Request to Amend Accountability Plan – Georgia July 19, 2006 – NCLB Policy Letters to States

July 19, 2006

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

Dear Superintendent 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 of 1965 (ESEA), as amended by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB). Following our discussions with your staff, the requested change that is aligned with NCLB is now included in an amended State accountability plan that Georgia submitted on July 7th, 2006. The revised and fully approved plan will be posted on the Department’s website. A summary of the approved amendment is enclosed with this letter.

As you know, any additional requests to amend the Georgia accountability plan must be submitted to the Department for review and approval as required by section 1111(f)(2) of Title I. Please note that approval of Georgia’s accountability plan does not constitute approval of the State’s standards and assessment system.

Please also be aware that approval of Georgia’s accountability plan for Title I, including the amendment 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.

NCLB has provided a vehicle for States to raise the achievement of all students and to close the achievement gap. We are seeing the results of our combined endeavor; achievement is rising throughout the nation. I appreciate Georgia’s efforts to raise the achievement of all students and hold all schools accountable. I wish you continued success in your school improvement efforts. If you need any additional assistance in your efforts to implement the standards, assessments, and accountability provisions of NCLB, please do not hesitate to contact Catherine Freeman (catherine.freeman@ed.gov) or Valeria Ford (valeria.ford@ed.gov) of my staff.

Sincerely,

Henry L. Johnson

Enclosure

cc: Governor Sonny Perdue

Amendment to the Georgia Accountability Plan

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

Adequate Yearly Progress and Safe Harbor Determinations (Element 3.2 )

Revision: For adequate yearly progress determinations in 2005-2006 and subsequent Quality Core Curriculum (QCC)/ Georgia Performance Standards (GPS) transition years, Georgia will equate the QCC to GPS assessment results in grades and subjects where appropriate using an Equipercentile adjustment for multi-year averaging, safe harbor, and second indicator calculations.

Decision Letters on State Accountability Plans