Request to Amend Accountability Plan – South Carolina – NCLB Policy Letters to States
June 9, 2010
The Honorable Jim Rex
State Superintendent of Education
South Carolina Department of Education
1006 Rutledge Building
Columbia, South Carolina 29201
Dear Superintendent Rex:
I am writing in response to South Carolina’s request to amend its state accountability plan under Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA). Following discussions between the Department and your staff, you made changes to South Carolina’s accountability plan, which are now included in the amended state accountability plan that South Carolina submitted to the Department on February 15, 2010. I am pleased to approve South Carolina’s amended plan, which we will post on the Department’s website. A summary of South Carolina’s requested amendments is enclosed with this letter. As you know, any further requests to amend South Carolina’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 South Carolina’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 South Carolina 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 (Victoria.Hammer@ed.gov) or (Valeria.Ford@ed.gov).
Sincerely,
Thelma Meléndez de Santa Ana, Ph.D.
Enclosure
cc: Governor Mark Sanford
Teri Siskind
Nancy Busbee
Steve Abbott
Amendments to South Carolina’s Accountability Plan
The following is a summary of South Carolina’s amendment requests. Please refer to the Department’s website (http://www.ed.govhttps://www2.ed.gov/admins/lead/account/stateplans03/index.html) for South Carolina’s complete accountability plan.
Clean-up to reflect final transition to the Palmetto Assessment of State Standards (PASS) assessments in reading/language arts and mathematics in grades 3-8 (Elements 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 3.1, 3.2, 3.2a-c, 5.2, Attachment C)
Revision: South Carolina will remove references to assessments and timelines no longer relevant as a result of its change of its reading/language arts and mathematics assessments in grades 3-8 in school year 2008–09.
Non-substantive clarification (Element 2.3)
Revision: South Carolina will change the reference from “Proviso 1.8” to “State proviso.”
Including students with disabilities in the State’s definition of adequate yearly progress (AYP) (Element 5.3)
Revision: South Carolina will remove reference to the two percent transition flexibility previously granted to it under 34 C.F.R. § 200.20(g). In accordance with the terms of that regulatory provision, the transition flexibility that was previously offered is no longer available.
