Hawaii DOE Releases Draft ESEA Flexibility Application for Public Comment
News Release from Hawaii DoE July 30, 2012
The Hawaii State Department of Education (DOE) has notified the U.S. Department of Education of its intent to file an application for ESEA (Elementary and Secondary Education Act) Flexibility on September 6, 2012.
“Hawaii is taking another bold step forward to transform education,” said Superintendent Kathryn Matayoshi. “ESEA Flexibility will provide our schools, parents, students, and the community with a rigorous alternative to the current No Child Left Behind one-size-fits-all approach and redefine academic success beyond Adequate Yearly Progress.”
If Hawaii’s application for ESEA Flexibility is approved, it will:
• Support ongoing efforts to raise expectations for students and better support educators;
• More accurately and fairly identify schools’ strengths and areas for improvement;
• Target interventions and support strategies to reward high-performing schools and address areas for school improvement;
• Support effective instruction and leadership; and
• Be implemented for school year 2013-14.
In the upcoming weeks, the DOE will be engaging and soliciting input from diverse stakeholders and communities in the development of its request. Visit hawaiidoe.org to view Hawaii’s draft ESEA Flexibility application and to comment on the draft proposal via a DOE online survey. Survey comments are due no later than August 17, 2012.
The U.S. Department of Education has offered each state educational agency this voluntary opportunity to request flexibility regarding specific requirements of the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 in exchange for rigorous and comprehensive state-developed plans designed to improve educational outcomes for all students, close achievement gaps, increase equity, and improve the quality of instruction.
Learn more about ESEA Flexibility at hawaiidoe.org or http://www.ed.gov/esea/flexibility.
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"I definitely think it's a move in the right direction," said Lynn Finnegan, executive director of the Hawaii Charter Schools Network, an advocacy group. "It's a fairer way of looking at schools."