Flexibility Waiver Request Letter

April 10, 2020

The Honorable Frank Brogan
Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education
U.S. Department of Education
400 Maryland Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20202-6100

Dear Assistant Secretary Brogan:

RE: Waiver Request for Title I, Part A and Title IV, Part A Flexibilities

On behalf of the California State Board of Education and the California Department of Education (CDE), under Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Section 8401(b), California respectfully requests a waiver for the following sections:

• Section 1127(b) of Title I, Part A of the ESEA so that your State educational agency (SEA) may waive, more than once every three years, if necessary, the 15 percent carryover limitation in ESEA section 1127(a) for fiscal year (FY) 2019 Title I, Part A funds.
• Section 421(b) of the General Education Provisions Act (GEPA) to extend the period of availability of FY 2018 funds for programs in which your SEA participates under its approved consolidated State plan until September 30, 2021.
• Section 4106(d) of Title IV, Part A of the ESEA related to local educational agency (LEA) needs assessments for the 2019-2020 school year.
• Section 4106(e)(2)(C), (D), and (E) of Title IV, Part A of the ESEA with respect to content-area spending requirements for FYs 2018 and 2019 Title IV, Part A funds.
• Section 4109(b) of Title IV, Part A of the ESEA with respect to the spending limitation for technology infrastructure for FYs 2018 and 2019 Title IV, Part A funds.
• Section 8101(42) of the ESEA, which defines “professional development,” for activities funded for the 2019-2020 school year.

On March 19, 2020, California Governor Gavin Newsom issued Executive Order N-33-20, a Statewide “shelter in place” to protect the health and well-being of all Californians and to establish consistency across the state in order to slow the spread of COVID-19. Governor Newsom called this “an unprecedented time, and our main focus is on supporting the mental and socioemotional health of students, while continuing to provide educational opportunities such as distance learning.”

California is appreciative of the streamlined waiver application released by the ED and is submitting our request for your approval. The State will hold a concurrent public comment period for all stakeholders and LEAs with the submission and review of our application through May 1, 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 that 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, Federal Policy Liaison, Government Affairs Division, by telephone at 916-591-6391 or by email at jsaenz@cde.ca.gov.

TT/LDH: