[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 198 (Friday, October 11, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63394-63395]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-26004]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


State Flexibility Program; Office of Elementary and Secondary 
Education, Department of Education; Notice Inviting Applications for 
State Flexibility Authority

    Purpose of the Program: To provide State educational agencies 
(SEAs), and the local educational agencies (LEAs) with which they have 
performance agreements, with additional flexibility in order to assist 
them in meeting the State's definition of adequate yearly progress 
(AYP) and specific, measurable goals for improving student achievement 
and narrowing achievement gaps.
    Eligible Applicants: SEAs with AYP definitions approved by the 
Department or SEAs that submit an assurance that they will provide the 
Department with a State AYP definition that meets the requirements of 
section 1111(b)(2) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) 
by the AYP deadline established by the Department.

    Note: Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and the outlying areas are not 
eligible to apply for State-Flex because they do not have the 
minimum number of LEAs required for State-Flex authority.
    If one of its LEAs has entered into a Local-Flex agreement with 
the Secretary, an SEA may subsequently seek State-Flex authority 
only if that LEA agrees to have its Local-Flex agreement submitted 
as one of the proposed performance agreements in the SEA's State-
Flex application.

    Applications Available: October 11, 2002.
    Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: January 17, 2003.
    Supplementary Information: Sections 6141 through 6144 of the ESEA, 
as amended by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (Pub. L. 107-110), 
authorize the Secretary of Education to grant State flexibility (State-
Flex) authority to up to seven SEAs, permitting them to (1) consolidate 
certain Federal education funds that are provided for State-level 
activities and State administration and use those funds for any 
educational purpose authorized under the ESEA in order to meet the 
State's definition of AYP and advance the education priorities of the 
State and its LEAs; and (2) specify how LEAs in the State will use 
funds allocated under section 5112(a) of the ESEA (State Grants for 
Innovative Programs). In addition, an SEA with State-Flex authority 
must enter into performance agreements with not fewer than four, but no 
more than ten, LEAs (at least half of which must be high-poverty LEAs), 
giving those LEAs the flexibility to consolidate certain Federal 
education funds and to use those funds for any educational purpose 
permitted under the ESEA in order to meet the State's definition of AYP 
and specific, measurable goals for improving student achievement and 
narrowing achievement gaps.
    The Secretary will select State-Flex SEAs on a competitive basis in 
accordance with the selection criteria contained in a notice published 
elsewhere in this issue of the Federal Register. The application 
requirements and a description of the application process are also 
provided in that notice.
    The Secretary intends to select up to four SEAs for participation 
in State-Flex under this competition. In conducting this competition, 
the Department will review the quality of State-Flex plans, including 
the quality of the local

[[Page 63395]]

performance agreements that are submitted as part of those plans. Based 
on that review, the Department will grant State-Flex authority to up to 
four SEAs. If an SEA selected for State-Flex authority has not yet had 
its AYP definition approved by the Department, that SEA will receive 
conditional State-Flex authority. An SEA with conditional State-Flex 
authority will not be able to exercise its State-Flex authority or 
implement any portion of its State-Flex plan (including the local 
performance agreements) unless the Department approves the SEA's AYP 
definition by March 31, 2003.
    The Department will select the additional State-Flex SEAs in a 
subsequent competition.
    For Further Information Contact: Ms. Milagros Lanauze. Telephone: 
(202) 401-0039 or via Internet: [email protected].
    If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), you may 
call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339. 
Individuals with disabilities may obtain this notice in an alternative 
format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer diskette) on 
request to the contact person listed above.
    Applications: You may obtain a copy of the application on the 
Department's web site at: http://www.ed.gov/GrantApps/#stateflex.
    You may also obtain a copy of the application from the contact 
person identified under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

Electronic Access to This Document

    You may view this document, as well as other Department of 
Education documents published in the Federal Register, in text or Adobe 
Portable Document Format (PDF) on the Internet at the following site: 
www.ed.gov/legislation/FedRegister.
    To use PDF you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available 
free at this site. If you have questions about using PDF, call the U.S. 
Government Printing Office (GPO), toll-free, at 1-888-293-6498; or in 
the Washington DC, area at (202) 512-1530.

    Note: The official version of this document is the document 
published in the Federal Register. Free Internet access to the 
official version of the Federal Register and the Code of Federal 
Regulations is available on GPO access at: www.access.gpo.gov/nara/index.html.


    Program Authority: Sections 6141 through 6144 of the ESEA, as 
amended by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (Pub. L. 107-110).

    Dated: October 8, 2002.
Susan B. Neuman,
Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education.
[FR Doc. 02-26004 Filed 10-10-02; 8:45 am]
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