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Goals 2000: Increasing Student Achievement Through State and Local Initiatives - April 1996
Over the last two years, the Congress and the United States Department of Education have made tremendous progress in transforming the federal relationship with the states on education. It has changed from one based on regulatory compliance to one based on accountability and performance. The change in federal-state partnerships in education has been more than with any other federal service. These important reforms, especially as provided through the Goals 2000 Act, the School-to-Work Act, and the Improving America's Schools Act, have established the right framework for the federal government to support Massachusetts and our local districts in implementing our state's Education Reform Act.
-- Robert V. Antonucci, Massachusetts Commissioner of Education15Just as Oregon's school improvement law changed the relationship between the Oregon Department of Education and local school districts, Goals 2000 is changing the relationship we have with the U.S. Department of Education. Federal officials do not tell us what to do but do offer assistance so we can achieve our goals.
-- Norma Paulus, Oregon State Superintendent of Public Instruction16
The U.S. Department of Education strongly supports the central role of communities and states in education, and also recognizes the national interest in supporting school improvement across America. Over the past two years, the Department has worked to provide funding and assistance to states and local districts in ways that maximize flexibility and minimize paperwork. It is operating in new ways that rely on a commitment to a shared goal--improvements in teaching and learning--by focusing on results, fostering state collaboration, and promoting flexibility.
The U.S. Department of Education is now working in partnership with states and localities by emphasizing educational results instead of paperwork and rules. Goals 2000 helps the U.S. Department of Education support and assist states and communities in their efforts to improve education for all students. Hence, no regulations have been issued for the implementation of Goals 2000.
Applications for Goals 2000 funding have been straightforward and simple--only 4 pages in the first year. States simply describe how they will develop and implement a comprehensive state improvement plan and award subgrants to local districts. The application review has also been streamlined so that the review, approval, and the obligation of funds generally takes less than three weeks from the receipt of the application.
Similarly, the format and content of comprehensive state improvement plans submitted under Goals 2000 are left to states. Goals 2000 plans are state plans for improving their education systems; they are more than applications for federal funding. As such they come in a variety of forms.
Recognizing that successful reform is an ongoing process and that states are at different points along the continuum, the Department has designed a review process for state plans that provides helpful feedback to states from peers who have knowledge and expertise about education improvement. Guidance for the review of plans was developed with the input of state and local leaders across the country. Incorporating the general plan requirements, the guidance offers questions to consider while examining whether a given plan meets three criteria: 1) reasonable promise of helping all students reach high standards; 2) widespread commitment to the plan throughout the state; and 3) local flexibility for innovation. Reviewers are instructed to read the plan with the needs of the individual states as the focus.
The process for reviewing state plans has provided a constructive opportunity for states to learn from the experience of other states and communities and receive help. Review of plans is conducted by a panel of five peer reviewers from outside the federal government, with a wide range of experience and expertise including teachers, parents, business leaders, superintendents, experts on teaching students who are learning English as a second language, special education experts, policy-makers, state leaders, and others from across the country. The peer reviewers analyze each plan and then visit the state to engage in extensive discussions and share ideas before making a recommendation regarding approval. More important, these reviewers provide states with expert advice on how to overcome challenges and point out areas that need additional attention. The purpose of the review is to help states, not pick "winners and losers." States have consistently observed that the conversation with and input from the peer reviewers is a new and more effective approach to partnership with the U.S. Department of Education. They have often noted the value added by the fresh perspectives of outside peers who generally stimulate dialogue among state and local stakeholders that continues well beyond the peer review.
Making these changes has required new types of leadership in the U.S. Department of Education. The Goals 2000 initiative is not a program per se, but a framework within which other Department programs fit, particularly those that serve elementary and secondary students. Rather than simply creating a separate Goals 2000 program office or assigning specific sections of the Act to certain offices, the Secretary established a Management Council, composed of leaders and senior advisers across the Department. The interaction and coordination across offices from the outset has allowed the offices to work together as partners to better serve states, localities, and schools. For instance, collaborative work across offices has helped the Department better coordinate and integrate the provision of technical assistance, including services provided through its research laboratories and comprehensive technical assistance centers.
The Department also supports state efforts by offering waivers from federal requirements that may impede school improvement. The Goals 2000 Act, the reauthorized Elementary and Secondary Education Act, and the School-to-Work Opportunities Act all recognize that states and communities moving forward with effective reforms geared to higher academic standards may occasionally encounter barriers posed by the requirements of federal programs. In response, these Acts for the first time authorize the Secretary to waive the majority of statutory and regulatory requirements for the Department's elementary and secondary education and vocational education programs, if necessary, to clear the way for better teaching and learning.
In order to carry out the Goals 2000 waiver authority and other waiver authorities, the Department of Education has created a Waiver Action Board. The Waiver Board, which is composed of senior officers from across the Department, is charged with reviewing and making recommendations on applications for waivers. The Board helps to ensure that waiver requests across program areas are handled in a consistent and expeditious manner.
The Department has sent information about the new possibilities provided by waivers and other new features in federal education programs to all school districts. It has also posted waiver information on the Internet, established a Waiver Assistance Line to aid potential applicants, and briefed state and local officials about waivers at all regional and national meetings on K-12 school reform.
Thus far, the Department has approved more than 100 waivers under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act waiver authority.
These waivers have covered requirements of programs such as Title I (the most common), Eisenhower Professional Development stat grants, the ESEA Charter Schools program, and the Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Education program, in some cases to carry out local school improvement plans developed under Goals 2000.
States are eligible for waivers under the Goals 2000 waiver authority after they have a completed state improvement plan. To date, one waiver has been sought and approved under the Goals 2000 waiver authority.
With a growing number of completed Goals 2000 state improvement plans, an increasing number of states will likely apply for waivers under the Goals 2000 waiver authority. A Federal Register notice is published periodically that lists all waivers that the Department has issued. To date, no waivers have been terminated under any of the Department's waiver authorities.
Many actual and potential waiver applicants have been able to move ahead with their school reform plans, after consultation with the Department, without needing a waiver. This underscores the considerable flexibility that already exists in the Department's programs, but also has led the Department to continually review and clarify its guidance documents to make sure that program requirements are made as clear as possible.
Perhaps the most dramatic example of the Department's new flexibility is the Education Flexibility Partnership Demonstration initiative (Ed-Flex) established by the Goals 2000 Act. Under Ed-Flex, the Secretary is able to delegate to six state education agencies the authority to waive certain federal statutory or regulatory requirements for states, districts, or schools, in order to remove barriers to better teaching and learning. Under Ed-Flex, in exchange for agreeing to greater accountability for results, the state is given the authority to make determinations on federal waivers for itself and its school districts, rather than submitting waiver requests to the Secretary. On February 17, 1995, Oregon was the first state designated to participate in the demonstration. Five others were designated subsequently.
| ED-Flex Demonstration States: | |
|---|---|
| Kansas | Oregon |
| Massachusetts | Texas |
| Ohio | Vermont |
Ed-Flex states have an approved state education improvement plan under Goals 2000. In addition, the state needs to agree to provide appropriate waivers to local districts and schools. Those seeking waivers agreed to be held accountable for the academic performance of their students. Under Ed-Flex, a state may waive requirements relating to several programs in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Education Act, as well as certain requirements of the General Education Provisions Act (GEPA) and the Education Department General Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) applicable to the covered programs. However, requirements pertaining to health and safety, civil rights, parental participation and certain other provisions may not be waived. Moreover, before granting a waiver, a state must first determine that the underlying purposes of the affected program will continue to be met.
Of the participating states, three (Massachusetts, Oregon, and Kansas) have sought and received authority only to waive requirements when asked by individual school districts. The other states have the additional authority to waive requirements on a statewide basis, if necessary to remove barriers to helping children learn better. Thus far, three states (Kansas, Massachusetts, and Oregon) have already begun approving waivers, and all participating states are making progress in implementing their new authority to waive federal program requirements.
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