May 13, 2020

Dear Assistant Secretary Stump:

Waiver Request for Perkins and Adult Education and Family Literacy Act Flexibility

Pursuant to Section 3511 of Division A of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), Pub. L., No. 116-136, 134 Stat. 281 (Mar. 27, 2020), I am writing to request a waiver on behalf of the California Department of Education (CDE) and its subgrantees of Section 421(b) of the General Education Provisions Act to extend the period of availability of Fiscal Year 2018 funds for programs in which the CDE participates as the eligible agency until September 30, 2021. California respectfully requests a waiver for the following programs:

• State grants authorized by Title I of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006
• State grants authorized by Title II of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (i.e., the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act)

COVID-19 has had a tremendous impact on the everyday well-being of students, families, and educators throughout the nation. It is critical that California's education system is able to be as flexible as possible to support our students.

California is appreciative of the streamlined waiver application released by the U.S. Department of Education (ED) and is submitting our request for your approval. The State will hold a concurrent public comment period for all stakeholders and local educational agencies with the submission and review of our application through May 22, 2020. A copy of the notice and copies of all comments received by the State will be sent to the ED once the comment period has concluded. The State intends to review the comments to help inform the State's decisions moving forward, which will best support our students, educators, and communities during this crisis.

The current public health crisis is unprecedented in scale and scope. We appreciate the flexibility currently being offered and look forward to working with your staff to ensure future needs can be addressed.

If additional information regarding this request is needed, please contact Joseph Saenz [Previous contact person removed; please contact Natasha Middleton], Federal Policy Liaison, Government Affairs Division, by phone at 916-591-6391 or by email at Isaenz@cde ca gov [Email address removed; please email nmiddleton@cde.ca.gov]

Sincerely,

Tony Thurmond

State Superintendent of Public Instruction

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2020-04588