Georgia – Amendment to Accountability Plan – NCLB Policy Letters to States

August 17, 2004

The Honorable Wanda Barrs
Chair
Georgia State Board of Education
2035 Twin Towers East
Atlanta, Georgia 30334

The Honorable Kathy Cox
State Superintendent of Schools
Georgia Department of Education
2062 Twin Towers East
Atlanta, Georgia 30334

Dear Ms. Barrs and Ms. Cox:

I am writing in response to Georgia’s request to amend its State accountability plan under Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), as amended by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB). Following our discussions with your staff, those changes that are aligned with NCLB are now included in an amended State accountability plan that Georgia submitted to the Department on August 12, 2004. A list of the changes is attached to this letter. I am pleased to fully approve Georgia’s amended plan, which we will post on the Department’s website.

If, over time, Georgia makes changes to the accountability plan that has been approved, Georgia must submit information about those changes to the Department for review and approval, as required by section 1111(f)(2) of Title I. Approval of Georgia’s accountability plan is not also an approval of Georgia’s standards and assessment system. As Georgia makes changes in its standards and assessments to meet requirements under NCLB, Georgia must submit information about those changes to the Department for peer review through the standards and assessment process.

Please also be aware that approval of Georgia’s accountability plan for Title I, including the amendments approved above, does not indicate that the plan complies with Federal civil rights requirements, including Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act, and requirements under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

I hope that you have found the accountability plan amendment process effective for implementing a State accountability system that best serves the needs of Georgia’s students and schools and that will lead to improving the academic achievement of all students. If, as you implement your accountability plan, you find additional elements of your plan that you believe should be refined or amended for next school year to best serve the needs of your students and schools, I encourage you to explore all the areas of flexibility available to your State.

I wish you well in your school improvement efforts. If I can be of any additional assistance to Georgia in its efforts to implement other aspects of NCLB, please do not hesitate to call.

Sincerely,

Raymond Simon

cc: Governor

Enclosure

Enclosure

Amendment to the Georgia Accountability Plan

This statement is a summary of the amendment. For complete details, please refer to the Georgia Accountability plan on the Department’s website: www.ed.govhttps://www2.ed.gov/admins/lead/account/stateplans03/index.html.

Identification of districts for improvement

Revision: Georgia will identify districts for improvement only when they do not make AYP in the same subject and both grade spans (i.e., elementary/middle, and high schools) for two consecutive years. In implementing this provision, States should 1) monitor districts that have not made AYP in one grade span but have not been identified for improvement to ensure they are making the necessary curricular and instructional changes to improve achievement, and 2) take steps to ensure supplemental services are available to eligible students from a variety of providers throughout the state (including in LEAs that have not been identified for improvement but that have schools that have been in improvement for more than one year).

Table of Contents Decision Letters on State Accountability Plans

Georgia - Amendment to Accountability Plan - NCLB Policy Letters to States