Title IHelping Disadvantaged Children Meet High Standards

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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