AYP Release Update
Minnesota Department of Education sent this bulletin at 09/21/2011 10:44 AM CDT- AYP Release Update
This morning, in a conference call with superintendents, MDE Commissioner Brenda Cassellius provided an update on the status of Minnesota’s outstanding waiver request to the U.S. Department of Education (USDE). As you probably know, MDE recently requested a waiver to certain provisions of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) that, among other things, would have allowed the state not to report AYP statuses or force districts to offer school choice and Supplemental Educational Services (SES). The USDE has still not acted on this request but in communications with MDE has instructed us to release AYP statuses as soon as possible so as to allow districts to send parent notification letters offering school choice and SES.
MDE remains optimistic that Minnesota will receive regulatory relief through this waiver once the USDE releases waiver criteria and a formal application process later this week. However, it has become clear that that relief is not likely to become available for this school year. Therefore, in order to comply with state and federal statutes, MDE is planning to release all AYP data, including AYP statuses and Stages of Improvement, on Friday, September 30. MDE is making every effort to have AYP data ready for release to districts before it is released publicly. We are hopeful that this data will be available on Wednesday, September 28 but it is possible it could be delayed.
Because the waiver we requested included an acknowledgment that AYP has become a flawed and inaccurate measurement for school accountability, MDE wants to help districts explain to parents how to understand what their child’s school’s AYP status means. We will be providing a letter, signed by Commissioner Cassellius, that explains why Minnesota requested a waiver and what it says about the AYP measurement. The letter should be sent out with parent notification letters to give parents some perspective in assessing their options.
If you have any questions about AYP or the waiver request, please contact Sam Kramer at 651-582-8454 or samuel.kramer@state.mn.us.
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