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

(4) Other Waivers granted to SEAs and LEAs

• The Department has granted 36 "other" waivers since the ESEA waiver authority was instituted in 1994, including 6 "other" ESEA waivers granted in 1998.

While waivers on Title I restrictions and deadline extensions of the content and performance standards were the most common types of waivers, 36 other specific waivers were granted since the reauthorization of ESEA in 1994. Six "other" waivers were granted through in 1998 (through September 30). Three of the six other waivers were waivers related to administrative funds. The following are descriptions of the three additional waivers granted in 1998:

• The Maine Department of Education received a waiver of provisions of the Comprehensive School Reform Demonstration Program (CSRD). The program provides funds to schools to help them implement effective, research-based comprehensive school reform programs. Maine requested a waiver to direct CSRD funds to secondary schools in need of comprehensive reform in the State instead of elementary schools. With the waiver, CSRD will be integrated with the State's comprehensive reform initiative focused on improving student achievement in secondary schools - schools that are often neglected in reform efforts. The Maine waiver request was prompted, in part, by achievement data indicating satisfactory student performance at the elementary and middle school levels and sufficient educational needs in the State's high schools to justify targeting CSRD funds exclusively on secondary schools.

• The Virginia Department of Education also received a waiver related to the Comprehensive School Reform Demonstration program (CSRD) in 1998. With a waiver, Virginia may establish an absolute priority for directing the Fund for the Improvement of Education (FIE) portion of its CSRD funds to only middle, junior, and high schools. Virginia plans to direct the Title I portion of its CSRD funds to Title I schools in need of improvement, which are almost all elementary schools. With a waiver to limit eligibility for the FIE portion of CSRD funds to middle, junior, and high schools only, Virginia will be able to ensure that CSRD supports comprehensive school reform across all grade spans.

• The Puerto Rico Department of Education received an extension of a waiver granted in 1995 that allows them to continue to use alternative data, rather than the data specified in section 1113(a)(5) of the ESEA, to identify schools eligible for Title I funds, rank schools according to poverty level, and determine school allocations. This reduces the administrative burden for Puerto Rico while remaining consistent with the statutory intent of Title I.

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