A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

Letter to chief state school officer of Louisiana regarding waivers

July 27, 2006

Honorable Cecil J. Picard
Superintendent of Education
State Department of Education
626 North 4th Street, 12th Floor
Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70804-9064

Dear Cecil:

This is in response to your letter of June 16, 2006, in which you describe your specific requests for flexibility in light of the damage caused to Louisiana parishes by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. We commend you on the effort Louisiana has made to restart affected schools and are mindful that many schools have not reopened.

We have reviewed your requests and I am pleased to respond. Specifically, you requested a 12-month extension of the period for obligating all FY 2004 grants whose period of availability will expire on September 30, 2006, and a corresponding 12-month extension of the period in which to liquidate those obligations. Under the waiver authority in section 9401 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), as amended, we are granting your request for a 12-month extension of the time within which Louisiana and its districts may obligate ESEA funds for which the period of availability expires on September 30, 2006. Those funds are now available for obligation through September 30, 2007. Please note that we do not have the authority to extend the period of availability for non-ESEA funds. We are also extending by 12 months the liquidation period for those FY 2004 ESEA funds. The Louisiana Department of Education (LDE) must notify local educational agencies that the State applied for and received an extension of these deadlines.

You also requested a waiver of section 1127(b) of the ESEA, which limits LDE's ability to grant a district a waiver of the 15 percent carryover limitation in Part A of Title I to once every three years. Under the waiver authority in section 9401 of the ESEA, we are granting your request, so that your agency may grant a district a waiver of the 15 percent Title I, Part A carryover limitation more than once every three years. This waiver applies to FY 2004 and 2005 Title I, Part A funds.

We appreciate your commitment to bring normalcy to the children in Louisiana and to provide them a quality education. Do not hesitate to contact me again if I can be of further assistance.