Request to Amend Accountability Plan – Washington – NCLB Policy Letters to States
June 30, 2010
The Honorable Randy Dorn
Superintendent of Public Instruction
Washington Department of Public Instruction
Old Capitol Building
PO Box 47200
Olympia, Washington 98504
Dear Superintendent Dorn:
I am writing in response to Washington’s request to amend its state accountability plan under Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), as amended. Following discussions between the Department and your staff, you made certain changes to Washington’s accountability plan, which are now included in the amended plan that Washington submitted to the Department on January 13, 2010. I am pleased to approve Washington’s amended plan, which we will post on the Department’s website. A summary of Washington’s requested amendments is enclosed with this letter. As you know, any further requests to amend Washington’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 be aware that approval of these amendments for the purposes of Washington’s accountability workbook does not constitute approval of the assessments, which must be reviewed and approved through the Department’s peer review process.
Additionally, approval of Washington’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 Washington 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 (Vicki.Robinson@ed.gov) or (Clayton.Hollingshead@ed.gov) of my staff.
Sincerely,
Thelma Meléndez de Santa Ana, Ph.D.
Enclosure
cc: Governor Chris Gregoire
Bob Harmon
JoLynn Berge
Amendments to Washington’s Accountability Plan
The following is a summary of Washington’s amendment request. Please refer to the Department’s website (www.ed.govhttps://www2.ed.gov/admins/lead/account/stateplans03/index.html) for Washington’s complete accountability plan.
General clean-up (Elements 1.3, 1.4, 2.2, 4.1, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4, 6.1, 10.2)
Revision: Washington made non-substantive changes throughout its workbook in order to reflect current practices in the state.
Timely reporting of adequate yearly progress (AYP) determinations (Element 1.4)
Revision: Washington will delay reporting of assessments administered during the 2009-2010 school year until August 31, 2010, due to the changes in the 2010 mathematics assessments in grades 3-8. Schools and districts that are not newly identified for improvement for the 2010-2011 school year or that cannot exit improvement for the 2010-2011 school year will notify parents of improvement status and their options for public school choice by August 16, 2010. Schools that will move into improvement or schools that may move out of improvement by meeting adequate yearly progress (AYP) for two consecutive years will not receive their preliminary AYP determination until August 16, 2010, at the earliest, after which time districts and schools will need to notify parents of the AYP status of schools. Many Washington districts will begin school the week before Labor Day. This does not allow these districts enough time to meet the 14-day notice requirement. Schools will receive AYP results by August 31, 2010.
Changes to assessments (Element 9.3)
Revision: Washington updated its accountability workbook to reflect changes to its assessments in reading, mathematics, and science.
