Contact Your State Education Agency; It Is Required To Request Input On Its Waiver Requests

Contact your state education agency (SEA).

If it is seeking a waiver, it is required to give the public notice and a reasonable time for it to comment.

February 22, 2021, the United States Department of Education (USDOE) USDOE issued a letter inviting states to request waivers for the 2020-21 school year “of the accountability and school identification requirements in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA).”

Click on the image below to view USDOE’s 2.22.21 letter in full.

Section 8401(b)(3)(A) of ESEA is where you’ll find the language related to making the waivers open to public comments:

STATE EDUCATIONAL AGENCIES.—In the case of a waiver request submitted by a State educational agency acting on its own behalf, or on behalf of local educational agencies in the State under subsection (a)(2), the State educational agency shall—

(i) provide the public and any interested local educational agency in the State with notice and a reasonable opportunity to comment and provide input on the request, to the extent that the request impacts the local educational agency;

(ii) submit the comments and input to the Secretary, with a description of how the State addressed the comments and input; and

(iii) provide notice and a reasonable time to comment to the public and local educational agencies in the manner in which the applying agency customarily provides similar notice and opportunity to comment to the public.

In Virginia’s case, the Virginia Department of Education is accepting comments on its proposed waivers through 4.21.21. They may be submitted electronically to the following email address: Accountability@doe.virginia.gov. VDOE posted a summary of proposed waivers via Superintendent’s Memo #081-21.

Click on the image below to view Superintendent’s Memo #081-21 in full.

Check your state education agency’s (SEA) site and/or contact the SEA to request information about waivers.