[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 245 (Tuesday, December 22, 2015)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 79528-79530]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-32178]
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
34 CFR Chapter II
[Docket ID ED-2015-OESE-0130]
Implementing Programs under Title I of the Elementary and
Secondary Education Act
AGENCY: Department of Education (Department).
ACTION: Request for information and notice of meetings.
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SUMMARY: The Secretary of Education (Secretary) is soliciting advice
and recommendations from interested parties prior to publishing
proposed regulations to implement programs under title I of the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended (title I).
Programs under title I are designed to help disadvantaged children meet
high academic standards. The Secretary invites advice and
recommendations concerning topics for which regulations may be helpful
to assist States, school districts, and schools to implement the new
law. In addition, we will convene two regional meetings at which
interested parties may provide additional advice and recommendations.
DATES: We must receive your written comments on or before January 21,
2016. The dates, times, and locations of the regional meetings are
listed under the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments through the Federal eRulemaking Portal
or via postal mail, commercial delivery, or hand delivery. We will not
accept comments by fax or email. To ensure that we do not receive
duplicate copies, please submit your comments only once. In addition,
please include the Docket ID at the top of your comments.
Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to www.regulations.gov to
submit your comments electronically. Information on using
Regulations.gov, including instructions for accessing agency documents,
submitting comments, and viewing the docket is available on the site
under the ``Help'' tab.
Postal Mail, Commercial Delivery, or Hand Delivery: If you
mail or deliver your comments in response to this request, address them
to Deborah Spitz, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue
SW., Room 3E306, Washington, DC 20202.
Privacy Note: The Department's policy is to make all comments
received from members of the public available for public viewing in
their entirety on the Federal eRulemaking Portal at
www.regulations.gov. Therefore, commenters should be careful to include
in their comments only information that they wish to make publicly
available.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Deborah Spitz, U.S. Department of
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW., Room 3E306, Washington, DC 20202.
Telephone: (202) 260-3793 or by email: [email protected].
If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) or a text
telephone (TTY), call the Federal Relay Service (FRS), toll free, at 1-
800-877-8339.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background: On December 10, 2015, the President signed into law the
``Every Student Succeeds Act'' (ESSA), amending the Elementary and
Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA). The ESSA reauthorizes the ESEA
and advances the ESEA's legacy of equity and opportunity by, among
other things, requiring States to hold all students to high academic
standards that prepare them for success in college and careers. The
ESSA also requires that, if students fall behind in meeting these
standards, States and local educational agencies (LEAs) implement
evidence-based interventions to help them and their schools improve,
with a particular focus on the lowest-performing schools, high schools
with low graduation rates, and schools in which subgroups of students
are underperforming.
The programs included in title I are designed to help disadvantaged
children meet high academic standards. These programs include:
Improving Basic Programs Operated by State and Local Educational
Agencies (part A); State Assessment Grants (part B); Education of
Migratory Children (part C); Prevention and Intervention Programs for
Children and Youth who are Neglected, Delinquent, or At-Risk (part D);
and Flexibility for Equitable Per-Pupil Funding (part E).
The ESSA maintained a number of requirements for, and made a number
of significant changes to, the title I programs, including the
following:
[[Page 79529]]
Maintaining the requirement for statewide assessments in
at least reading/language arts and mathematics in each of grades 3-8
and once in high school; and in science in each of three grade spans
(3-5, 6-9, and 10-12), while adding flexibility related to locally
selected high school assessments and innovative assessment systems.
Eliminating the requirement to calculate adequate yearly
progress (AYP) and replacing it with a requirement for each State
educational agency to develop an accountability system that--
Includes State-designed, long-term goals and measurements
of interim progress for all students and separately for each subgroup
of students, on academic achievement and graduation rate, that expect
greater progress from groups that are further behind;
Annually measures, for all students and separately for
each subgroup of students, the following indicators: Academic
achievement (which, for high schools, may include a measure of student
growth, at the State's discretion); for elementary and middle schools,
a measure of student growth, if determined appropriate by the State, or
another valid and reliable statewide academic indicator; for high
schools, the four-year adjusted cohort graduation rate and, at the
State's discretion, the extended-year adjusted cohort graduation rate;
progress in achieving English language proficiency for English
learners; and at least one valid, reliable, comparable, statewide
indicator of school quality or student success; and
Establishes a system of meaningfully differentiating all
public schools on an annual basis that is based on all indicators in
the State's accountability system and that, with respect to
achievement, growth or the other academic indicator for elementary and
middle schools, graduation rate, and progress in achieving English
language proficiency, affords: Substantial weight to each such
indicator; and, in the aggregate, much greater weight than is afforded
to the indicator or indicators of school quality or student success.
Eliminating the requirement to identify schools for
improvement, corrective action, or restructuring based on missing AYP
over a number of years and instead requiring--
Identification of, and comprehensive, evidence-based
intervention in, the lowest-performing five percent of title I schools,
all public high schools with a graduation rate below 67 percent, and
public schools in which one or more subgroups of students are
performing at a level similar to the performance of the lowest-
performing five percent of title I schools and have not improved after
receiving targeted interventions for a State-determined number of
years; and
Identification of, and targeted, evidence-based
intervention and support in, schools in which any subgroup of students
consistently underperforms.
Maintaining and updating the requirement that State title
I plans describe how low-income and minority children enrolled in title
I schools are not served at disproportionate rates by ineffective (this
term was ``unqualified'' in the prior version of the ESEA), out-of-
field, or inexperienced teachers.
Expanding the list of elements that must be included in
State and district report cards (e.g., adding a requirement to report
per-pupil expenditures of Federal, State, and local funds).
Maintaining the requirement that title I, part A funds be
used to supplement, and not supplant, non-Federal funds, but revising
the manner in which an LEA must demonstrate compliance with this
requirement by requiring an LEA to demonstrate that the methodology it
uses to allocate State and local funds to each title I school ensures
that the school receives all the State and local funds it would receive
in the absence of participation in title I.
This list is not exhaustive. Interested parties should review the
statute (available at: https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-114s1177enr/pdf/BILLS-114s1177enr.pdf) for complete information on the amendments
made to the ESEA by the ESSA. Please also note that this list is not
intended to restrict the topics or issues that commenters may address
when providing advice and recommendations in response to this document.
Advice and Recommendations
The Secretary invites advice and recommendations from interested
parties involved with the implementation and operation of programs
under title I concerning topics for which regulations or nonregulatory
guidance may be necessary or helpful as States and LEAs transition from
NCLB and implement the ESSA. The Secretary specifically invites advice
and recommendations from State and local education administrators,
parents, teachers and teacher organizations, principals, other school
leaders (including charter school leaders), paraprofessionals, members
of local boards of education, civil rights and other organizations
representing the interests of students (including historically
underserved students), representatives of the business community, and
other organizations involved with the implementation and operation of
title I programs.
Under the ESSA, prior to issuing proposed rules under title I on
standards, assessments under section 1111(b)(2), and the requirement
under section 1118 that funds be used to supplement, and not supplant,
State and local funds, the Department must establish a negotiated
rulemaking process.
Negotiated rulemaking can improve the substance of regulations;
increase understanding of, and support for, those regulations;
encourage affected parties to communicate with each other and share
information, knowledge, expertise, and analysis; and discourage
expensive and time-consuming litigation concerning the regulations.
The Secretary is considering conducting negotiated rulemaking on
academic assessments and the requirement that funds under title I, part
A be used to supplement, and not supplant, State and local funds. The
Secretary specifically invites comments on these issues.
If the Secretary determines to proceed with negotiated rulemaking,
the Secretary will select individuals to participate in this process
from among the individuals or groups providing advice and
recommendations on title I regulatory issues. The Secretary will
publish a separate document in the Federal Register announcing our
intent to establish a negotiated rulemaking committee, soliciting
nominations of potential negotiators, and providing details about the
negotiated rulemaking process.
In addition to inviting specific comments on the issues on which
the Secretary is considering conducting negotiated rulemaking, the
Secretary invites comments on other regulatory issues concerning
provisions under title I, including suggestions that regulations are
not needed to resolve a particular issue.
The Secretary requests that each commenter identify his or her
interest in education or organizational affiliation, if applicable
(e.g., a representative of an association, agency, or school; an
individual teacher, student, or parent). The Secretary urges each
commenter to be specific regarding his or her recommendations.
During and after the comment period, you may inspect all public
comments in response to this document by accessing Regulations.gov. You
may also inspect the comments in person at U.S. Department of
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW., Room 3E306, Washington,
[[Page 79530]]
DC, between 8:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., Washington, DC time, Monday
through Friday of each week except Federal holidays. Please contact the
person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
Regional Meetings: In addition to the invitation to provide written
comments in response to this document, the Secretary is offering an
opportunity at two regional meetings for the public to provide advice
and recommendations concerning issues for which regulations may be
helpful to clarify statutory ambiguities or to provide appropriate
flexibility.
The regional meetings will be held, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.,
local time, on the following dates at the following locations:
1. January 11, 2016, at the U.S. Department of Education, 400
Maryland Avenue SW., Barnard Auditorium, Washington, DC.
2. January 19, 2016, at the University of California, Los Angeles
(UCLA), Carnesale Commons, 251 Charles E. Young Drive West, Palisades
Room, Los Angeles, CA.
Individuals who would like to present comments at the regional
meetings must register by sending an email to [email protected]
no later than 5:00 p.m. local time on January 5, 2016, for the
Washington, DC meeting, and no later than 5:00 p.m. local time on
January 12, 2016, for the Los Angeles meeting. The email should include
the name of the presenter along with the name of the organization the
presenter represents (if any), as well as the regional meeting at which
the individual would like to speak. Note that it is likely that each
participant will be limited to five minutes.
The Department will notify registrants whether they have been
selected to present comments at a regional meeting. An individual may
make only one presentation at the regional meetings. If we receive more
registrations than we are able to accommodate, the Department reserves
the right to reject the registration of an entity or individual that is
affiliated with an entity or individual that is already scheduled to
present comments, and to select among registrants to ensure that a
broad range of entities and individuals is allowed to present.
We will accept walk-in registrations on the day of the meeting for
any remaining time slots on a first-come, first-served basis, beginning
at 8:30 a.m.
The regional meetings are open to the public. Registration is not
required to observe the regional meetings. However, due to capacity
limitations, space may be limited. Admission to observe the meetings
will be provided on a first-come, first-served basis. Space for
speakers will be reserved. The regional meeting in Washington, DC will
be streamed live at: http://edstream.ed.gov/webcast/Play/7592f68fb7404eedb2b89ea72032188c1d.
If you need a sign language interpreter or any other accommodation
for the regional meeting, please notify the program contact person
listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT at least seven days prior
to the meeting you plan to attend, and indicate in your request which
meeting you plan to attend.
The Department will post transcriptions of the hearings on the
Department's Web site. The Department will be livestreaming the meeting
in Washington, DC, but will not be filming the meeting in Los Angeles.
As these are both public meetings, speakers should be aware that they
may be filmed or recorded by members of the public.
Speakers, including any prospective presenter whose request to
speak is rejected due to time limitations or other considerations, may
also submit written comments at the regional meetings. In addition, the
Department will accept written comments through January 21, 2016. See
the ADDRESSES sections of this document for more information on how to
submit comments.
Accessible Format: Individuals with disabilities can obtain this
document in an accessible format (e.g., braille, large print,
audiotape, or compact disc) on request to the program contact person
listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
Electronic Access to This Document: The official version of this
document is the document published in the Federal Register. Free
Internet access to the official edition of the Federal Register and the
Code of Federal Regulations is available via the Federal Digital System
at: www.gpo.gov/fdsys. At this site you can view this document, as well
as all other documents of this Department published in the Federal
Register, in text or Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF). To use PDF
you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available free at the
site.
You may also access documents of the Department published in the
Federal Register by using the article search feature at:
www.federalregister.gov. Specifically, through the advanced search
feature at this site, you can limit your search to documents published
by the Department.
Dated: December 16, 2015.
Arne Duncan,
Secretary of Education.
[FR Doc. 2015-32178 Filed 12-18-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P