December 31, 2010

NOTICE OF REQUEST TO WAIVE SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT GRANT PROGRAM
REQUIREMENTS

Request for public comment on California’s request to waive six provisions of federal law and regulations related to the implementation of School Improvement Grants (SIG).

Notice is hereby given that California has requested the U.S. Department of Education (ED) to waive Section II.B.9(a) of the final requirements for the SIG program, set forth in 74 FR65618 (December 10, 2009) and amended by the interim final requirements, set forth in 75FR 3375 (January 25, 2010).

The purpose of this public notice is to notify you of the opportunity to submit written public comment on the waiver request to the ED regarding:

1. Generating a new list of Tier I, Tier II, and Tier III schools, waive Sections I.A.1 and II.B.10 of the SIG final requirements to permit the State to use the same Tier I, Tier II, and Tier III lists it used for its fiscal year (FY) 2009 competition.
2. The requirement identified in the FY 2010 SIG Guidance published on
   November 1, 2010, to use FY 2010 to make first-year only awards to local educational agencies (LEAs) and instead provide three-year awards to the State’s approved SIG LEAs.
3. Section 1116(b)(12) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) to permit LEAs to allow their Tier I, Tier II, and Tier III Title I participating schools that will fully implement a turnaround or restart model beginning in the 2011–12 school year to “start over” in the school improvement timeline.
4. The 40 percent poverty eligibility threshold in Section 1114(a)(1) of the ESEA to permit LEAs to implement a schoolwide program in a Tier I, Tier II, or Tier III Title I participating school that does not meet the poverty threshold and is fully implementing one of the four school intervention models.
5. Extending the period of availability of FY 2009 carryover school improvement funds for the SEA and all of its LEAs to September 30, 2014.
6. Extending the period of availability of FY 2010 carryover school improvement funds for the SEA and all of its LEAs to September 30, 2014.

All comments regarding the request for waiver must be submitted to Julie Baltazar via e-mail at JBaltazar@cde.ca.gov; facsimile at 916-319-0175; or mailed and received at the following address by close of business at 5 p.m. on January 10, 2011, and addressed to:

California Department of Education
1430 N Street, Suite 6208
Sacramento, CA 95814

The waiver request can be found at the following URL:

• Attachment 1: Letter to Assistant Secretary Thelma Meléndez de Santa Ana [http://www.cde.ca.gov/be/pn/pn/sigwaivernotice1210a1.asp]

 

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California State Board of Education
1430 N Street, Suite #5111
Sacramento, CA 95814

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