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

Goals 2000: Increasing Student Achievement Through State and Local Initiatives - April 1996

Appendix E
Amendments to the Goals 2000:
Educate America Act

The Omnibus Consolidated Rescissions and Appropriations Act of 1996 was enacted on April 26, 1996. It contained several amendments to the Goals 2000: Educate America Act. The significant changes follow.

• Additional Ed-Flex states authorized

  The Secretary is authorized to grant six additional states, whose Goals 2000 plans are approved by the Secretary, Ed-Flex waiver authority.The amendments do not contain the large state/small state breakdown that governed the original ED-Flex designations.

• Alternative to Secretarial approval of state plans created

  In lieu of submitting its Goals 2000 state plan, or major amendments to the plan, to the Secretary for review and approval, a state may instead submit--

  1. an assurance from the Governor and chief state school officer that it has a plan that meets the requirements of the Act and that is widely available throughout the state, and that any amendments will meet these requirements; and

  2. benchmarks of improved student performance and of progress in implementing the plan, and timelines against which progress may be measured.

  States that choose this alternative submission option are not required to submit Goals 2000 annual reports to the Secretary, but would instead report annually to the public on the use of Goals 2000 funds, and of progress in meeting their benchmarks and timelines.

• Direct grants to local educational agencies in nonparticipating states authorized

  Local educational agencies in any state that was not participating in Goals 2000 as of October 20, 1995 may, with the state educational agency's approval, apply directly to the Secretary for a portion of their state's Goals 2000 allotment.

• Specific panel composition requirements eliminated

  The specific requirements governing the composition of the Goals 2000 state panels have been eliminated.The amendments merely provide that state plans must be developed by a broad-based state panel in cooperation with the state educational agency and the governor.

• Permissible use of Goals 2000 funds for technology clarified

  The amendments clarify that Goals 2000 funds may be used for the acquisition of technology and the use of technology-enhanced curricula and instruction.

• References to opportunity-to-learn standards or strategies eliminated

  References to opportunity-to-learn standards or strategies in the Goals 2000: Educate America Act, as well as in the Improving America's Schools Act, have been deleted.

• Provisions authorizing a National Education Standards Improvement Council (NESIC) repealed

  The amendments repeal the provisions in Goals 2000 that authorized the establishment of NESIC.

• No mandates for outcomes-based education, school-based health clinics, or social service clarified

  The amendments expressly state that Goals 2000 may not be construed to require a state, a local educational agency, or a school, as a condition of receiving Goals 2000 assistance--

  1. to provide outcomes-based education, or
  2. to provide school-based health clinics or social service.

[Appendix D: Goals 2000 Parental Assistance Centers]