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

   FOR RELEASE                                 Contact: Jim Bradshaw    July 21, 1995                                      (202) 401-2310

Federal Education Regulations Slashed by a Third; Goal to Eliminate or Reinvent 93 Percent of Rules

Responding to President Clinton's regulatory reinvention pledge, the U.S. Education Department today announced plans to eliminate or revise 93 percent of its regulations. Just since May, U.S. Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley said more than 30 percent of regulations have been eliminated.

"We will regulate only when necessary and then with as much sensitivity and as little burden as possible," Riley said. "We will continue to reach out in many ways across the country to find out what customers want -- and don't want -- in our regulations, guidance and services."

The department's action follows President Clinton's announcement in March of his Regulatory Reinvention Initiative, challenging every agency to review its rules and procedures to reduce the regulatory and paperwork burden.

To launch its reinvention effort, the Education Department published a notice in the May 23 Federal Register eliminating more than 30 percent of its regulations. Gone are 88 parts -- nearly 400 pages -- of the Code of Federal Regulations that were obsolete and unnecessary.

The department committed to abolish or revise 93 percent of its regulations. Of that, 56 percent (154 parts of the Code of Federal Regulations) will be wiped out and 37 percent (101 parts of the Code of Federal Regulations) will be revised.

For new programs, the department has already begun a "little as possible" mode of writing regulations. Both the groundbreaking Goals 2000: Educate America Act and the School to Work Opportunities Act were implemented with no regulations at all.

The department is using a dramatically new approach to implementing the Improving America's Schools Act (IASA), including far fewer regulations -- 11 rather than 49 -- than originally expected. The regulations for the important Title I program for disadvantaged elementary and secondary students, which were issued June 29, embody the President's reinvention principles of flexibility, accountability, grass roots involvement, and consensual negotiation.

Riley said that reinventing federal education regulations responds to extensive public comment the department sought in developing several key legislative proposals in the past two years. For example, senior department officials held public meetings in Nashville and Chicago on adult education; Austin, Seattle and Philadelphia on educational research; Kansas City, Boston and Atlanta on student aid; and dozens of other towns on school reform.

The resulting new laws reflect unprecedented partnerships with states, localities and schools and flexible, customer- focused approaches to program implementation.

To reduce paperwork, the department is analyzing its data requirements in partnership with its customers to coordinate information collected, eliminate redundancies and increase the value of the information to internal and public users. Examples include consolidated state reports, fewer student aid forms to complete or keep on file, and elimination of 6,000 hefty grant renewal applications.

NOTE TO EDITORS: Attached are examples of how the department's regulatory reinvention will affect working families and educators.

Education Regulatory Reinvention for the Working Family

Here's how the Education Department's regulatory reinvention might affect the lives and work of a hypothetical American family:

Until this year, disadvantaged students in a fourth grader's class were "pulled out" of the regular classroom, sometimes for just a few minutes of extra help, to work with the reading teacher paid for with federal money. Teachers complained that this was distracting and not the best use of the reading specialist.
Not any more. Based on new laws and simpler rules developed by the department, in high poverty schools, it's now up to the teacher and principal to decide how best to use the reading specialist and other resources provided with federal support. They won't have to do the old cumbersome time records and unreasonable groupings of children to track federal funds.
Older sister is headed off to college in the fall. She heard that applying for financial aid was a nightmare with lots of confusing forms and no place to turn for help.
Not any more. Since she's attending a school that participates in the new Direct Loan program, she has the ease of one-stop shopping at her school's own financial aid office. The school has the single form she needs to apply for her loan -- no more separate application at a bank. Her school will receive the money for her tuition and books in a few days so she can have funds in time to pay expenses at the start of the term -- no waiting to get or deposit bank checks.
Applying for grant aid was easier, too: fewer signatures, simpler calculations at the student aid officer's end, and electronic transmission and storage of student aid data at the school.
Father, who works for the state education agency, used to file numerous bulky state plans to qualify for federal education funds.
Not any more. This year his state filed one consolidated application for 13 elementary and secondary education programs. Stacks of plans shrank to a few dozen pages. And for the new Goals 2000 program, the only requirement was a four-page form.
Dad is using some of the time saved to arrange for waivers of federal education requirements so that his state can tailor its education programs to state objectives and design effective accountability measures.

Education Regulatory Reinvention for a Typical Program

U. S. Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley issued regulations June 29 to implement Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), passed as part of IASA. They emphasize state and local flexibility, consistent with the President's Regulatory Reform Initiative and the department's commitment to effective partnerships with states and schools.

Title I is the centerpiece of IASA's efforts to help the neediest students in the neediest schools reach the same high expectations for educational achievement. It's meant to ensure that all children -- whatever their backgrounds and schools they attend -- can acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to succeed in the 21st century.

There are very few regulations for the largest Title I program and no regulations at all for the Even Start or Migrant Education Coordination programs. Of 49 elementary and secondary programs under the Improving America's Schools Act for which regulations were considered, 38 will be implemented without regulations, seven will require limited regulatory guidance, and only four will require regulations to accomplish the statutory purpose.
Consistent with the Title I's emphasis on improved teaching and learning, the Title I regulations focus on schoolwide programs and assessment. In schools with high poverty, flexibility is provided for many funding sources, including Title I, and staff, parents, and the community, to upgrade the effectiveness of an entire school program.
Requirements for a separate Title I assessment system have been eliminated. To ensure that children served by Title I are held to higher expectations, states will now use the same state assessment system to measure how well Title I participants are achieving as they use for all children.
The department received extensive comment and assistance from all sectors of the education community in developing these rules. Officials consulted broadly with parents, teachers, school boards, local and state administrators, and advocacy groups in developing the law and, following passage, in six outreach meetings to discuss implementation. Assistant Secretary Thomas Payzant joined representatives of all those groups in five days of intensive "regulatory negotiation" to develop the proposed Title I rule.