Ruth RyderOSEP Deputy Director

Project Directors’ ConferenceJuly 25, 2012

In September 2011 the Department of Education Announced “Flexibility” of provisions within ESEA. Core policies of ESEA Flexibility are:

◦ Protect children, especially those most at risk, and maintain transparency and accountability for closing achievement gaps

◦ Raise the bar for student achievement by rewarding states that adopt college- and career-ready standards

◦ Provide flexibility from NCLB’s mandates and one-size-fits-all accountability so States have the opportunity to innovate and create interventions

States must:

◦ Be on track in adopting college and career-ready standards

◦ Create a plan to strengthen, elevate and support their teachers

◦ Create accountability systems that identify and focus resources on the lowest-performing schools and the schools with the biggest achievement gaps

As of July 19, 2012, 32 States and Washington DC have received flexibility waivers

◦ Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin.

5 states have requested waivers and are still under review (California, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, and Nevada)

13 states and PR have not applied (Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Maine, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Texas, Vermont (request withdrawn), West Virginia and Wyoming)

WA

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ESEA Flexibility

HI

DC

ESEA flexibility waiver pending

ESEA flexibility waiver approved

AMO waiver approved

Colorado will require schools that miss their performance targets for students with disabilities to provide targeted interventions for these students as part of their Unified Improvement Plan.

In Indiana, every school will be required to implement improvement actions if any subgroup, regardless of its size, misses any of its targets. Indiana has specified certain tailored actions that schools will be required to take if the subgroup that misses its targets is students with disabilities.

Several States lowered their “n-size” in order to hold more schools accountable for individual subgroups like students with disabilities.

Adopting standards and assessments that prepare students to succeed in college and the workplace and to compete in the global economy;

Building data systems that measure student growth and success, and inform teachers and principals about how they can improve instruction;

Recruiting, developing, rewarding, and retaining effective teachers and principals, especially where they are needed most; and

Turning around our lowest-achieving schools.

Over the past three years the Department has awarded RTT grants to 21 states and DC (Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, D.C., Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee and Washington)

These states serve 65% of the nation’s children and 59% of low-income students in the country

Nine states received grants under Phase 1 of RTT-ELC (California, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Ohio, Rhode Island and Washington)

Phase 2 will consider eligible the five highest-scoring applicants that did not receive funding in the FY 2011 RTT-ELC competition, each of which received approximately 75 percent or more of the available points under the competition (Colorado, Illinois, New Mexico, Oregon, and Wisconsin) (FR 6/20/12)

http://www2.ed.gov/programs/racetothetop-earlylearningchallenge/index.html

WA

OR

CA

NV

ID

MT

WY

COUT

NMAZ

TX

OK

KS

NE

SD

ND MN

WI

ILIA

MO

AR

LA

AL

TN

MI

PA

NY

VT

GA

FL

MS

KY

SC

NC

MD

OH DEIN

WV

CT

MA

ME

RI

VA

NH

AK

RTT

HI

RTT ELC RTT1 T RTT2

RTT3 3

DC

ESEA flexibility waiver pending

ESEA flexibility waiver approved

AMO waiver approved

Congress passed an omnibus spending bill for fiscal year 2012 that included an additional $550 million for Race to the Top. The bill includes language that will allow the Department to create a district-level RTT competition, making grants by December 2012

RTT-D will support bold, locally directed improvements in teaching and learning that will directly improve student achievement and teacher effectiveness

http://www2.ed.gov/programs/racetothetop-district/index.html

LEAs can apply ◦ individually or in consortia◦ for all or a portion of their schools◦ for specific grades or subject area bands

Applicants must serve a minimum of 2,500 participating students

40% of participating students in participating schools must be low income

Next generation of assessments will be more inclusive, valid and more instructionally relevant for all students, including students with disabilities

Next generation of assessments should be able to be used with 99% of students

OSERS is working with the Department’s Implementation and Support Unit (ISU) and the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE) in guiding the development of assessments

RTTA (45 states and DC) (99%)◦ Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortia◦ Partnership for Assessment of Readiness of

College and Careers (PARCC)

GSEG (31 states and DC) (1%)◦ National Center and State Collaborative (NCSC)◦ Dynamic Learning Maps

Prevention! Collaboration with

◦ Office of Safe and Healthy Students◦ Office for Civil Rights◦ Office of Vocational Education◦ Department of Justice

Supportive School Discipline – DoJ and ED National Forum on Youth Violence

Prevention

The 2013 budget included a request for authority to implement Performance Partnership Pilots to improve outcomes for disconnected youth, those young people ages 14-24 who are homeless, in foster care, involved in the juvenile justice system, or are neither employed nor enrolled in an educational institution.

Of the funds for the Workforce Innovation Fund, $10 million will be used for innovative and evidence-based approaches to serving disconnected youth.

http://www2.ed.gov/about/overview/budget/budget13/justifications/n-ctae.pdf

PROMISE is a joint pilot demonstration program with Departments of Education, Labor and Health and Human Services and Social Security Administration (SSA)

Goal is to improve outcomes of children who receive SSI including their health status, both physical and emotional and education and post-school outcomes, including completion of postsecondary education and employment ant to improve family or household outcomes through improved services and supports, such as education and job training for parents

http://www2.ed.gov/about/overview/budget/budget13/justifications/i-specialed.pdf

In 2012 are doing a literature review, conducting numerous input sessions and developing a priority

The 2013 budget includes $30 million for competitive grants for a small number of states for a period of 5 years

Governors will submit applications and designate a lead agency to carry out the program

Restraint and Seclusion Resource Documenthttp://www2.ed.gov/policy/seclusion/index.html

Sequestration http://www2.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/secletter/120720.html

OSEP Memos, Dear Colleague Letters and Policy Letters

http://www2.ed.gov/policy/speced/guid/idea/memosdcltrs/index.html

Results-Driven Accountability – ◦ Blog (new question every 2 weeks◦ Email box◦ Information

http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/osers/osep/rda/index.html

Thanks for all you do!