[Federal Register: May 6, 2002 (Volume 67, Number 87)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 30451-30461]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr06my02-16]
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Part III
Department of Education
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34 CFR Part 200
Title I--Improving the Academic Achievement of the Disadvantaged;
Proposed Rules
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
34 CFR Part 200
RIN 1810-AA92
Title I--Improving the Academic Achievement of the Disadvantaged
AGENCY: Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, Department of
Education.
ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.
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SUMMARY: The Secretary proposes to amend the regulations governing the
programs administered under Title I of the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act of 1965, as amended (ESEA)--referred to in these proposed
regulations as the Title I programs. These proposed regulations are
needed to implement recent changes to the standards and assessment
requirements of Title I of the ESEA made by the No Child Left Behind
Act of 2001 (NCLB Act) and were drafted subject to a negotiated
rulemaking process.
DATES: We must receive your comments on or before June 5, 2002.
ADDRESSES: Address all comments about these proposed regulations to
Joseph F. Johnson, Jr., Director, Compensatory Education Programs,
Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, U.S. Department of
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room 3W230, FB-6, Washington, DC
20202-6132. The Fax number for submitting comments is (202) 260-7764.
If you prefer to send your comments through the Internet, use the
following address: TitleIRulemaking@ed.gov
If you want to comment on the information collection requirements,
you must send your comments to Joseph F. Johnson, Jr. at the address
above.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Susan Wilhelm, Compensatory Education
Programs, Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, U.S. Department
of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room 3W202, FB-6, Washington,
DC 20202-6132. Telephone: (202) 260-0826.
If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), you may
call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339.
Individuals with disabilities may obtain this document in an
alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer
diskette) on request to the contact person listed under FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Invitation to Comment
We invite you to submit comments regarding these proposed
regulations. To ensure that your comments have maximum effect in
developing the final regulations, we urge you to identify clearly the
specific section or sections of the proposed regulations that each
comment addresses and to arrange your comments in the same order as the
proposed regulations.
During and after the comment period, you may inspect all public
comments about these proposed regulations in room 3W204, FB-6, 400
Maryland Avenue, SW., Washington, DC, between the hours of 8:30 a.m.
and 4 p.m., Eastern time, Monday through Friday of each week except
Federal holidays.
Assistance to Individuals With Disabilities in Reviewing the
Rulemaking Record
On request, we will supply an appropriate aid, such as a reader or
print magnifier, to an individual with a disability who needs
assistance to review the comments or other documents in the public
rulemaking record for these proposed regulations. If you want to
schedule an appointment for this type of aid, please contact the person
listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
Background
The NCLB Act reauthorized the ESEA and incorporated the major
educational reforms proposed by President George W. Bush in his No
Child Left Behind initiative, particularly with regard to standards and
assessment, accountability, and school improvement. These provisions
are the centerpiece of Title I, Part A of the ESEA, as amended by the
NCLB Act, which is designed to help disadvantaged children meet high
academic standards.
These proposed regulations would implement changes to the academic
standards and assessment provisions of Title I, Part A of the ESEA in a
manner that respects State and local control over education while
ensuring strong accountability for results. The Secretary also is
considering proposing regulations for other provisions in Title I, Part
A of the ESEA. Any additional regulations will be part of a future
Federal Register document. The Secretary intends to regulate only if
absolutely necessary; for example, if the statute requires regulations
or if regulations are necessary to provide flexibility or clarification
for State and local educational agencies.
Rather than regulating extensively, the Secretary intends to issue
nonregulatory guidance addressing particular legal and policy issues
under the Title I programs. This guidance will inform schools, parents,
school districts, States, and other affected parties about the
flexibility that exists under the statute, including different
approaches they may take to carry out the statute's requirements.
Negotiated Rulemaking
Section 1901(b) of Title I of the ESEA describes procedures that
the Department must follow in developing and issuing regulations to
implement the Title I programs. Section 1901(b)(1) requires the
Secretary to obtain the advice and recommendations of representatives
of Federal, State, and local administrators; parents; teachers;
paraprofessionals; members of local boards of education; and other
organizations involved with the implementation and operation of Title I
programs. Accordingly, the Department published in the Federal Register
on January 18, 2002 (67 FR 2770) a request for advice and
recommendations on regulatory issues concerning Title I. We received
178 responses. To obtain additional advice and recommendations, the
Secretary invited a broad spectrum of individuals and organizations
affected by the Title I programs to participate in focus group sessions
in January and February in Tampa, Florida; New Orleans, Louisiana;
Washington, DC; and Denver, Colorado.
After obtaining this advice, the Secretary established a negotiated
rulemaking process on the issues of academic standards and assessments
in accordance with section 1901(b)(3) of Title I. The Secretary
appointed members of a negotiated rulemaking committee (the Committee)
to participate in this process. The Committee was made up of 2
representatives of the U.S. Department of Education and 22 individuals
from all geographic regions of the United States and was balanced
between representatives of parents and students and representatives of
educators and education officials. The sessions were held on March 11-
13 and 19-20, 2002, near Washington, DC.
Under the Committee's protocols, ``consensus'' meant the lack of
active objection by any Committee member on all issues within a
regulatory section. The Committee reached consensus on every issue in
the draft regulations that were the subject of its negotiations. The
Secretary therefore proposes these negotiated regulations without
change, other than those changes needed to
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correct technical, punctuation, or grammatical errors.
Significant Proposed Regulations
We discuss substantive issues under the sections of the proposed
regulations to which they pertain. Generally, we do not address
proposed regulatory provisions that are technical or otherwise minor in
effect.
Section 200.1 State Responsibilities for Developing Challenging
Academic Standards
Statute: Under section 1111(b)(1) of Title I, each State must adopt
challenging academic content standards and student academic achievement
standards (formerly called ``student performance standards''). These
will be used by the State, its local educational agencies (LEAs), and
its schools to carry out Part A (Improving Basic Programs Operated by
Local Educational Agencies) of Title I. The State must apply these
academic standards to all students and all schools in the State. States
must have these standards in subjects determined by the State, but, at
a minimum, in mathematics, reading/language arts, and, beginning in the
2005-2006 school year, science. The State's content standards must
specify what children are expected to know and be able to do in
academic subjects. They must contain coherent and rigorous content and
encourage the teaching of advanced skills.
States also must have challenging student academic achievement
standards that are aligned with the State's content standards and
describe at least three levels of achievement: advanced, proficient,
and basic. Advanced and proficient levels determine how well children
are mastering the State's content standards. The basic level provides
complete information about the progress of lower-performing children
toward achieving the proficient and advanced levels.
Current Regulations: The current regulations governing State
responsibilities for developing academic standards (34 CFR 200.2)
reflect provisions of section 1111 of the ESEA that were superseded by
the NCLB Act.
Proposed Regulations: Proposed Sec. 200.1 would repeat the
statutory requirements for States to develop academic content and
student academic achievement standards for all schools and all
children. It also would clarify that States have the flexibility to
develop academic content standards in reading/language arts and
mathematics that may cover either each grade specifically or more than
one grade. If a State develops academic content standards that cover
more than one grade, the State must have content expectations that
indicate to teachers and others the portion of the standards to be
taught at each grade level.
Proposed Sec. 200.1 would also clarify that high school standards
must reflect what a State expects all high school students to know by
the time they graduate, without regard to course titles or years
completed. In other words, the focus of high school standards is at
least on the broad academic content in mathematics, reading/language
arts, and, beginning in 2005-2006 school year, science that a State
expects high school students to know, rather than content linked to
specific courses, such as Algebra I, or the specific year in which a
high school assessment is taken. Proposed Sec. 200.1 also incorporates
the Committee's recommendations to clarify that these standards are for
all public schools and public school children.
Proposed Sec. 200.1(c)(1)(ii) would specify (1) what academic
achievement standards must include and (2) the information that is
necessary to demonstrate fulfillment of the statutory requirement to
set three levels of achievement based on State standards and
assessments.
Proposed Sec. 200.1(c)(2) would specify that, although academic
content standards may cover more than one grade, States must have
academic achievement standards for each grade and subject assessed.
Proposed Sec. 200.1(c)(3) would clarify that, with regard to student
achievement standards in science, States must have achievement levels
and descriptions of those levels in place by the 2005-2006 school year.
The actual assessment scores (called ``cut scores'' by the assessment
community) for those achievement levels, however, would not have to be
set until the assessments are due in the 2007-08 school year.
Reasons: Proposed Sec. 200.1 reflects the Secretary's goals of
providing flexibility while remaining true to statutory intent and
providing clarity if the statute is ambiguous. Proposed
Sec. 200.1(c)(1)(ii) is designed to address past confusion on the
meaning and components of ``student academic achievement standards.''
Proposed Sec. 200.1(c)(3) would address the technical problem that it
is not possible to set fully academic achievement standards before
assessments are final.
Section 200.2 State Responsibilities for Assessment
Statute: Under section 1111(b)(3) of Title I, each State must
implement a set of high-quality, yearly student academic assessments
in, at a minimum, mathematics, reading/language arts, and, by school
year 2007-08, science. The State must use these assessments as the
primary means of determining the yearly progress of the State, each
LEA, and every public school toward enabling all children to meet the
State's student academic achievement standards. The State must use the
same assessments to measure the achievement of all children; align the
assessments with the State's academic content and student achievement
standards; and use the assessments for purposes for which they are
valid and reliable.
Assessments must involve multiple up-to-date measures of academic
achievement, including measures that assess higher-order thinking
skills and understanding.
The State must disaggregate the results of assessments within each
State, each LEA, and each school by gender, by each major racial and
ethnic group, by English proficiency status, by migrant status, by
students with disabilities compared to nondisabled students, and by
economically disadvantaged students compared to students who are not
economically disadvantaged.
The State must produce interpretive, descriptive, and diagnostic
reports for each student and itemized score analyses that allow
parents, teachers, and principals to understand and address the
specific academic needs of the student based on his or her achievement
against State standards.
Current Regulations: The current regulations governing State
responsibilities for assessments (34 CFR 200.4) reflect provisions of
section 1111 of the ESEA that were superseded by the NCLB Act.
Proposed Regulations: Proposed Sec. 200.2 incorporates the
statutory requirements for a State to implement a system of high-
quality, yearly student academic assessments. The Committee's
discussions centered on three provisions, and the proposed regulations
reflect the changes recommended by the negotiators:
First, proposed Sec. 200.2(b)(2) would include a requirement that a
State's assessment system be designed to be valid and accessible for
use with the widest possible range of students, including students with
disabilities and students with limited English proficiency.
Second, the Committee incorporated in proposed Sec. 200.2(b)(5)
statutory language requiring a State's assessment system to be
supported by evidence provided by test publishers or other relevant
sources. The additional
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provisions would specify that the Secretary would provide this evidence
to the public on request, consistent with applicable Federal laws
governing the disclosure of information.
Third, proposed Sec. 200.2(b)(10)(v) incorporates the Committee's
suggestion to clarify that, for purposes of disaggregating assessment
data, students with disabilities are those defined under section 602(3)
of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
Proposed Sec. 200.2(b)(8) reflects legislative history from the
conference report accompanying the NCLB Act clarifying that the
requirement to test only objective knowledge does not prohibit essay
responses and opinion questions.
Reasons: Proposed Sec. 200.2 reflects the Secretary's goals of
providing flexibility while remaining true to statutory intent and
providing clarity if the statute is ambiguous. The provision in
proposed Sec. 200.2(b)(2) addresses the concern that, often,
assessments are not designed to be used for the broadest possible range
of students, including students with disabilities and students with
limited English proficiency. For example, the design of assessments may
not include validation studies with sufficient samples of students with
limited English proficiency or students with disabilities, and, thus,
may yield invalid results for those populations.
The provisions in proposed Sec. 200.2(b)(5) governing the public
availability of certain evidence that supports a State's assessment
system represent the Committee's efforts to ensure that the proposed
regulations are more clearly aligned with the statutory requirements.
The clarification in proposed Sec. 200.2(b)(10)(v) is designed to
clarify that under the statute, States, LEAs, and schools would be
required to disaggregate results only for children with disabilities as
defined under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
Section 200.3 Designing State Academic Assessment Systems; and
Sec. 200.4 State Law Exception
Statute: As noted in the discussion under ``Section Sec. 200.2
State responsibilities for assessment,'' section 1111(b)(3) of the ESEA
requires each State to implement a set of high-quality, yearly student
academic assessments that meet certain requirements.
Proposed regulations: Proposed Secs. 200.3 and 200.4 would clarify
that a State has flexibility in how it sets up its statewide assessment
system, but also would establish qualitative criteria that the system
must meet to fulfill statutory requirements and ensure that all
students meet challenging State standards. Specifically, proposed
Sec. 200.3 would clarify that a State may use different types of
assessments as long as each test (for each grade and subject) fully
addresses the depth and breadth of the State's academic content
standards; is valid, reliable, and of high technical quality; and
expresses results in terms of the State's academic achievement
standards.
If a State uses only assessments referenced against national norms
at a particular grade, these assessments would have to be augmented
with additional items as necessary to (1) measure accurately the depth
and breadth of the State's academic content standards and (2) express
results in terms of the State's academic achievement levels.
If a State includes a combination of assessments (whether different
State assessments or State and local assessments), the State must
demonstrate (1) that the design is rational and coherent, (2) that the
assessments work together to assess fully the State's academic content
standards, and (3) that the assessments measure adequate yearly
progress, as well as student progress towards meeting the State's
standards.
A State would be permitted to include locally designed assessments
if the State assumed responsibility for: (1) Setting technical
criteria; (2) ensuring that the assessments are equivalent to one
another and to State assessments, if any, in content coverage,
difficulty, and quality; (3) reviewing and approving each assessment;
and (4) ensuring that data from all assessments can be aggregated to
make a fair, rational, and equitable determination of adequate yearly
progress for school districts and schools. When aggregating data from
different assessments, a State must be able to demonstrate that results
are sufficiently comparable to be aggregated. Such evidence might
include data analysis and analyses by psychometricians with experience
in large-scale assessments. The Committee spent a substantial amount of
time on these provisions trying to make them as clear as possible.
Proposed Sec. 200.4(a) clarifies that if a State is prohibited by
State law from establishing a statewide assessment system, the State
would be excepted from the requirement for a single statewide system.
Instead, that State could establish a statewide system composed of only
local standards and assessments. The State would have to meet the same
qualitative criteria that other States must meet with regard to
inclusion of local assessments in an overall State accountability
framework.
Reasons: Proposed Secs. 200.3 and 200.4 would permit States
considerable flexibility in designing State academic assessment systems
consistent with the statutory provisions.
Section 200.5 Timeline for Assessments
Statute: Under section 1111(b)(3)(C) of the Act, a State must
administer assessments consistent with a specified timeline. The
statute establishes a three-stage timeline for developing and
administering assessments:
In stage one, through school year 2004-2005, the State
must administer the yearly assessments in mathematics and reading/
language arts at least once during each of three grade groupings: (1)
Grades 3 through 5, (2) grades 6 through 9, and (3) grades 10 through
12.
In stage two, beginning no later than school year 2005-
2006, annually, the State must administer the yearly assessments in
mathematics and reading/language arts, at a minimum, in each of grades
3 through 8 and once during grades 10 through 12.
In stage three, beginning no later than school year 2007-
2008, in addition to the assessments required in stage two, the State
must administer the yearly assessments that measure proficiency in
science at least once during each of three grade groupings: (1) Grades
3 through 5, (2) grades 6 through 9, and (3) grades 10 through 12.
Proposed regulations: Proposed Sec. 200.5 describes the statutory
timelines for administering assessments. In particular, it would
clarify that, beginning no later than the 2005-06 school year, States
must administer yearly assessments in both reading/language arts and in
mathematics in each of the required grades 3 through 8 and at least
once in grades 10 through 12. It would include the statutory
requirement that a State provide assessment results to school
districts, schools, and teachers no later than the beginning of the
next school year. It would clarify that this requirement starts
beginning with the 2002-2003 school year.
Reasons: Proposed Sec. 200.5 is designed to clarify that the
assessments in reading/language arts and mathematics are both to be
administered each year as opposed to administering the reading/language
arts assessment one year and the mathematics assessment in alternate
years. It also clarifies the starting date for the requirement to
provide assessment results no later than the beginning of the next
school year.
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Section 200.6 Inclusion of All Students
Statute: A State's assessment system must provide for the inclusion
of all students and provide appropriate accommodations for students
with disabilities, as defined under section 602(3) of the Individuals
with Disabilities Education Act, and students with limited English
proficiency.
Moreover, to the extent practicable, a State must assess students
with limited English proficiency in the language and form most likely
to yield accurate data on what those students know and can do in
academic content areas until they have achieved English proficiency.
With respect to reading/language arts, a State must assess students
with limited English proficiency who have attended schools in the
United States (excluding Puerto Rico) for three or more consecutive
school years in English. If an LEA determines, on a case-by-case basis,
however, that academic assessments in another language would likely
yield more accurate and reliable information, the LEA may use those
assessments for up to an additional two years.
Proposed Regulations: Proposed Sec. 200.6 incorporates and
clarifies the requirement that State assessment systems include all
students and provide appropriate accommodations for students with
disabilities. Proposed Sec. 200.6(a) was the subject of substantial
discussion by the Committee. At the Committee's suggestion, the
proposed regulations would specify that the accommodations for students
with disabilities be those that each student's IEP team determines are
necessary to measure the student's academic achievement relative to the
State's academic content and achievement standards for the grade in
which the student is enrolled.
The proposed regulations also would clarify that a State's
assessment system is to provide appropriate accommodations for students
covered under section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. The
proposed regulations would specify that each student's placement team
determines which accommodations are necessary to measure the student's
academic achievement relative to the State's academic content and
achievement standards for the grade in which the student is enrolled.
Proposed Sec. 200.6(a)(2) reflects the Committee's consensus that a
State's academic assessment system must provide one or more alternate
assessments for those students with disabilities (as defined under
section 602(3) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act),
who, in the determination of the student's IEP team, cannot participate
in all or part of the State assessments, even with appropriate
accommodations.
This section would clarify that alternate assessments must yield
results in at least reading/language arts, mathematics, and, beginning
in the 2007-2008 school year, science. The Committee recommended that
this provision be further clarified in future guidance to indicate that
a State may use the same alternate assessment for reading and
mathematics and, beginning in the 2007-2008 school year, science.
Proposed Sec. 200.6(b) would also clarify the statutory provisions
regarding the assessment of children with limited English proficiency.
The proposed regulations would make clear that this requirement does
not exempt a State from assessing limited English proficient students
before those students are required to be assessed in English in
reading/language arts. The proposed regulations would require a State
to assess limited English proficient students in a valid and reliable
manner that includes reasonable accommodations and, to the extent
practicable, assessments in native language, if they would yield better
information on what those students know. The proposed regulations would
also require the State to assess limited English proficient students'
achievement in English in reading/language arts if those students have
been in schools in the United States (except Puerto Rico) for three or
more consecutive years.
Proposed Sec. 200.6(c) would clarify that migrant and other mobile
students must be assessed even if they are not included for
accountability purposes. The Committee agreed to expand this section to
clarify that a State must include homeless children (as defined in
section 725(2) of Title VII, Subtitle B of the McKinney-Vento Homeless
Assistance Act) in its State assessment, reporting, and accountability
systems, consistent with the requirements of the statute addressing
mobile students. In other words, homeless students who are mobile must
be tested, but their results do not need to be included in determining
adequate yearly progress. Non-mobile homeless students must be tested
and their results included in accountability.
Reasons: The proposed clarifications in Sec. 200.6(a)(1) reflect
the Committee's concern that students covered by section 504 of the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973 are not necessarily students with
disabilities under section 602(3) of the Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act, yet they may need accommodations to ensure that they can
participate in a State's assessment system. Proposed
Sec. 200.6(a)(1)(i) and (a)(1)(ii) require that accommodations permit
measurement of a student's academic achievement relative to grade-level
academic content and achievement standards. These provisions reflect
the Committee's concerns that the statute's requirements for rigorous
accountability for all students not be diluted by permitting
accommodations that would evaluate against lower standards students
taking assessments with accommodations.
The Committee's recommendation for future guidance to clarify that
a State may use the same alternate assessment for reading/language arts
and mathematics recognizes a practice already in place in some States.
The clarification on including students with limited English
proficiency in State assessment systems was designed to eliminate the
potential misunderstanding that these students might be exempt from all
assessments until they are required to be tested in English in reading/
language arts.
Section 200.7 Disaggregation of Data
Statute: The statute requires, for purposes of determining adequate
yearly progress, measurement of the achievement of all public
elementary and secondary school students, economically disadvantaged
students, students from major racial and ethnic groups, students with
disabilities, and students with limited English proficiency. The
statute also requires disaggregation and reporting of assessment
results by gender, by each major racial and ethnic group, by English
proficiency status, by migrant status, by students with disabilities as
compared to nondisabled students, and by economically disadvantaged
students as compared to students who are not economically
disadvantaged. For all of these purposes, disaggregation by these
groups would not be required if the numbers are too small to yield
reliable information or if the results would reveal personally
identifiable information about an individual student.
Proposed Regulations: Proposed Sec. 200.7 would clarify that, in
disaggregating data, a State is responsible for determining how many
students constitute a sufficient number to make the results reliable
for accountability and reporting purposes. It also would clarify that a
State must apply section 444(b) of the General Education Provisions Act
(the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act) in determining whether
disaggregated data
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would reveal personally identifiable information. The proposed
regulations would require a State to make every effort to maximize
disaggregation of data, while meeting the requirements for privacy and
statistical reliability.
Reasons: By allowing a State to establish the minimum numbers for
determining reliable disaggregated data, the proposed provisions offer
flexibility and acknowledge that these minimums may vary according to
circumstance or location.
Section 200.8 Assessment Reports
Statute: A State assessment system must be able to produce student
reports and itemized score analyses.
Proposed Regulations: Proposed Sec. 200.8 addresses the types of
reports that a State's assessment system must produce. The proposed
regulations would clarify that individual student reports must describe
achievement measured against the State's academic achievement
standards. The proposed regulations also would clarify that the
requirement for producing and reporting analyses of student scores does
not require the State to release individual test items.
Reasons: Proposed Sec. 200.8 is intended to provide greater clarity
regarding the statutory requirements pertaining to student reports and
itemized score analyses.
Section 200.9 Deferral of Assessments
Statute: Under section 1111(b)(3)(D) of the ESEA, a State may defer
the commencement, or suspend the administration, of certain assessments
for each year that the amount appropriated at the Federal level for
assessment development falls below a specified minimum. The State may
not, however, cease the development of its assessments even if
sufficient funds are not appropriated.
Proposed regulations: Proposed Sec. 200.9(b) would clarify that the
statute requires a State to continue to develop assessments if amounts
appropriated at the Federal level for assessments are below a certain
minimum.
Reasons: Proposed Sec. 200.9 is intended to make the intent of this
provision more clear and avoid confusion.
Section 200.10 Applicability of a State's Academic Assessments to
Private Schools and Private School Students
Statute: Under section 9506 of the ESEA, a student who attends a
private school that does not receive funds or services under the ESEA
is not required to participate in any assessment referred to in the
ESEA.
Proposed Regulations: Proposed Sec. 200.10 is designed to clarify
that nothing in proposed Sec. 200.2 would require a private school to
participate in a State's assessment system. However, through timely
consultation with private school officials, an LEA must determine how
it will assess academic services to participating private school
students and how it will use the assessment results to improve services
to these children. The assessments used could be the State's academic
assessments under proposed Sec. 200.2 or other appropriate academic
assessments.
Reasons: The proposed regulations would clarify the flexibility
given to an LEA in determining how services to participating private
school students will be assessed.
Executive Order 12866
1. Potential Costs and Benefits
The proposed costs have been reviewed in accordance with Executive
Order 12866. Under the terms of the Order, the Secretary has assessed
the costs and benefits of this regulatory action.
The standards and assessments requirements of the new legislation
require States to develop additional standards in the area of science,
and many States will also need to develop and implement new assessments
in order to meet the statutory requirement that they put in place
assessments, at least in reading/language and mathematics, in grades 3
through 8. These new requirements will impose costs on States, with the
precise amount of these costs dependent on State decisions about the
types of assessments they will adopt, whether they will develop these
assessments on their own or in partnership with other States, and other
factors. The Federal Government is financing the development and
implementation of the additional standards and assessments through
appropriations for Elementary and Secondary Education programs. The
Secretary believes that the costs not met through Federal funding are
likely to be minimal, depending on the level of Federal funding
Congress provides through appropriations.
The new legislation, and the regulations, also convey major
benefits on States. The Department is providing increased support for
State and local efforts to raise educational achievement for all
students. The standards and assessment requirements of Title I are also
part of a package of reforms that includes major new provisions
allowing increased State and local flexibility in the use of Federal
education funds. These provisions will not only allow States and school
districts to use Federal funds in a manner more consistent with their
own reform strategies and priorities, they will save money normally
spent in complying with multiple Federal requirements. While most of
the benefits of the new law are conveyed by the statute, the
regulations proposed through this notice would also result in cost
savings, by allowing States considerable flexibility in adopting
assessment systems composed entirely of State-developed and
administered tests, or systems composed of both State and local tests,
and by allowing a combination of criterion- and norm-referenced tests,
so long as mixed systems meet certain basic requirements.
For these reasons, the Secretary has concluded that these
regulations are justified in terms of the costs and benefits.
Summary of Potential Costs and Benefits
Because the Secretary has chosen to regulate on very few statutory
provisions, States and LEAs have considerable flexibility in
implementing the provisions of Title I to meet their particular needs
and circumstances. Moreover, the potential costs associated with the
proposed regulations are minimal.
2. Clarity of the Regulations
Executive Order 12866 and the Presidential Memorandum on ``Plain
Language in Government Writing'' require each agency to write
regulations that are easy to understand.
The Secretary invites comments on how to make these proposed
regulations easier to understand, including answers to questions such
as the following:
Are the requirements in the proposed regulations clearly
stated?
Do the proposed regulations contain technical terms or
other wording that interferes with their clarity?
Does the format of the proposed regulations (grouping and
order of sections, use of headings, paragraphing, etc.) aid or reduce
their clarity?
Would the proposed regulations be easier to understand if
we divided them into more (but shorter) sections? (A ``section'' is
preceded by the symbol ``Sec. '' and a numbered heading; for example,
Sec. 200.1 State responsibilities for developing challenging academic
standards.)
Could the description of the proposed regulations in the
``Supplementary Information'' section of this preamble be more helpful
in
[[Page 30457]]
making the proposed regulations easier to understand? If so, how?
What else could we do to make the proposed regulations
easier to understand?
Send any comments that concern how the Department could make these
proposed regulations easier to understand to the person listed in the
ADDRESSES section of the preamble.
Regulatory Flexibility Act Certification
The Secretary certifies that these proposed regulations would not
have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small
entities. The small entities that would be affected by these proposed
regulations are small LEAs receiving Federal funds under this program.
However, the regulations would not have a significant economic impact
on the small LEAs affected because the regulations would not impose
excessive regulatory burdens or require unnecessary Federal
supervision. The regulations would impose minimal requirements to
ensure the proper expenditure of program funds.
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
The proposed regulations contain two information collection
requirements. Under proposed Secs. 200.6(b)(1)(ii) and 200.7(a)(2), a
State must include several items in its Title I State plan. First, a
State must identify languages other than English that are present in
the student population served by the State educational agency and
indicate the languages for which student academic assessments are not
available and are needed. Second, a State must determine and justify in
its State plan the minimum number of students sufficient to yield
statistically reliable information for each purpose under the statute
where disaggregated data are used.
Title IX, Part C of the ESEA, as amended by the NCLB Act,
authorizes the Secretary to provide States with the option of
submitting a consolidated application to obtain certain ESEA funds,
including Title I funds. The Department is in the process of obtaining
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval for the clearance
package addressing the paperwork requirements for a consolidated
application on an emergency basis. That package incorporates the Title
I State plan requirements proposed in this regulation. We invite
comments on the paperwork requirements of this proposed regulation.
These written comments should be addressed to Joseph F. Johnson, Jr. at
the address listed under ADDRESSES.
Electronic Access to This Document
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site:www.ed.gov
Note: The official version of this document is the document
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Regulations is available on GPO Access at: http://
www.access.gpo.gov/nara/index.html
(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Numbers: 84.010 Improving
Programs Operated by Local Educational Agencies)
List of Subjects in 34 CFR Part 200
Administrative practice and procedure, Adult education, Children,
Coordination, Education, Education of disadvantaged children, Education
of children with disabilities, Elementary and secondary education,
Eligibility, Family, Family-centered education, Grant programs-
education, Indians-education, Institutions of higher education,
Interstate coordination, Intrastate coordination, Juvenile delinquency,
Local educational agencies, Migratory children, Migratory workers,
Neglected, Nonprofit private agencies, Private schools, Public
agencies, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, State-administered
programs, State educational agencies, Subgrants.
Dated: May 1, 2002.
Rod Paige,
Secretary of Education.
The Secretary proposes to amend part 200 of title 34 of the Code of
Federal Regulations as follows:
PART 200--TITLE I--IMPROVING THE ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT OF THE
DISADVANTAGED
1. The authority citation for part 200 is revised to read as
follows:
Authority: 20 U.S.C. 6301 through 6578, unless otherwise noted.
2. Revise the first undesignated center heading in subpart A of
this part to read as follows:
Standards and Assessments
3. Revise Secs. 200.1 through 200.6, to read as follows:
Sec. 200.1 State responsibilities for developing challenging academic
standards.
(a) Academic standards in general. A State must develop challenging
academic content and student academic achievement standards that will
be used by the State, its local educational agencies (LEAs), and its
schools to carry out subpart A of this part. These academic standards
must--
(1) Be the same academic standards that the State applies to all
public schools and public school children in the State, including the
public schools and public school children served under subpart A of
this part;
(2) Include the same knowledge, skills, and levels of achievement
expected of all children; and
(3) Include at least mathematics, reading/language arts, and,
beginning in the 2005-2006 school year, science, and may include other
subjects determined by the State.
(b) Academic content standards. (1) The challenging academic
content standards required under paragraph (a) of this section must--
(i) Specify what all children are expected to know and be able to
do;
(ii) Contain coherent and rigorous content; and
(iii) Encourage the teaching of advanced skills.
(2) A State's academic content standards may be grade specific or,
if grade-level content expectations are provided for each of grades 3
through 8, may cover more than one grade.
(3) At the high school level, the academic content standards must
define the knowledge and skills that all high school students are
expected to know and be able to do in at least reading/language arts,
mathematics, and, beginning in the 2005-06 school year, science,
irrespective of course titles or years completed.
(c) Academic achievement standards. (1) The challenging student
academic achievement standards required under paragraph (a) of this
section must--
(i) Be aligned with the State's academic content standards; and
(ii) Include the following components for each content area:
(A) Achievement levels that describe at least--
(1) Two levels of high achievement--proficient and advanced--that
determine how well children are mastering the material in the State's
academic content standards; and
(2) A third level of achievement--basic--to provide complete
information
[[Page 30458]]
about the progress of lower-achieving children toward mastering the
proficient and advanced levels of achievement.
(B) Descriptions of the competencies associated with each
achievement level.
(C) Assessment scores (``cut scores'') that differentiate among the
achievement levels as specified in paragraph (c)(1)(ii)(A) of this
section, and a description of the rationale and procedures used to
determine each achievement level.
(2) A State must develop academic achievement standards for every
grade and subject assessed, even if the State's academic content
standards cover more than one grade.
(3) With respect to academic achievement standards in science, a
State must develop--
(i) Achievement levels and descriptions no later than the 2005-06
school year; and
(ii) Assessment scores (``cut scores'') after the State has
developed its science assessments but no later than the 2007-08 school
year.
(d) Subjects without standards. If an LEA serves students under
subpart A of this part in subjects for which a State has not developed
academic standards, the State must describe in its State plan a
strategy for ensuring that those students are taught the same knowledge
and skills and held to the same expectations in those subjects as are
all other students.
(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 6311(b)(1))
Sec. 200.2 State responsibilities for assessment.
(a)(1) Each State, in consultation with its LEAs, must implement a
system of high-quality yearly student academic assessments that
includes, at a minimum, academic assessments in mathematics, reading/
language arts and, beginning in the 2007-08 school year, science.
(2) The State may also measure the achievement of students in other
academic subjects in which the State has adopted challenging academic
content and student academic achievement standards.
(b) The assessment system required under this section must meet the
following requirements:
(1) Be the same assessment system used to measure the achievement
of all students in accordance with Sec. 200.3 or Sec. 200.4.
(2) Be designed to be valid and accessible for use by the widest
possible range of students, including students with disabilities and
students with limited English proficiency.
(3)(i) Be aligned with the State's challenging academic content and
student academic achievement standards; and
(ii) Provide coherent information about student attainment of those
standards.
(4)(i) Be used for purposes for which the assessment system is
valid and reliable; and
(ii) Be consistent with relevant, nationally recognized
professional and technical standards.
(5) Be supported by evidence (which the Secretary will provide upon
request, consistent with applicable federal laws governing the
disclosure of information) from test publishers or other relevant
sources that the assessment system is--
(i) Of adequate technical quality for each purpose required under
the Act; and
(ii) Consistent with the requirements of this section.
(6) Be administered in accordance with the timeline in Sec. 200.5.
(7) Involve multiple up-to-date measures of student academic
achievement, including measures that assess higher-order thinking
skills and understanding of challenging content.
(8) Objectively measure academic achievement, knowledge, and skills
without evaluating or assessing personal or family beliefs and
attitudes, except that this provision does not preclude the use of
items--
(i) Such as constructed-response, short answer, or essay; or
(ii) That require a student to analyze a passage of text or to
express opinions.
(9) Provide for participation in the assessment system of all
students in the grades being assessed consistent with Sec. 200.6.
(10) Except as provided in Sec. 200.7, enable results to be
disaggregated within each State, LEA, and school by--
(i) Gender;
(ii) Each major racial and ethnic group;
(iii) English proficiency status;
(iv) Migrant status as defined in Title I, Part C of the Act;
(v) Students with disabilities as defined under section 602(3) of
the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act as compared to all
other students; and
(vi) Economically disadvantaged students as compared to students
who are not economically disadvantaged.
(11) Produce individual student reports consistent with
Sec. 200.8(a).
(12) Enable itemized score analyses to be produced and reported to
LEAs and schools consistent with Sec. 200.8(b).
(c) The State may include academic assessments that do not meet the
requirements in paragraph (b) of this section in the assessment system
as additional measures. Those additional assessments--
(1) May not reduce the number, or change the identity, of schools
that would otherwise be subject to school improvement, corrective
action, or restructuring under section 1116 of Title I of the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act, as amended by the NCLB Act
(hereinafter ``the Act''), if those assessments were not used; but
(2) May identify additional schools for school improvement,
corrective action, or restructuring.
(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 6311(b)(3))
Sec. 200.3 Designing State Academic Assessment Systems.
(a)(1) For each grade and subject assessed, a State's assessments
must--
(i) Address the depth and breadth of the State's academic content
standards under Sec. 200.1(b);
(ii) Be valid, reliable, and of high technical quality;
(iii) Express student results in terms of the State's student
academic achievement standards; and
(iv) Be designed to provide a coherent system across grades and
subjects.
(2) A State may include in its academic assessment system under
Sec. 200.2 either or both--
(i) Criterion-referenced assessments; and
(ii) Assessments that yield national norms, provided that, if the
State uses only assessments referenced against national norms at a
particular grade, those assessments--
(A) Are augmented with additional items as necessary to measure
accurately the depth and breadth of the State's academic content
standards; and
(B) Express student results in terms of the State's academic
achievement standards.
(b) A State that includes a combination of assessments, as
described in paragraph (a)(2) of this section, or a combination of
State and local assessments in its State assessment system must
demonstrate that the system has a rational and coherent design that--
(1) Identifies the assessments to be used;
(2) Indicates the relative contribution of each assessment
towards--
(i) Ensuring alignment with the State's academic content standards;
and
(ii) Determining the adequate yearly progress of each school and
LEA; and
(3) Is able to provide information regarding the progress of
students relative to the State's academic standards in order to inform
instruction.
(c) A State that includes local assessments in the assessment of
its content standards must--
[[Page 30459]]
(1) Establish technical criteria to ensure that each local
assessment meets the requirements of paragraph (a)(2) of this section;
(2) Demonstrate that all local assessments in use for this
purpose--
(i) Are equivalent to one another and to State assessments, where
they exist, in their content coverage, difficulty, and quality;
(ii) Have comparable validity and reliability with respect to
groups of students described in section 1111(b)(2)(C)(v) of the Act;
and
(iii) Provide unbiased, rational, and consistent determinations of
the annual progress of schools and LEAs within the State;
(3) Review and approve each local assessment to ensure that it
meets or exceeds the State's technical criteria in paragraph (c)(1) of
this section and the requirements in paragraph (c)(2) of this section;
and
(4) Be able to aggregate, with confidence, data from local
assessments to determine whether the State has made adequate yearly
progress.
(d) A State's academic assessment system may rely exclusively on
local assessments only if it meets the requirements of Sec. 200.4.
(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 6311(b)(3))
Sec. 200.4 State law exception.
(a) If a State provides satisfactory evidence to the Secretary that
neither the SEA nor any other State government official, agency, or
entity has sufficient authority under State law to adopt academic
content standards, student academic achievement standards, and academic
assessments applicable to all students enrolled in the State's public
schools, the State may meet the requirements under Secs. 200.1 and
200.2 by--
(1) Adopting academic standards and academic assessments that meet
the requirements of Secs. 200.1 and 200.2 on a Statewide basis and
limiting their applicability to students served under subpart A of this
part; or
(2) Adopting and implementing policies that ensure that each LEA in
the State that receives funds under subpart A of this part will adopt
academic standards and academic assessments aligned with those
standards that--
(i) Meet the requirements in Secs. 200.1 and 200.2; and
(ii) Are applicable to all students served by the LEA.
(b) A State that qualifies under paragraph (a) of this section
must--
(1) Establish technical criteria for evaluating whether each
LEA's--
(i) Academic content and student academic achievement standards
meet the requirements in Sec. 200.1; and
(ii) Academic assessments meet the requirements in Sec. 200.2,
particularly regarding validity and reliability, technical quality,
alignment with the LEA's academic standards, and inclusion of all
students in the grades assessed;
(2) Review and approve each LEA's academic standards and academic
assessments to ensure that they--
(i) Meet or exceed the State's technical criteria; and
(ii) For purposes of this section--
(A) Are equivalent to one another in their content coverage,
difficulty, and quality;
(B) Have comparable validity and reliability with respect to groups
of students described in section 1111(b)(2)(C)(v) of the Act; and
(C) Provide unbiased, rational, and consistent determinations of
the annual progress of LEAs and schools within the State; and
(3) Be able to aggregate, with confidence, data from local
assessments to determine whether the State has made adequate yearly
progress.
(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 6311(b)(5))
Sec. 200.5 Timeline for assessments.
(a) Reading/language arts and mathematics. (1) Through no later
than the 2004-2005 school year, a State must administer the assessments
required under Sec. 200.2 not less than one time during--
(i) Grades 3 through 5;
(ii) Grades 6 through 9; and
(iii) Grades 10 through 12.
(2) Except as provided in paragraph (a)(3) of this section,
beginning no later than the 2005-2006 school year, a State must
administer both the reading/language arts and mathematics assessments
required under Sec. 200.2--
(i) In each of grades 3 through 8; and
(ii) At least once in grades 10 through 12.
(3) The Secretary may extend, for one additional year, the timeline
in paragraph (a)(2) of this section if a State demonstrates that--
(i) Full implementation is not possible due to exceptional or
uncontrollable circumstances such as--
(A) A natural disaster; or
(B) A precipitous and unforeseen decline in the financial resources
of the State; and
(ii) The State can complete implementation within the additional
one-year period.
(b) Science. Beginning no later than the 2007-2008 school year, the
assessments required under Sec. 200.2 must be administered not less
than one time during--
(1) Grades 3 through 5;
(2) Grades 6 through 9; and
(3) Grades 10 through 12.
(c) Timing of results. Beginning with the 2002-2003 school year, a
State must promptly provide the results of its assessments no later
than before the beginning of the next school year to LEAs, schools, and
teachers in a manner that is clear and easy to understand.
(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 6311(b)(3))
Sec. 200.6 Inclusion of all students.
A State's academic assessment system required under Sec. 200.2 must
provide for the participation of all students in the grades assessed.
(a) Students eligible under IDEA and Section 504. (1) Appropriate
accommodations. A State's academic assessment system must provide--
(i) For each student with disabilities, as defined under section
602(3) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, appropriate
accommodations that each student's IEP team determines are necessary to
measure the academic achievement of the student relative to the State's
academic content and achievement standards for the grade in which the
student is enrolled, consistent with Sec. 200.1(b)(2), (b)(3), and (c);
and
(ii) For each student covered under section 504 of the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973, appropriate accommodations that each
student's placement team determines are necessary to measure the
academic achievement of the student relative to the State's academic
content and achievement standards for the grades in which the student
is enrolled, consistent with Sec. 200.1(b)(2), (b)(3), and (c).
(2) Alternate assessment.
(i) The State's academic assessment system must provide for one or
more alternate assessments for each student with disabilities as
defined under section 602(3) of the Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act who the student's IEP team determines cannot participate
in all or part of the State assessments under paragraph (a)(1) of this
section, even with appropriate accommodations.
(ii) Alternate assessments must yield results in at least reading/
language arts, mathematics, and, beginning in the 2007-2008 school
year, science.
(b) Limited English proficient students. A State must include
limited English proficient students in its academic assessment system
as follows:
(1) In general. (i) Consistent with paragraph (b)(2) of this
section, the State must assess limited English proficient
[[Page 30460]]
students in a valid and reliable manner that includes--
(A) Reasonable accommodations; and
(B) To the extent practicable, assessments in the language and form
most likely to yield accurate and reliable information on what those
students know and can do to determine the students' mastery of skills
in subjects other than English until the students have achieved English
language proficiency.
(ii) In its State plan, the State must--
(A) Identify the languages other than English that are present in
the student population served by the SEA; and
(B) Indicate the languages for which yearly student academic
assessments are not available and are needed.
(iii) The State--
(A) Must make every effort to develop such assessments; and
(B) May request assistance from the Secretary if linguistically
accessible academic assessment measures are needed.
(2) Assessing reading/language arts in English. (i) Unless an
extension of time is warranted under paragraph (b)(2)(ii) of this
section, a State must assess, using assessments written in English, the
achievement of any limited English proficient student in meeting the
State's reading/language arts academic standards if the student has
attended schools in the United States, excluding Puerto Rico, for three
or more consecutive years.
(ii) An LEA may continue, for no more than two additional
consecutive years, to assess a limited English proficient student under
paragraph (b)(1) of this section if the LEA determines, on a case-by-
case individual basis, that the student has not reached a level of
English language proficiency sufficient to yield valid and reliable
information on what the student knows and can do on reading/language
arts assessments written in English.
(iii) The requirements in paragraph (b)(2)(i) and (ii) of this
section do not permit an exemption from participating in the State
assessment system for limited English proficient students.
(3) Assessing English proficiency. (i) Unless a State receives an
extension under paragraph (b)(3)(ii) of this section the State must
require each LEA, beginning no later than the 2002-2003 school year, to
assess annually the English proficiency, including reading, writing,
speaking, and listening skills, of all students with limited English
proficiency in schools in the LEA.
(ii) The Secretary may extend, for one additional year, the
deadline in paragraph (b)(3)(i) of this section if the State
demonstrates that--
(A) Full implementation is not possible due to exceptional or
uncontrollable circumstances such as--
(1) A natural disaster; or
(2) A precipitous and unforeseen decline in the financial resources
of the State; and
(B) The State can complete implementation within the additional
one-year period.
(c) Migrant and other mobile children. A State must include migrant
children, as defined in Title I, Part C, of the Act, and other mobile
children in its academic assessment system, even if those students are
not included for accountability purposes under section
1111(b)(3)(C)(xi) of the Act.
(d) Children experiencing homelessness.
(1) A State must include homeless children, as defined in section
725(2) of Title VII, Subtitle B of the McKinney-Vento Act, in its
academic assessment, reporting, and accountability systems, consistent
with section 1111(b)(3)(C)(xi) of the Act.
(2) The State is not required to report as a separate disaggregated
category as defined in paragraph (b)(10) of this section the assessment
results of the children referred to in paragraph (d)(1) of this
section.
(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 6311(b)(3))
4. Add Sec. 200.7 to read as follows:
Sec. 200.7 Disaggregation of data.
(a) Statistically reliable information. (1) A State may not use
disaggregated data for one or more subgroups under Sec. 200.2(b)(10) to
report achievement results under section 1111(h) of the Act (report
cards) or to identify schools in need of improvement, corrective
action, or restructuring under section 1116 of the Act if the number of
students in those subgroups is insufficient to yield statistically
reliable information.
(2) Based on sound statistical methodology, a State must determine
and justify in its State plan the minimum number of students sufficient
to yield statistically reliable information for each purpose for which
disaggregated data are used.
(b) Personally identifiable information. (1) A State may not use
disaggregated data for one or more subgroups under Sec. 200.2(b)(10) to
report achievement results under section 1111(h) of the Act (report
cards) if the results would reveal personally identifiable information
about an individual student.
(2) To determine whether disaggregated results would reveal
personally identifiable information about an individual student, a
State must apply the requirements under section 444(b) of the General
Education Provisions Act (the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act
of 1974).
(3) Nothing in paragraph (b)(1) or (b)(2) of this section shall be
construed to abrogate the responsibility of States to implement the
requirements of section 1116(a) of the Act for determining whether
States, LEAs, and schools are making adequate yearly progress on the
basis of the performance of each group listed in section
1111(b)(2)(C)(v)(II) of the Act.
(4) Each State shall include in its State plan, and each State and
LEA shall implement, appropriate strategies to protect the privacy of
individual students in reporting achievement data under section 1111(h)
of the Act and in determining whether schools and LEAs are making
adequate yearly progress on the basis of disaggregated groups under
section 1111(b)(2)(C)(v)(II) of the Act.
(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 6311(b)(3); 1232g)
5. Revise Sec. 200.8 and place it under the undesignated center
heading ``Standards and Assessments'' to read as follows:
Sec. 200.8 Assessment reports.
(a) Student reports. A State's academic assessment system must
produce individual student interpretive, descriptive, and diagnostic
reports that--
(1)(i) Include information regarding achievement on the academic
assessments under Sec. 200.2 measured against the State's student
academic achievement standards; and
(ii) Help parents, teachers, and principals to understand and
address the specific academic needs of students; and
(2) Are provided to parents, teachers, and principals--
(i) As soon as is practicable after the assessment is given;
(ii) In an understandable and uniform format; and
(iii) To the extent practicable, in a language that parents can
understand.
(b) Itemized score analyses for LEAs and schools. (1) A State's
academic assessment system must produce and report to LEAs and schools
itemized score analyses, consistent with Sec. 200.2(b)(4), so that
parents, teachers, principals, and administrators can interpret and
address the specific academic needs of students.
(2) The requirement to report itemized score analyses in paragraph
(b) of this section does not require the release of test items.
(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 6311(b)(3))
[[Page 30461]]
6. Add Sec. 200.9 under the undesignated center heading ``Standards
and Assessments'' to read as follows:
Sec. 200.9 Deferral of assessments.
(a) A State may defer the start or suspend the administration of
the assessments required under Sec. 200.2 that were not required prior
to the date of enactment of the Act for one year for each year for
which the amount appropriated for State assessment grants under section
6113(a)(2) of the Act is less than the trigger amount in section
1111(b)(3)(D) of the Act.
(b) A State may not cease the development of the assessments
referred to in paragraph (a) of this section even if sufficient funds
are not appropriated under section 6113(a)(2) of the Act.
(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 6311(b)(3); 7301b(a)(2))
7. Revise Sec. 200.10 and place it under the undesignated center
heading ``Standards and Assessments'' to read as follows:
Sec. 200.10 Applicability of a State's academic assessments to private
schools and private school students.
(a) Nothing in Sec. 200.1 or Sec. 200.2 requires a private school,
including a private school whose students receive services under this
part, to participate in a State's academic assessment system.
(b)(1) If an LEA provides services to eligible private school
students under subpart A of this part, the LEA must, through timely
consultation with appropriate private school officials, determine how
services to eligible private school students will be academically
assessed and how the results of that assessment will be used to improve
those services.
(2) The assessments referred to paragraph (b)(1) of this section
may be the State's academic assessments under Sec. 200.2 or other
appropriate academic assessments.
(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 7886(a))
[FR Doc. 02-11128 Filed 5-1-02; 2:00 pm]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-U