{
  "id": "RL31583",
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      "id": 354897,
      "date": "2008-01-10",
      "retrieved": "2016-04-07T03:50:30.664739",
      "title": "K-12 Education: Special Forms of Flexibility in the Administration of Federal Aid Programs",
      "summary": "Beginning with the Improving America\u2019s Schools Act in 1994, and continuing through the Education Flexibility Partnership Act of 1999 and the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB), the authorization of special forms of flexibility for grantees has been a focus of federal K-12 education legislation. These flexibility authorities apply primarily to programs under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), the largest source of federal aid to K-12 education.\nIn general, federal K-12 education assistance program requirements include activities or outcomes that state or local educational agencies (SEAs, LEAs) are expected to provide or achieve in order to establish accountability for use of funds consistent with the purposes of authorizing statutes. These requirements are usually intended to provide target accountability, ensuring that funds are focused on eligible localities, pupils, and purposes; outcome accountability, ensuring that funds are used effectively to improve student achievement and improve the quality of K-12 instruction; and fiscal accountability, ensuring financial integrity and providing that federal funds constitute a net increase in resources.\nSpecial flexibility authorities allow exceptions to these general requirements; they include Ed-Flex, Secretarial case-by-case waivers, ESEA Title I-A schoolwide programs, flexibility for small rural LEAs, the Innovative Programs block grant, Transferability authority, plus the State and Local Flexibility Demonstration Program (State-Flex and Local-Flex). In general, these authorities: (a) increase the ability of states or LEAs to use federal aid more completely in accordance with their own priorities; (b) are significantly limited in terms of the number of states and LEAs that may participate, the number and size of the programs affected, or the range of requirements that may be waived; (c) sometimes require a degree of accountability based on pupil achievement outcomes in return for increased flexibility, although the primary outcome requirements are applicable to all states and LEAs participating in Title I-A and other ESEA programs; (d) often attempt to require reports on ways in which the authorities have been used and the impact of flexibility on pupil achievement; and (e) have been adopted in a policy context of substantially increased accountability requirements and authorized degrees of flexibility in general with respect to some aspects of the ESEA and related programs.\nMajor issues regarding special forms of flexibility in federal K-12 education programs include the following: How significant are the degrees of flexibility allowed under these authorities? Is there substantial state or local interest in the authorized forms of flexibility? For what purposes have special flexibility authorities been used in the past, and is there evidence that these have resulted in increased pupil performance or had other major impacts? And are the outcome accountability requirements consistent with the increased flexibility provided under these authorities? ESEA programs are authorized through FY2008, and the 110th Congress is considering whether to amend and extend the ESEA. This report will be updated regularly to reflect major legislative developments and available information.",
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      "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc819869/",
      "id": "RL31583_2005Aug09",
      "date": "2005-08-09",
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    {
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      "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc817010/",
      "id": "RL31583_2004Oct21",
      "date": "2004-10-21",
      "retrieved": "2016-03-19T13:57:26",
      "title": "K-12 Education: Special Forms of Flexibility in the Administration of Federal Aid Programs",
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      "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc817041/",
      "id": "RL31583_2003Nov07",
      "date": "2003-11-07",
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    {
      "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department",
      "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc810931/",
      "id": "RL31583_2002Sep30",
      "date": "2002-09-30",
      "retrieved": "2016-03-19T13:57:26",
      "title": "K-12 Education: Special Forms of Flexibility in the Administration of Federal Aid Programs",
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