Request to Amend Accountability Plan – Delaware – NCLB Policy Letters to States
June 30, 2005
The Honorable Valerie A. Woodruff
Secretary of Education
Department of Education
The Townsend Building
P.O. Box 1402
Dover, Delaware 19903-1402
Dear Secretary Woodruff:
I am writing in response to Delaware’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). The change you requested is aligned with NCLB and is now included in an amended State accountability plan that Delaware submitted to the Department on June 13, 2005. The change is listed in an attachment to this letter. I am pleased to fully approve Delaware’s amended plan, which we will post on the Department’s website.
If, over time, Delaware makes changes to the accountability plan that has been approved, Delaware 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 Delaware’s accountability plan is not also an approval of Delaware’s standards and assessment system. As Delaware makes changes in its standards and assessments to meet requirements under NCLB, Delaware 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 Delaware’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 Delaware 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 Delaware in its efforts to implement other aspects of NCLB, please do not hesitate to call.
Sincerely,
Raymond Simon
Cc: Governor Ruth Ann Minner
Attachment
Amendments to the Delaware Accountability Plan
This statement is a summary of the amendment. For complete details, please refer to the Delaware Accountability plan on the Department’s website: www.ed.govhttps://www2.ed.gov/admins/lead/account/stateplans03/index.html
Adequate yearly progress determinations (Element 3.2)
Revision: Delaware 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. Delaware 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, Delaware will use this adjusted percent proficient to reexamine if the school or district made AYP for the 2004-05 school year.
