Vermont Field Testing Flexibility Determination Letter



January 30, 2014

The Honorable Rebecca Holcombe
Secretary of Education
State of Vermont, Agency of Education
120 State Street
Montpelier, VT 05620

Dear Secretary Holcombe:

I am writing in response to the Vermont Agency of Education’s (VAE’s) request on behalf of selected schools to waiver to allow the district to field test in 2013–2014 assessments in mathematics and reading/language arts aligned to college- and career-ready standards developed by the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) and alternate assessments for students with the most severe cognitive disabilities developed by Dynamic Learning Maps (DLM), in lieu of the State’s assessments in grades 3 through 8 and high school. VAE also requested flexibility in making accountability determinations.

I am pleased to grant, pursuant to my authority under section 9401 of the ESEA, a one-year waiver of the following statutory and regulatory requirements under Title I, Part A of the ESEA, as amended, and their associated regulatory provisions:

This waiver is granted to the VAE on the condition that it will implement the following assurances:

Please be aware that this waiver of Vermont’s standards and assessment system under the ESEA is not a determination that the system complies with Federal civil rights requirements, including Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act, and requirements under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. This waiver also does not apply to statutory and regulatory requirements regarding science assessments under Title I, Part A of the ESEA.

I hope you find this flexibility helpful. I look forward to working with you and your staff as you implement this flexibility and as you continue working to improve education in Vermont.

Sincerely,

/s/

Deborah S. Delisle

cc: Michael Hock


Last Modified: 01/31/2014