Waivers: Increased Flexibility in Exchange for Increased Accountability - September 1997

A r c h i v e d I n f o r m a t i o n

Introduction

States and school districts now have significantly increased flexibility in how they may use federal education funds to help all children reach challenging academic standards as a result of three laws passed in 1994 -- the Goals 2000: Educate America Act, the School-to-Work Opportunities Act, and the reauthorized Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). These laws contain enable states, school districts, and other education providers to adapt federal programs and use federal funds in ways that best educate children. For example, instead of writing multiple applications for various federal education program funds, state and local educational agencies may submit just one application covering most federal elementary and secondary programs. State educational agencies (SEAs) also may consolidate administrative funds from several programs. In addition, more schools are now eligible to use federal funds for programs that improve the whole school's curriculum instead of providing a narrower range of services to specific groups of children.

Waiver authorities included in these laws are additional tools for expanded flexibility in federal education programs.¹ Providing increased flexibility in exchange for increased accountability for raising student achievement, these waiver authorities allow states, school districts, and others to seek waivers of specific federal program requirements, when necessary, to address local needs with locally designed solutions. The legislation encourages educators to first define their strategies for improving the academic achievement of their students, and then use any or all of the flexibility measures, including waivers, to carry them out.

Most requirements of the following Acts can be waived:

The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) -- including Title I, Part A, Helping Disadvantaged Children Meet High Standards; Even Start; the Eisenhower Professional Development Program; and the Safe and Drug-Free Schools Program;
The Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Education Act.

Federal law requires waiver applicants to identify the key educational goals they expect to achieve with a waiver as well as describe how a waiver would improve instruction and academic performance and further school reform efforts. In addition, all waivers must support the underlying intent and purposes of the affected programs.²

The Education Flexibility Partnership Demonstration Program (Ed-Flex), also authorized by the Goals 2000 legislation, represents another approach to waivers. The Secretary of Education has selected 12 states to participate in this program and has delegated to them the authority to waive federal requirements for their school districts. School districts in these states apply for waivers of federal requirements to their state educational agency instead of to the federal government.

This report examines the implementation of the general waiver authorities and Ed-Flex. It provides an analysis of the waivers that have been granted and of the Department's experience with the waiver authorities. The report makes three primary observations:

Observation #1: Federal education legislation provides sufficient flexibility to support most state and local school improvement efforts without a waiver.
Observation #2: Waivers support state and local efforts to improve teaching and learning in many different ways.
Observation #3: The types of waivers requested varies among states and over time.

Section II of this report reviews the waivers granted by the Department. It covers a period that begins with the first set of waivers, which were granted for school year 1994-95, and ends with requests for waivers to be implemented by the beginning of school year 1997-98. After two years of operating under a waiver, districts are required by law to report to their states on progress made under their waivers. In turn, the states must report to the Department on how these waivers have been used to improve teaching and learning. As states need time to incorporate student achievement data from the second year of waivers, the Department has not yet received state reports containing achievement data. As a result, this report is based on information provided by local waiver recipients in their applications. Future reports will include information provided by states on the effectiveness of activities carried out under waivers.

Section III of this report examines Ed-Flex. It describes the Secretary's delegations of waiver authority to states and includes information from states' first-year reports on Ed-Flex. Section IV discusses the Department's administration of the waiver authorities and Ed-Flex, and Section V contains some brief conclusions.

¹ The general waiver authorities are contained in section 311 of the Goals 2000: Educate America Act, section 14401 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), and sections 501 and 502 of the School-to-Work Opportunities Act.

² See Appendix A for lists of specific provisions that may be varied and the statutory criteria for granting waivers under these provisions.
-###-

[II. Review of Waiver Requests ]