8/2/2019 MDE Press Release - ESEA Waiver Application 120302

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 News ReleaseContact: Martin Ackley, Director of Communications, (517) 241-4395

Department of Education Requests Waivers

To Federal No Child Left Behind Provisions

March 1, 2012

LANSING – Schools, students, and teachers across Michigan would benefit from arestructured and integrated system of school accountability with proposals in the

Michigan Department of Education’s (MDE) request to waive portions of the decade-oldfederal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB).

Last September, President Barack Obama and the U.S. Department of Education invited

states to request flexibility to the federal law in order to better focus on improving studentlearning and increasing the quality of instruction.

“For months, we’ve worked with education leaders, practitioners, parents, students, andcommunity members to develop a waiver application that strengthens accountability and

provides schools and districts with the flexibility they need to better support teachers andstudents,” said Superintendent of Public Instruction Mike Flanagan, who attended the

President’s NCLB flexibility announcement last September in Washington, D.C. 

Michigan is requesting waivers allowing flexibility on a number of ESEA requirements,

including:

Establishing Annual Measurable Objectives to determine Adequate Yearly

Progress (AYP); 

Identification of schools or districts for improvement or corrective action; 

Participation and use of funds for rural schools and districts; 

School-wide programs; 

Allocating federal school improvement funds; Use of federal funds for Reward Schools; 

Highly Qualified Teacher improvement plans; 

The transfer of certain federal funds; and 

Use of School Improvement Grant (SIG) funds to support priority schools 

The state’s waiver request is integrated with curr ent statutory requirements, and effective

school improvement practices. It builds on the implementation of Michigan’s career - andcollege-ready standards and assessments; provides achievable but rigorous objectives that

move students rapidly toward academic proficiency; establishes a new, stronger

8/2/2019 MDE Press Release - ESEA Waiver Application 120302

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accountability structure; strengthens teacher and principal evaluation and support; and

removes unnecessary or burdensome state rules and regulations.

“This new structure will offer more thorough, diagnostic support to schools that are

working to deliver strong student performance results,” Flanagan said. 

Flanagan said a new report card also will be implemented that will hold schools

accountable for not only their performance results, but also for their achievement gaps.

If approved, the current mandated federal formula used to determine Adequate Yearly

Progress (AYP) would be replaced with new ambitious yet achievable measures using

career-and college-ready standards.

The MDE now will begin work with the USED on the waiver approval process.

For additional information on Michigan’s ESEA Waiver request including a WaiverRequest Summary and Wavier Request Submission, please visit

http://www.michigan.gov/mde/0,4615,7-140-37818_60094---,00.html . 

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