Request to Amend Accountability Plan – Indiana – NCLB Policy Letters to States
July 1, 2005
Dr. Suellen K. Reed
Superintendent of Public Instruction
Indiana Department of Education
State House, Room 229
Indianapolis, IN 46204-2798
Dear Superintendent Reed:
I am writing in response to Indiana’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 Indiana submitted to the Department on June 28, 2005. The change is summarized in an attachment to this letter. I am pleased to fully approve Indiana’s amended plan, which we will post on the Department’s website.
If, over time, Indiana makes changes to the accountability plan that has been approved, Indiana 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 Indiana’s accountability plan is not also an approval of Indiana’s standards and assessment system. As Indiana makes changes in its standards and assessments to meet requirements under NCLB, Indiana 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 Indiana’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 am confident that Indiana will continue to advance its efforts to hold schools and school districts accountable for the achievement of all students. I wish you well in your school improvement efforts. If I can be of any additional assistance to Indiana in its efforts to implement other aspects of NCLB, please do not hesitate to call.
Sincerely,
Raymond Simon
Attachment
cc: Governor Mitch Daniels
Attachment
Amendment to the Indiana Accountability Plan
This statement is a summary of the amendment. For complete details, please refer to the Indiana Accountability plan on the Department’s website: www.ed.govhttps://www2.ed.gov/admins/lead/account/stateplans03/index.html.
Including students with disabilities in adequate yearly progress determinations (Element 5.3)
Revision: Indiana will use the “proxy method” (Option 1 in ED’s guidance dated May 10, 2005) to take advantage of the Secretary’s flexibility regarding modified academic achievement standards. Indiana will calculate a proxy to determine the percentage of special education students that is equivalent to 2.0 percent of all students assessed. For this year only, this proxy will then be added to the percent of students with disabilities who are proficient. For any school or district that did not make AYP solely due to its students with disabilities subgroup, Indiana will use this adjusted percent proficient to reexamine if the school or district made AYP for the 2004-05 school year.
