Request to Amend Accountability Plans – Nebraska – NCLB Policy Letters to States

September 2, 2011

The Honorable Roger Breed
Commissioner
Nebraska Department of Education
301 Centennial Mall, South, 6th Floor
P.O. Box 94987
Lincoln, Nebraska 68509-4987

Dear Commissioner Breed:

I am writing in response to Nebraska’s request to amend its state accountability plan under Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). Following discussions between the U.S. Department of Education (Department) and your staff, you made changes to Nebraska’s accountability plan, which are now included in the amended state accountability plan that Nebraska submitted to the Department on February 7, 2011. I am pleased to approve Nebraska’s amended plan, which we will post on the Department’s website. A summary of Nebraska’s requested amendments is enclosed with this letter. As you know, any further requests to amend Nebraska’s accountability plan must be submitted to the Department for review and approval as required by section 1111(f)(2) of Title I of the ESEA.

Please also be aware that approval of Nebraska’s accountability plan for Title I, including the amendments approved herein, 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 Nebraska will continue to advance its efforts to hold schools and school districts accountable for the achievement of all students. If you need any additional assistance to implement the standards, assessment, and accountability provisions of the ESEA, please do not hesitate to contact (Carlos.Martinez@ed.gov) or (Collette.Roney@ed.gov).

Sincerely,

Michael Yudin,
Acting Assistant Secretary

Enclosure

cc: Governor Dave Heineman
Marilyn Peterson

The following is a summary of Nebraska’s amendment requests. Please refer to the Department’s website (http://www.ed.govhttps://www2.ed.gov/admins/lead/account/stateplans03/index.html) for Nebraska’s complete accountability plan.

• Full Academic Year (AYP) (Element 2.2)

Revision: The definition of Full Academic Year (FAY) changes as NeSA is implemented. Full Academic Year (FAY) at the school level is defined as having a NeSA assessment score (including a zero) and being enrolled in that school as of the last Friday in September (official enrollment date) and at the district level as having a NeSA assessment score (including a zero) and being enrolled in the district as of the last Friday in September. For 2009-10, FAY will be determined using this definition for NeSA-R and NeSA-AAR and in 2010-11 and beyond for all NeSA tests.

• Annual Measurable Objectives used for AYP (Element 3.2b)




Revision: Nebraska provided new AMOs based on standard setting activities that were conducted after the first operational administration of the mathematics assessment. Nebraska applied the regulatory method to establish these AMOs.

Math

Year	Elementary	Middle	High School
2010–2011	51%	50%	41%
2011–2012	67%	67%	61%
2012–2013	84%	83%	80%
2013–2014	100%	100%	100%

• AYP determination for each public school and LEA, including small schools and districts (Element 4.1)

Revision: Nebraska proposes a method of aggregating data across time and grade spans in order to enhance n-sizes to 30.

Decision Letters on State Accountability Plans