On May 29, 2012, the United States Department of Education (USDoE) granted the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) a waiver of several provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB). Here is some information on things the district and the schools had to do in the past and how it has changed because of the ESEA Flexibility waiver under Title I, Part A of NCLB.
Notice to Parents
Under Title I, Part A of NCLB, districts were required to notify parents if any of their schools or the district itself were identified for Improvement. These were letters the curriculum department had to send out 14 days before school started to explain to parents why the school was in school improvement status and why the school missed AYP based on the OAAs. This provision has been waived, and districts no longer are required to send a letter out to notify parents of School or District Improvement status.
Public School Choice
Under Title I, Part A of NCLB, districts were required to offer students attending schools identified to be in Improvement status the opportunity to attend another public school not so identified. Districts were required to provide or pay for the provision of transportation to the transfer school. This provision has been waived, and districts are no longer required to offer this option.
Supplemental Educational Services (SES)
Under Title I, Part A of NCLB, districts were required to offer students attending schools identified for Improvement, Year 2 and higher the opportunity to receive Supplemental Educational Services (SES), free tutoring services using external providers. This provision has been waived, and districts no longer are required to offer SES. In the place of SES, districts are required to set aside the money that was used for SES to target school specific needs as identified by the School Improvement plan. School staffs are currently developing a plan and will determine how these funds will be used to help students.
No Child Left Behind (NCLB)