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

November 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:

Thank you for your letter of October 18, in which you requested a waiver (under the waiver authority in section 105 of the Hurricane Education Recovery Act (HERA)) of statutory requirements to use Federal funds to supplement, and not supplant, non-Federal funds for fiscal year (FY) 2007.

We have reviewed the specifics of your request, and I am pleased to respond. Under the recently enacted extension of the HERA waiver authority, I am waiving, for Federal FY 2007, applicable supplement, not supplant requirements for all Federal education programs (except programs under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) administered by the U.S. Department of Education. This waiver extends by one year the supplanting waiver that the Department previously granted to Louisiana and applies to the Louisiana Department of Education and all Louisiana local educational agencies and schools affected by the hurricanes. Please note that we are not waiving any statutory requirements prohibiting the supplanting of Federal funds. Under HERA, we have the authority only to waive requirements that prohibit the supplanting of non-Federal funds.

Once again, thank you for contacting me and sharing your request. We will continue to work with Louisiana until these issues are resolved and schools are fully reestablished. If I can be of further assistance, please feel free to contact me.