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

   FOR RELEASE     Contact:  David Frank 1-800-SKYPAGE PIN# 115-7102    February 20, 1995         Rick Miller 1-800-SKYPAGE PIN# 211-9840

Oregon is First State With Unprecedented Flexibility In Education

SALEM, Ore., Feb. 20 -- To assist state and local school improvement efforts, U.S. Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley today named Oregon as the first state authorized to waive regulations and statutory requirements of federal education programs.

At a Willamette University legislative forum, Riley praised Oregon as a "pioneer in public participation and a national leader in the American effort to create an education system for the 21st century."

Riley was joined by U.S. Sen. Mark O. Hatfield, R-Oregon, Gov. John Kitzhaber and State Superintendent of Schools Norma Paulus.

"Ed-Flex" is a historic new partnership that will give Oregon and five other trailblazing states the authority to waive federal regulations and statutory requirements that can impede local and state efforts to improve teaching and learning.

"Your leadership is being noticed and that's healthy and hopeful because you need to know that you are going in the right direction," Riley said. "Finding ways to improve teaching and learning are critical components of school change. And thanks to the strong leadership and foresight of Sen. Hatfield, we can now cut the red tape that impedes many prospects for learning."

To qualify for the waiver authority under the Education Flexibility (Ed-Flex) Partnership Demonstration Program, Oregon designed and received approval for a comprehensive school improvement plan under the Goals 2000: Educate America Act. Oregon also pledged to:

Eliminate unnecessary, burdensome state and local education regulations;
And, hold schools and districts accountable for student performance.

All states participating in Goals 2000 -- and the school districts and schools in these states -- are eligible to apply for general waivers from various federal education regulations. Under these new waivers, schools still will be expected to observe civil rights statutes, as well as health and safety standards.

The Ed-Flex demonstration program is even more dramatic evidence of flexibility. It permits the waiver decision to be made at the state -- not the federal -- level in six states.

The new provisions respond to a longstanding request that originated during a 1989 education summit convened by President Bush and the nation's governors -- including President Clinton and Deputy Education Secretary Madeleine Kunin. The governors asked the federal government for more flexibility in exchange for more accountability.

The initiative also is reflected in how the department is implementing the Goals 2000 Act. The new education reform law has no regulations and requires states to submit only a four-page application in order to receive first-year federal funds. Forty- four states already have received funds to develop their own blueprints for better schools.

Riley announced last week that Oregon was the first state with an approved Goals 2000 school improvement plan and thus the first state eligible to receive its second-year Goals 2000 funding -- a total of approximately $4,125,341.

-###-