Public Comment Requested on School Improvement Grant issue


PUBLIC COMMENT ACCEPTED THROUGH MAY 16 REGARDING NC DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION’S REQUEST FOR WAIVERS TO TITLE I, PART A SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT GRANTS 1003(G)

The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction’s Program Monitoring (federal programs) division is submitting a request for a waiver to requirements of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) as related to the state’s funding for School Improvement Grants 1003(g). This waiver would allow any local educational agency (LEA) in the state that receives a School Improvement Grant to use those funds for an additional 24 months until Sept. 30, 2014, in accordance with the final requirements for School Improvement Grants and the LEA’s application for a grant.

The public is invited to review and comment on the waiver being requested by May 16, 2011. Interested persons may send their written comments to:

Donna Brown, Section Chief
Program Monitoring
MSC# 6351
Raleigh, NC 27699-6351
e-mail: dbrown@dpi.state.nc.us

The specific waiver description is below:

Waive section 421(b) of GEPA for North Carolina’s FY 2010 SIG funds to extend the period of availability for the FY 2010 SIG funds for an additional 24 months, until September 30, 2014.

The requested waiver is designed to increase the quality of instruction for students and improve the academic achievement of students in Tier I and Tier II schools by enabling a school district to use more effectively the school improvement funds to implement one of the four school intervention models in its Tier I or Tier II schools. The four school intervention models are specifically designed to substantially raise the achievement of students in the state’s persistently lowest-achieving schools.