[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