                  CHAPTER 68--NATIONAL EDUCATION REFORM
 
     SUBCHAPTER III--STATE AND LOCAL EDUCATION SYSTEMIC IMPROVEMENT
 
Sec. 5891b. Education flexibility partnership


(a) Educational flexibility program

                       (1) Program authorized

        (A) In general

            The Secretary may carry out an educational flexibility 
        program under which the Secretary authorizes a State educational 
        agency that serves an eligible State to waive statutory or 
        regulatory requirements applicable to one or more programs 
        described in subsection (b) of this section, other than 
        requirements described in subsection (c) of this section, for 
        any local educational agency or school within the State.

        (B) Designation

            Each eligible State participating in the program described 
        in subparagraph (A) shall be known as an ``Ed-Flex Partnership 
        State''.

                         (2) Eligible State

        For the purpose of this section the term ``eligible State'' 
    means a State that--
            (A) has--
                (i) developed and implemented the challenging State 
            content standards, challenging State student performance 
            standards, and aligned assessments described in section 
            1111(b) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 
            1965 [20 U.S.C. 6311(b)], and for which local educational 
            agencies in the State are producing the individual school 
            performance profiles required by section 1116(a)(3) of such 
            Act [20 U.S.C. 6317(a)(3)]; or
                (ii)(I) developed and implemented the content standards 
            described in clause (i);
                (II) developed and implemented interim assessments; and
                (III) made substantial progress (as determined by the 
            Secretary) toward developing and implementing the 
            performance standards and final aligned assessments 
            described in clause (i), and toward having local educational 
            agencies in the State produce the profiles described in 
            clause (i);

            (B) holds local educational agencies and schools accountable 
        for meeting the educational goals described in the local 
        applications submitted under paragraph (4) and for engaging in 
        technical assistance and corrective actions consistent with 
        section 1116 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 
        1965 [20 U.S.C. 6317], for the local educational agencies and 
        schools that do not make adequate yearly progress as described 
        in section 1111(b)(2) of such Act [20 U.S.C. 6311(b)(2)]; and
            (C) waives State statutory or regulatory requirements 
        relating to education while holding local educational agencies 
        or schools within the State that are affected by such waivers 
        accountable for the performance of the students who are affected 
        by such waivers.

                        (3) State application

        (A) In general

            Each State educational agency desiring to participate in the 
        educational flexibility program under this section shall submit 
        an application to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, 
        and containing such information as the Secretary may reasonably 
        require. Each such application shall demonstrate that the 
        eligible State has adopted an educational flexibility plan for 
        the State that includes--
                (i) a description of the process the State educational 
            agency will use to evaluate applications from local 
            educational agencies or schools requesting waivers of--
                    (I) Federal statutory or regulatory requirements as 
                described in paragraph (1)(A); and
                    (II) State statutory or regulatory requirements 
                relating to education;

                (ii) a detailed description of the State statutory and 
            regulatory requirements relating to education that the State 
            educational agency will waive;
                (iii) a description of clear educational objectives the 
            State intends to meet under the educational flexibility 
            plan;
                (iv) a description of how the educational flexibility 
            plan is consistent with and will assist in implementing the 
            State comprehensive reform plan or, if a State does not have 
            a comprehensive reform plan, a description of how the 
            educational flexibility plan is coordinated with activities 
            described in section 1111(b) of the Elementary and Secondary 
            Education Act of 1965 [20 U.S.C. 6311(b)];
                (v) a description of how the State educational agency 
            will evaluate, (consistent with the requirements of title I 
            of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965) [20 
            U.S.C. 6301 et seq.], the performance of students in the 
            schools and local educational agencies affected by the 
            waivers; and
                (vi) a description of how the State educational agency 
            will meet the requirements of paragraph (8).

        (B) Approval and considerations

            The Secretary may approve an application described in 
        subparagraph (A) only if the Secretary determines that such 
        application demonstrates substantial promise of assisting the 
        State educational agency and affected local educational agencies 
        and schools within the State in carrying out comprehensive 
        educational reform, after considering--
                (i) the eligibility of the State as described in 
            paragraph (2);
                (ii) the comprehensiveness and quality of the 
            educational flexibility plan described in subparagraph (A);
                (iii) the ability of the educational flexibility plan to 
            ensure accountability for the activities and goals described 
            in such plan;
                (iv) the degree to which the State's objectives 
            described in subparagraph (A)(iii)--
                    (I) are clear and have the ability to be assessed; 
                and
                    (II) take into account the performance of local 
                educational agencies or schools, and students, 
                particularly those affected by waivers;

                (v) the significance of the State statutory or 
            regulatory requirements relating to education that will be 
            waived; and
                (vi) the quality of the State educational agency's 
            process for approving applications for waivers of Federal 
            statutory or regulatory requirements as described in 
            paragraph (1)(A) and for monitoring and evaluating the 
            results of such waivers.

                        (4) Local application

        (A) In general

            Each local educational agency or school requesting a waiver 
        of a Federal statutory or regulatory requirement as described in 
        paragraph (1)(A) and any relevant State statutory or regulatory 
        requirement from a State educational agency shall submit an 
        application to the State educational agency at such time, in 
        such manner, and containing such information as the State 
        educational agency may reasonably require. Each such application 
        shall--
                (i) indicate each Federal program affected and each 
            statutory or regulatory requirement that will be waived;
                (ii) describe the purposes and overall expected results 
            of waiving each such requirement;
                (iii) describe, for each school year, specific, 
            measurable, educational goals for each local educational 
            agency or school affected by the proposed waiver, and for 
            the students served by the local educational agency or 
            school who are affected by the waiver;
                (iv) explain why the waiver will assist the local 
            educational agency or school in reaching such goals; and
                (v) in the case of an application from a local 
            educational agency, describe how the local educational 
            agency will meet the requirements of paragraph (8).

        (B) Evaluation of applications

            A State educational agency shall evaluate an application 
        submitted under subparagraph (A) in accordance with the State's 
        educational flexibility plan described in paragraph (3)(A).

        (C) Approval

            A State educational agency shall not approve an application 
        for a waiver under this paragraph unless--
                (i) the local educational agency or school requesting 
            such waiver has developed a local reform plan that is 
            applicable to such agency or school, respectively;
                (ii) the waiver of Federal statutory or regulatory 
            requirements as described in paragraph (1)(A) will assist 
            the local educational agency or school in reaching its 
            educational goals, particularly goals with respect to school 
            and student performance; and
                (iii) the State educational agency is satisfied that the 
            underlying purposes of the statutory requirements of each 
            program for which a waiver is granted will continue to be 
            met.

        (D) Termination

            The State educational agency shall annually review the 
        performance of any local educational agency or school granted a 
        waiver of Federal statutory or regulatory requirements as 
        described in paragraph (1)(A) in accordance with the evaluation 
        requirement described in paragraph (3)(A)(v), and shall 
        terminate any waiver granted to the local educational agency or 
        school if the State educational agency determines, after notice 
        and an opportunity for a hearing, that the local educational 
        agency or school's performance with respect to meeting the 
        accountability requirement described in paragraph (2)(C) and the 
        goals described in paragraph (4)(A)(iii)--
                (i) has been inadequate to justify continuation of such 
            waiver; or
                (ii) has decreased for two consecutive years, unless the 
            State educational agency determines that the decrease in 
            performance was justified due to exceptional or 
            uncontrollable circumstances.

                     (5) Oversight and reporting

        (A) Oversight

            Each State educational agency participating in the 
        educational flexibility program under this section shall 
        annually monitor the activities of local educational agencies 
        and schools receiving waivers under this section.

        (B) State reports

            (i) Annual reports

                The State educational agency shall submit to the 
            Secretary an annual report on the results of such oversight 
            and the impact of the waivers on school and student 
            performance.
            (ii) Performance data

                Not later than 2 years after the date a State is 
            designated an Ed-Flex Partnership State, each such State 
            shall include, as part of the State's annual report 
            submitted under clause (i), data demonstrating the degree to 
            which progress has been made toward meeting the State's 
            educational objectives. The data, when applicable, shall 
            include--
                    (I) information on the total number of waivers 
                granted for Federal and State statutory and regulatory 
                requirements under this section, including the number of 
                waivers granted for each type of waiver;
                    (II) information describing the effect of the 
                waivers on the implementation of State and local 
                educational reforms pertaining to school and student 
                performance;
                    (III) information describing the relationship of the 
                waivers to the performance of schools and students 
                affected by the waivers; and
                    (IV) an assurance from State program managers that 
                the data reported under this section are reliable, 
                complete, and accurate, as defined by the State, or a 
                description of a plan for improving the reliability, 
                completeness, and accuracy of such data as defined by 
                the State.

        (C) Secretary's reports

            The Secretary, not later than 2 years after April 29, 1999, 
        and annually thereafter, shall--
                (i) make each State report submitted under subparagraph 
            (B) available to Congress and the public; and
                (ii) submit to Congress a report that summarizes the 
            State reports and describes the effects that the educational 
            flexibility program under this section had on the 
            implementation of State and local educational reforms and on 
            the performance of students affected by the waivers.

                   (6) Duration of Federal waivers

        (A) In general

            The Secretary shall not approve the application of a State 
        educational agency under paragraph (3) for a period exceeding 5 
        years, except that the Secretary may extend such period if the 
        Secretary determines that such agency's authority to grant 
        waivers--
                (i) has been effective in enabling such State or 
            affected local educational agencies or schools to carry out 
            their State or local reform plans and to continue to meet 
            the accountability requirement described in paragraph 
            (2)(C); and
                (ii) has improved student performance.

        (B) Performance review

            Three years after the date a State is designated an Ed-Flex 
        Partnership State, the Secretary shall review the performance of 
        the State educational agency in granting waivers of Federal 
        statutory or regulatory requirements as described in paragraph 
        (1)(A) and shall terminate such agency's authority to grant such 
        waivers if the Secretary determines, after notice and an 
        opportunity for a hearing, that such agency's performance 
        (including performance with respect to meeting the objectives 
        described in paragraph (3)(A)(iii)) has been inadequate to 
        justify continuation of such authority.

        (C) Renewal

            In deciding whether to extend a request for a State 
        educational agency's authority to issue waivers under this 
        section, the Secretary shall review the progress of the State 
        educational agency to determine if the State educational 
        agency--
                (i) has made progress toward achieving the objectives 
            described in the application submitted pursuant to paragraph 
            (3)(A)(iii); and
                (ii) demonstrates in the request that local educational 
            agencies or schools affected by the waiver authority or 
            waivers have made progress toward achieving the desired 
            results described in the application submitted pursuant to 
            paragraph (4)(A)(iii).

                   (7) Authority to issue waivers

        Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary is 
    authorized to carry out the educational flexibility program under 
    this section for each of the fiscal years 1999 through 2004.

                    (8) Public notice and comment

        Each State educational agency seeking waiver authority under 
    this section and each local educational agency seeking a waiver 
    under this section--
            (A) shall provide the public with adequate and efficient 
        notice of the proposed waiver authority or waiver, consisting of 
        a description of the agency's application for the proposed 
        waiver authority or waiver in a widely read or distributed 
        medium, including a description of any improved student 
        performance that is expected to result from the waiver authority 
        or waiver;
            (B) shall provide the opportunity for parents, educators, 
        and all other interested members of the community to comment 
        regarding the proposed waiver authority or waiver;
            (C) shall provide the opportunity described in subparagraph 
        (B) in accordance with any applicable State law specifying how 
        the comments may be received, and how the comments may be 
        reviewed by any member of the public; and
            (D) shall submit the comments received with the agency's 
        application to the Secretary or the State educational agency, as 
        appropriate.

(b) Included programs

    The statutory or regulatory requirements referred to in subsection 
(a)(1)(A) of this section are any such requirements for programs carried 
out under the following provisions:
        (1) Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 
    1965 [20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.] (other than subsections (a) and (c) of 
    section 1116 of such Act [20 U.S.C. 6317(a), (c)]).
        (2) Part B of title II of the Elementary and Secondary Education 
    Act of 1965 [20 U.S.C. 6641 et seq.].
        (3) Subpart 2 of part A of title III of the Elementary and 
    Secondary Education Act of 1965 [20 U.S.C. 6841 et seq.] (other than 
    section 3136 of such Act [20 U.S.C. 6846]).
        (4) Title IV of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 
    1965 [20 U.S.C. 7101 et seq.].
        (5) Title VI of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 
    1965 [20 U.S.C. 7301 et seq.].
        (6) Part C of title VII of the Elementary and Secondary 
    Education Act of 1965 [20 U.S.C. 7541 et seq.].
        (7) The Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act 
    of 1998 [20 U.S.C. 2301 et seq.].

(c) Waivers not authorized

    The Secretary and the State educational agency may not waive under 
subsection (a)(1)(A) of this section any statutory or regulatory 
requirement--
        (1) relating to--
            (A) maintenance of effort;
            (B) comparability of services;
            (C) equitable participation of students and professional 
        staff in private schools;
            (D) parental participation and involvement;
            (E) distribution of funds to States or to local educational 
        agencies;
            (F) serving eligible school attendance areas in rank order 
        under section 1113(a)(3) of the Elementary and Secondary 
        Education Act of 1965 [20 U.S.C. 6313(a)(3)];
            (G) the selection of a school attendance area or school 
        under subsections (a) and (b) of section 1113 of the Elementary 
        and Secondary Education Act of 1965 [20 U.S.C. 6313(a), (b)], 
        except that a State educational agency may grant a waiver to 
        allow a school attendance area or school to participate in 
        activities under part A of title I of such Act [20 U.S.C. 6311 
        et seq.] if the percentage of children from low-income families 
        in the school attendance area of such school or who attend such 
        school is not less than 10 percentage points below the lowest 
        percentage of such children for any school attendance area or 
        school of the local educational agency that meets the 
        requirements of such subsections (a) and (b) of this section;
            (H) use of Federal funds to supplement, not supplant, non-
        Federal funds; and
            (I) applicable civil rights requirements; and

        (2) unless the underlying purposes of the statutory requirements 
    of the program for which a waiver is granted continue to be met to 
    the satisfaction of the Secretary.

(d) Treatment of existing Ed-Flex Partnership States

                           (1) In general

        Except as provided in paragraphs (3) and (4), this section shall 
    not apply to a State educational agency that has been granted waiver 
    authority under the provisions of law described in paragraph (2) for 
    the duration of the waiver authority.

                      (2) Applicable provisions

        The provisions of law referred to in paragraph (1) are as 
    follows:
            (A) Section 311(e) of the Goals 2000: Educate America Act.
            (B) The proviso referring to such section 311(e) under the 
        heading ``education reform'' in the Department of Education 
        Appropriations Act, 1996 (Public Law 104-134; 110 Stat. 1321-
        229).

                          (3) Special rule

        If a State educational agency granted waiver authority pursuant 
    to the provisions of law described in subparagraph (A) or (B) of 
    paragraph (2) applies to the Secretary for waiver authority under 
    this section--
            (A) the Secretary shall review the progress of the State 
        educational agency in achieving the objectives set forth in the 
        application submitted pursuant to section 311(e) of the Goals 
        2000: Educate America Act; and
            (B) the Secretary shall administer the waiver authority 
        granted under this section in accordance with the requirements 
        of this section.

                           (4) Technology

        In the case of a State educational agency granted waiver 
    authority under the provisions of law described in subparagraph (A) 
    or (B) of paragraph (2), the Secretary shall permit a State 
    educational agency to expand, on or after April 29, 1999, the waiver 
    authority to include programs under subpart 2 of part A of title III 
    of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 [20 U.S.C. 
    6841 et seq.] (other than section 3136 of such Act [20 U.S.C. 
    6846]).

(e) Publication

    A notice of the Secretary's decision to authorize State educational 
agencies to issue waivers under this section, including a description of 
the rationale the Secretary used to approve applications under 
subsection (a)(3)(B) of this section, shall be published in the Federal 
Register and the Secretary shall provide for the dissemination of such 
notice to State educational agencies, interested parties (including 
educators, parents, students, and advocacy and civil rights 
organizations), and the public.

(Pub. L. 106-25, Sec. 4, Apr. 29, 1999, 113 Stat. 42.)

                       References in Text

    The Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, referred to in 
subsecs. (a)(3)(A)(v), (b), (c)(1)(G), and (d)(4), is Pub. L. 89-10, 
Apr. 11, 1965, 79 Stat. 27, as amended generally by Pub. L. 103-382, 
title I, Sec. 101, Oct. 20, 1994, 108 Stat. 3519. Title I of the Act is 
classified generally to subchapter I (Sec. 6301 et seq.) of chapter 70 
of this title. Part A of title I of the Act is classified generally to 
part A (Sec. 6311 et seq.) of subchapter I of chapter 70 of this title. 
Part B of title II of the Act is classified generally to part B 
(Sec. 6641 et seq.) of subchapter II of chapter 70 of this title. 
Subpart 2 of part A of title III of the Act is classified generally to 
subpart 2 (Sec. 6841 et seq.) of part A of subchapter III of chapter 70 
of this title. Titles IV and VI of the Act are classified generally to 
subchapters IV (Sec. 7101 et seq.) and VI (Sec. 7301 et seq.), 
respectively, of chapter 70 of this title. Part C of title VII of the 
Act is classified generally to part C (Sec. 7541 et seq.) of subchapter 
VII of chapter 70 of this title. For complete classification of this Act 
to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 6301 of this 
title and Tables.
    The Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technological Education Act of 
1998, referred to in subsec. (b)(7), is Pub. L. 88-210, Dec. 18, 1963, 
77 Stat. 403, as amended, which is classified generally to chapter 44 
(Sec. 2301 et seq.) of this title. For complete classification of this 
Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 2301 of this 
title and Tables.
    Section 311(e) of the Goals 2000: Educate America Act, referred to 
in subsec. (d)(2), (3)(A), is section 311(e) of Pub. L. 103-227, which 
was classified to section 5891(e) of this title and was repealed by Pub. 
L. 106-113, div. B, Sec. 1000(a)(4) [title III, Sec. 310(i)], Nov. 29, 
1999, 113 Stat. 1535, 1501A-265.
    The proviso referring to such section 311(e) under the heading 
``education reform'' in the Department of Education Appropriations Act, 
1996, referred to in subsec. (d)(2)(B), is Pub. L. 104-134, title I, 
Sec. 101(d) [title III], Apr. 26, 1996, 110 Stat. 1321-211, 1321-229; 
renumbered title I, Pub. L. 104-140, Sec. 1(a), May 2, 1996, 110 Stat. 
1327, which is set out as a note below.

                          Codification

    Section was enacted as part of the Education Flexibility Partnership 
Act of 1999, and not as part of the Goals 2000: Educate America Act 
which comprises this chapter.


   Additional State Educational Agencies Authorized To Waive Federal 
                              Requirements

    Pub. L. 104-134, title I, Sec. 101(d) [title III], Apr. 26, 1996, 
110 Stat. 1321-211, 1321-229; renumbered title I, Pub. L. 104-140, 
Sec. 1(a), May 2, 1996, 110 Stat. 1327, provided in part: ``That 
notwithstanding section 311(e) of Public Law 103-227 [20 U.S.C. 
5891(e)], the Secretary is authorized to grant up to six additional 
State education agencies authority to waive Federal statutory or 
regulatory requirements for fiscal year 1996 and succeeding fiscal 
years''.
