District/School Resources PK-16 Program Support
Title I

Notice of Approval of Title I, Part A Waiver Requests and Related District Reporting Requirements

This memorandum provides you with the information and resources you need to comply with the federal requirements associated with these waivers.

1. General Reporting Requirements

By September 30, 2009 all Title I districts identified for improvement in 2009-10 or with Title I schools identified for improvement, corrective action, or restructuring in 2009-10 must complete a brief online report regarding these Title I waivers. Click the link below to access the report, which can be completed in about ten minutes. The data collected will be reported to the U.S. Department of Education.

2009-10 Title I Waiver Report (due September 30, 2009)

2. Waiver Details

In summary, we received waivers that apply to: 14-day parent/guardian notification of NCLB school choice options; giving schools and districts identified for improvement status the opportunity to apply to serve as supplemental educational service (SES) providers; offering SES in addition to NCLB school choice in schools in their first year of improvement status; exclusion of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds from calculation of SES per-pupil amounts, and exclusion of ARRA funds from calculation of required reservations for SES, school choice, and professional development based on school and district accountability status. The documents below provide detailed information regarding these Title I, Part A waivers, including ESE and district responsibilities.

July 28, 2009 Waiver Request and Related District Commitments and Reporting Requirements

August 24, 2009 Approval Letter from the U.S. Department of Education and Related Conditions

3. Specific requirements for districts that intend to exclude Title I, Part A ARRA funds from the district's 20 percent obligation for NCLB school choice/SES and from the district's 10 percent professional development obligation

A school district that wishes to take advantage of this waiver must:

• Use the funds freed up by the waiver to address needs identified based on data; and
• Describe in its Title I ARRA grant application the data on which it relied to identify needs that will be addressed using the funds freed up by the waiver and the evidence that supports the strategies it intends to address those needs.

Resources for Scientifically-Based Research

4. Specific requirements for districts that intend to exclude Title I ARRA funds from a school's 10 percent professional development obligation

A district that wishes to take advantage of this waiver must:

• Use the funds freed up by the waiver to address needs identified based on data; and
• Ensure that Title I schools that are identified for improvement calculate their 10 percent professional development set-aside in accordance with the following formula:

The Excel workbook below contains instructions and a school-level Title I professional development reservation calculator to help ensure districts are able to correctly calculate the required reservation amounts.

Worksheet for Calculating Required School-Level Title I Professional Development Reservations Excluding ARRA Funds