

    (3) Name of Applicant: Ferguson-Florissant R-II School District, 
Florissant, MO.
    Requirement waived: Sections 1113(a) and 1113(c) of the ESEA.
    Duration of Waiver: Three years.
    Summary: The waiver will enable the district to continue to provide 
Title I services in attendance centers with at least 25 percent 
economically disadvantaged school children enrolled as a part of a 
court-ordered desegregation plan. This will help support the district's 
desegregation efforts and advance the purposes of Title I by providing 
additional services to educationally disadvantaged children at schools 
receiving minority students from other attendance areas.
    Date Granted: June 30, 1995.

(C) Plans Approved Under the Education Flexibility Partnership 
Demonstration Program in Section 311(e) of the Goals 2000: Educate 
America Act

    (1) Name of Applicant: Oregon.
    Summary: Under this demonstration program, the Secretary has 
delegated the Oregon State Educational Agency (SEA) the power to grant 
waivers of certain requirements of Federal education programs to 
individual local educational agencies and schools. This delegation will 
allow the SEA, which has an approved Goals 2000 plan, to build on its 
system for evaluating and monitoring performance under waivers of State 
and local requirements. The SEA's waiver process is explicitly linked 
to its State standards and assessments, with the waivers being 
significant tools to improve student academic performance.
    Date Granted: February 17, 1995.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Collette Roney, Planning and 
Evaluation Service. Telephone: (202) 401-7801. Persons specifically 
interested in waivers of requirements of the Title I program may 
contact Mary Jean LeTendre, Director of Compensatory Education 
Programs. Telephone: (202) 260-0826.
    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.

    Dated: August 21, 1995.
Marshall S. Smith,
Under Secretary.
[FR Doc. 95-21114 Filed 8-24-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P