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

July 10, 2007

The Honorable Kevin Noland
Interim Commissioner of Education
Kentucky Department of Education
500 Mero Street
Frankfort, Kentucky 40601

Dear Commissioner Noland:

I am writing in response to Kentucky’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, the changes are now included in an amended State accountability plan that Kentucky submitted to the Department on June 27, 2007. I am pleased to fully approve Kentucky’s amended plan, which we will post on the Department’s website. A summary of the approved amendments is enclosed with this letter. As you know, any further requests to amend the Kentucky accountability plan must be submitted to the Department for review and approval as required by section 1111(f)(2) of Title I.

Please also be aware that approval of Kentucky’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 Kentucky will continue to hold schools and school districts accountable for the achievement of all students. I wish you well in your school improvement efforts. If you need any additional assistance in implementing the standards, assessment and accountability provisions of NCLB, please do not hesitate to contact Abigail Potts (abigail.potts@ed.gov</a) or David Harmon (david.harmon@ed.gov).

Sincerely,

Kerri L. Briggs, Ph.D.

Enclosure

cc: Governor Ernie Fletcher
Pamela Rogers

Amendments to the Kentucky Accountability Plan

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

Uniform averaging for adequate yearly progress (AYP) determinations (Elements 3.1 and 3.2)

Revision: Kentucky will use either the current-year test results or a two-year average of test results when calculating AYP for schools and districts. For the AYP determinations following the 2006-07 school year, Kentucky will equate the results of the new assessments administered for the first time in 2006-07 and the results of the previous assessments administered in 2005-06.

AYP determinations (Element 3.2)

Revision: For 2006-07, due to the fact that Kentucky is administering a new general assessment and a new alternate assessment based on alternate academic achievement standards for students with the most significant cognitive disabilities in grades 3-8 and high school, Kentucky will delay the release of AYP results should it prove necessary. Final AYP reports are expected to be available not later than September 2007. Schools and districts that did not make AYP in the 2005-06 school year have been notified to plan for the possibility of offering public school choice. These schools will implement public school choice immediately upon receiving preliminary results if they do not make AYP based on the 2006-07 assessment results. Schools and districts already identified as in need of improvement that fail to make AYP must immediately begin offering the next level of services. Schools or districts identified as in need of improvement that make AYP for the first time based on 2006-07 results must continue to offer the same level of interventions. Schools or districts that make AYP for the second consecutive year based on 2006-07 results are no longer identified as in need of improvement and no action is required.

Assessments used for AYP determinations (Element 6.1)

Revision: With the implementation of a new alternate assessment based on alternate academic achievement standards, Kentucky updated its accountability workbook to reflect the new assessment administered in the 2006-07 school year for grades 3-8 and high school. Please note that approval of this amendment does not constitute approval of the alternate assessment based on alternate academic achievement standards, which must be submitted to the Department for review and approval through the standards and assessment peer review process.

Standards-setting plan (Element 9.1)

Revision: Kentucky revised its standards-setting procedure defined in this section to reflect the process used for the 2006-07 school year. Please note that approval of this amendment does not constitute approval of the academic achievement standards, which must be submitted to the Department for review and approval through the standards and assessment peer review process.


Decision Letters on State Accountability Plans

Request to Amend Accountability Plans - Kentucky - NCLB Policy Letters to States