83_FR_363 83 FR 361 - Applications for New Authorities; Innovative Assessment Demonstration Authority

83 FR 361 - Applications for New Authorities; Innovative Assessment Demonstration Authority

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Federal Register Volume 83, Issue 2 (January 3, 2018)

Page Range361-369
FR Document2017-28424

The Department of Education is issuing a notice inviting applications for new authorities for fiscal year (FY) 2018 under the Innovative Assessment Demonstration Authority.

Federal Register, Volume 83 Issue 2 (Wednesday, January 3, 2018)
[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 2 (Wednesday, January 3, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 361-369]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2017-28424]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


Applications for New Authorities; Innovative Assessment 
Demonstration Authority

AGENCY: Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, Department of 
Education.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Education is issuing a notice inviting 
applications for new authorities for fiscal year (FY) 2018 under the 
Innovative Assessment Demonstration Authority.

DATES: 
    Applications Available: January 3, 2018.
    Deadline for Notice of Intent to Apply: February 2, 2018.
    Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: April 2, 2018.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Donald Peasley, U.S. Department of 
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW, Room 3E124, Washington, DC 20202-
6132. Telephone: (202) 453-7982 or by email: [email protected].
    If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) or a text 
telephone (TTY), call the Federal Relay Service (FRS), toll free, at 1-
800-877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Full Text of Announcement

I. Opportunity Description

    Purpose of Program: The Secretary provides State educational 
agencies (SEAs), including consortia of SEAs, with the authority to 
establish and operate an innovative assessment system in their public 
schools under the Innovative Assessment Demonstration Authority in 
section 1204 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as 
amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESEA or the Act). During the 
initial demonstration period--i.e., the first three years that the 
Secretary provides innovative assessment demonstration authority--no 
more than seven SEAs may participate, including those participating in 
consortia, which may include no more than four SEAs.
    Requirements: The following requirements are from 34 CFR 200.105.

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    An eligible application must include the following:
    (a) Consultation. Evidence that the SEA or consortium has developed 
an innovative assessment system in collaboration with--
    (1) Experts in the planning, development, implementation, and 
evaluation of innovative assessment systems, which may include external 
partners; and
    (2) Affected stakeholders in the State, or in each State in the 
consortium, including--
    (i) Those representing the interests of children with disabilities, 
English learners, and other subgroups of students described in section 
1111(c)(2) of the Act;
    (ii) Teachers, principals, and other school leaders;
    (iii) Local educational agencies (LEAs);
    (iv) Representatives of Indian tribes located in the State;
    (v) Students and parents, including parents of children described 
in paragraph (a)(2)(i) of this section; and
    (vi) Civil rights organizations.
    (b) Innovative assessment system. A demonstration that the 
innovative assessment system does or will--
    (1) Meet the requirements of section 1111(b)(2)(B) of the Act, 
except that an innovative assessment--
    (i) Need not be the same assessment administered to all public 
elementary and secondary school students in the State during the 
demonstration authority period described in 34 CFR 200.104(b)(2) or 
extension period described in 34 CFR 200.108 and prior to statewide use 
consistent with 34 CFR 200.107, if the innovative assessment system 
will be administered initially to all students in participating schools 
within a participating LEA, provided that the statewide academic 
assessments under 34 CFR 200.2(a)(1) and section 1111(b)(2) of the Act 
are administered to all students in any non-participating LEA or any 
non-participating school within a participating LEA; and
    (ii) Need not be administered annually in each of grades 3-8 and at 
least once in grades 9-12 in the case of reading/language arts and 
mathematics assessments, and at least once in grades 3-5, 6-9, and 10-
12 in the case of science assessments, so long as the statewide 
academic assessments under 34 CFR 200.2(a)(1) and section 1111(b)(2) of 
the Act are administered in any required grade and subject under 34 CFR 
200.5(a)(1) in which the SEA does not choose to implement an innovative 
assessment;
    (2)(i) Align with the challenging State academic content standards 
under section 1111(b)(1) of the Act, including the depth and breadth of 
such standards, for the grade in which a student is enrolled; and
    (ii) May measure a student's academic proficiency and growth using 
items above or below the student's grade level so long as, for purposes 
of meeting the requirements for reporting and school accountability 
under sections 1111(c) and 1111(h) of the Act and paragraphs (b)(3) and 
(b)(7)-(9) of this section, the State measures each student's academic 
proficiency based on the challenging State academic standards for the 
grade in which the student is enrolled;
    (3) Express student results or competencies consistent with the 
challenging State academic achievement standards under section 
1111(b)(1) of the Act and identify which students are not making 
sufficient progress toward, and attaining, grade-level proficiency on 
such standards;
    (4)(i) Generate results, including annual summative determinations 
as defined in paragraph (b)(7) of this section, that are valid, 
reliable, and comparable for all students and for each subgroup of 
students described in 34 CFR 200.2(b)(11)(i)(A)-(I) and sections 
1111(b)(2)(B)(xi) and 1111(h)(1)(C)(ii) of the Act, to the results 
generated by the State academic assessments described in 34 CFR 
200.2(a)(1) and section 1111(b)(2) of the Act for such students. 
Consistent with the SEA's or consortium's evaluation plan under 34 CFR 
200.106(e), the SEA must plan to annually determine comparability 
during each year of its demonstration authority period in one of the 
following ways:
    (A) Administering full assessments from both the innovative and 
statewide assessment systems to all students enrolled in participating 
schools, such that at least once in any grade span (i.e., 3-5, 6-8, or 
9-12) and subject for which there is an innovative assessment, a 
statewide assessment in the same subject would also be administered to 
all such students. As part of this determination, the innovative 
assessment and statewide assessment need not be administered to an 
individual student in the same school year.
    (B) Administering full assessments from both the innovative and 
statewide assessment systems to a demographically representative sample 
of all students and subgroups of students described in section 
1111(c)(2) of the Act, from among those students enrolled in 
participating schools, such that at least once in any grade span (i.e., 
3-5, 6-8, or 9-12) and subject for which there is an innovative 
assessment, a statewide assessment in the same subject would also be 
administered in the same school year to all students included in the 
sample.
    (C) Including, as a significant portion of the innovative 
assessment system in each required grade and subject in which both an 
innovative and statewide assessment are administered, items or 
performance tasks from the statewide assessment system that, at a 
minimum, have been previously pilot tested or field tested for use in 
the statewide assessment system.
    (D) Including, as a significant portion of the statewide assessment 
system in each required grade and subject in which both an innovative 
and statewide assessment are administered, items or performance tasks 
from the innovative assessment system that, at a minimum, have been 
previously pilot tested or field tested for use in the innovative 
assessment system.
    (E) An alternative method for demonstrating comparability that an 
SEA can demonstrate will provide for an equally rigorous and 
statistically valid comparison between student performance on the 
innovative assessment and the statewide assessment, including for each 
subgroup of students described in 34 CFR 200.2(b)(11)(i)(A)-(I) and 
sections 1111(b)(2)(B)(xi) and 1111(h)(1)(C)(ii) of the Act; and
    (ii) Generate results, including annual summative determinations as 
defined in paragraph (b)(7) of this section, that are valid, reliable, 
and comparable, for all students and for each subgroup of students 
described in 34 CFR 200.2(b)(11)(i)(A)-(I) and sections 
1111(b)(2)(B)(xi) and 1111(h)(1)(C)(ii) of the Act, among participating 
schools and LEAs in the innovative assessment demonstration authority. 
Consistent with the SEA's or consortium's evaluation plan under 34 CFR 
200.106(e), the SEA must plan to annually determine comparability 
during each year of its demonstration authority period;
    (5)(i) Provide for the participation of all students, including 
children with disabilities and English learners;
    (ii) Be accessible to all students by incorporating the principles 
of universal design for learning, to the extent practicable, consistent 
with 34 CFR 200.2(b)(2)(ii); and
    (iii) Provide appropriate accommodations consistent with 34 CFR 
200.6(b) and (f)(1)(i) and section 1111(b)(2)(B)(vii) of the Act;
    (6) For purposes of the State accountability system consistent with 
section 1111(c)(4)(E) of the Act, annually measure in each 
participating

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school progress on the Academic Achievement indicator under section 
1111(c)(4)(B) of the Act of at least 95 percent of all students, and 95 
percent of students in each subgroup of students described in section 
1111(c)(2) of the Act, who are required to take such assessments 
consistent with paragraph (b)(1)(ii) of this section;
    (7) Generate an annual summative determination of achievement, 
using the annual data from the innovative assessment, for each student 
in a participating school in the demonstration authority that 
describes--
    (i) The student's mastery of the challenging State academic 
standards under section 1111(b)(1) of the Act for the grade in which 
the student is enrolled; or
    (ii) In the case of a student with the most significant cognitive 
disabilities assessed with an alternate assessment aligned with 
alternate academic achievement standards under section 1111(b)(1)(E) of 
the Act, the student's mastery of those standards;
    (8) Provide disaggregated results by each subgroup of students 
described in 34 CFR 200.2(b)(11)(i)(A)-(I) and sections 
1111(b)(2)(B)(xi) and 1111(h)(1)(C)(ii) of the Act, including timely 
data for teachers, principals and other school leaders, students, and 
parents consistent with 34 CFR 200.8 and section 1111(b)(2)(B)(x) and 
(xii) and section 1111(h) of the Act, and provide results to parents in 
a manner consistent with paragraph (b)(4)(i) of this section and part 
200.2(e); and
    (9) Provide an unbiased, rational, and consistent determination of 
progress toward the State's long-term goals for academic achievement 
under section 1111(c)(4)(A) of the Act for all students and each 
subgroup of students described in section 1111(c)(2) of the Act and a 
comparable measure of student performance on the Academic Achievement 
indicator under section 1111(c)(4)(B) of the Act for participating 
schools relative to non-participating schools so that the SEA may 
validly and reliably aggregate data from the system for purposes of 
meeting requirements for--
    (i) Accountability under sections 1003 and 1111(c) and (d) of the 
Act, including how the SEA will identify participating and non-
participating schools in a consistent manner for comprehensive and 
targeted support and improvement under section 1111(c)(4)(D) of the 
Act; and
    (ii) Reporting on State and LEA report cards under section 1111(h) 
of the Act.
    (c) Selection Criteria. Information that addresses each of the 
selection criteria under 34 CFR 200.106.
    (d) Assurances. Assurances that the SEA, or each SEA in a 
consortium, will--
    (1) Continue use of the statewide academic assessments in reading/
language arts, mathematics, and science required under 34 CFR 
200.2(a)(1) and section 1111(b)(2) of the Act--
    (i) In all non-participating schools; and
    (ii) In all participating schools for which such assessments will 
be used in addition to innovative assessments for accountability 
purposes under section 1111(c) of the Act consistent with paragraph 
(b)(1)(ii) of this section or for evaluation purposes consistent with 
34 CFR 200.106(e) during the demonstration authority period;
    (2) Ensure that all students and each subgroup of students 
described in section 1111(c)(2) of the Act in participating schools are 
held to the same challenging State academic standards under section 
1111(b)(1) of the Act as all other students, except that students with 
the most significant cognitive disabilities may be assessed with 
alternate assessments aligned with alternate academic achievement 
standards consistent with 34 CFR 200.6 and section 1111(b)(1)(E) and 
(b)(2)(D) of the Act, and receive the instructional support needed to 
meet such standards;
    (3) Report the following annually to the Secretary, at such time 
and in such manner as the Secretary may reasonably require:
    (i) An update on implementation of the innovative assessment 
demonstration authority, including--
    (A) The SEA's progress against its timeline under 34 CFR 200.106(c) 
and any outcomes or results from its evaluation and continuous 
improvement process under 34 CFR 200.106(e); and
    (B) If the innovative assessment system is not yet implemented 
statewide consistent with 34 CFR 200.104(a)(2), a description of the 
SEA's progress in scaling up the system to additional LEAs or schools 
consistent with its strategies under 34 CFR 200.106(a)(3)(i), including 
updated assurances from participating LEAs consistent with paragraph 
(e)(2) of this section.
    (ii) The performance of students in participating schools at the 
State, LEA, and school level, for all students and disaggregated for 
each subgroup of students described in section 1111(c)(2) of the Act, 
on the innovative assessment, including academic achievement and 
participation data required to be reported consistent with section 
1111(h) of the Act, except that such data may not reveal any personally 
identifiable information.
    (iii) If the innovative assessment system is not yet implemented 
statewide, school demographic information, including enrollment and 
student achievement information, for the subgroups of students 
described in section 1111(c)(2) of the Act, among participating schools 
and LEAs and for any schools or LEAs that will participate for the 
first time in the following year, and a description of how the 
participation of any additional schools or LEAs in that year 
contributed to progress toward achieving high-quality and consistent 
implementation across demographically diverse LEAs in the State 
consistent with the SEA's benchmarks described in 34 CFR 
200.106(a)(3)(iii).
    (iv) Feedback from teachers, principals and other school leaders, 
and other stakeholders consulted under paragraph (a)(2) of this 
section, including parents and students, from participating schools and 
LEAs about their satisfaction with the innovative assessment system;
    (4) Ensure that each participating LEA informs parents of all 
students in participating schools about the innovative assessment, 
including the grades and subjects in which the innovative assessment 
will be administered, and, consistent with section 1112(e)(2)(B) of the 
Act, at the beginning of each school year during which an innovative 
assessment will be implemented. Such information must be--
    (i) In an understandable and uniform format;
    (ii) To the extent practicable, written in a language that parents 
can understand or, if it is not practicable to provide written 
translations to a parent with limited English proficiency, be orally 
translated for such parent; and
    (iii) Upon request by a parent who is an individual with a 
disability as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act, provided 
in an alternative format accessible to that parent; and
    (5) Coordinate with and provide information to, as applicable, the 
Institute of Education Sciences for purposes of the progress report 
described in section 1204(c) of the Act and ongoing dissemination of 
information under section 1204(m) of the Act.
    (e) Initial implementation in a subset of LEAs or schools. If the 
innovative assessment system will initially be

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administered in a subset of LEAs or schools in a State--
    (1) A description of each LEA, and each of its participating 
schools, that will initially participate, including demographic 
information and its most recent LEA report card under section 
1111(h)(2) of the Act; and
    (2) An assurance from each participating LEA, for each year that 
the LEA is participating, that the LEA will comply with all 
requirements of this section.
    (f) Application from a consortium of SEAs. If an application for 
the innovative assessment demonstration authority is submitted by a 
consortium of SEAs--
    (1) A description of the governance structure of the consortium, 
including--
    (i) The roles and responsibilities of each member SEA, which may 
include a description of affiliate members, if applicable, and must 
include a description of financial responsibilities of member SEAs;
    (ii) How the member SEAs will manage and, at their discretion, 
share intellectual property developed by the consortium as a group; and
    (iii) How the member SEAs will consider requests from SEAs to join 
or leave the consortium and ensure that changes in membership do not 
affect the consortium's ability to implement the innovative assessment 
demonstration authority consistent with the requirements and selection 
criteria in this section and 34 CFR 200.106.
    (2) While the terms of the association with affiliate members are 
defined by each consortium, consistent with 34 CFR 200.104(b)(1) and 
paragraph (f)(1)(i) of this section, for an affiliate member to become 
a full member of the consortium and to use the consortium's innovative 
assessment system under the demonstration authority, the consortium 
must submit a revised application to the Secretary for approval, 
consistent with the requirements of this section and 34 CFR 200.106 and 
subject to the limitation under 34 CFR 200.104(d).
    Definitions: The following definitions are from 34 CFR 200.104(b).
    (1) Affiliate member of a consortium means an SEA that is formally 
associated with a consortium of SEAs that is implementing the 
innovative assessment demonstration authority, but is not yet a full 
member of the consortium because it is not proposing to use the 
consortium's innovative assessment system under the demonstration 
authority, instead of, or in addition to, its statewide assessment 
under section 1111(b)(2) of the Act for purposes of accountability and 
reporting under sections 1111(c) and 1111(h) of the Act.
    (2) Demonstration authority period refers to the period of time 
over which an SEA, or consortium of SEAs, is authorized to implement 
the innovative assessment demonstration authority, which may not exceed 
five years and does not include the extension or waiver period under 34 
CFR 200.108. An SEA must use its innovative assessment system in all 
participating schools instead of, or in addition to, the statewide 
assessment under section 1111(b)(2) of the Act for purposes of 
accountability and reporting under section 1111(c) and 1111(h) of the 
Act in each year of the demonstration authority period.
    (3) Innovative assessment system means a system of assessments, 
which may include any combination of general assessments or alternate 
assessments aligned with alternate academic achievement standards, in 
reading/language arts, mathematics, or science administered in at least 
one required grade under 34 CFR 200.5(a)(1) and section 
1111(b)(2)(B)(v) of the Act that--
    (i) Produces--
    (A) An annual summative determination of each student's mastery of 
grade-level content standards aligned to the challenging State academic 
standards under section 1111(b)(1) of the Act; or
    (B) In the case of a student with the most significant cognitive 
disabilities assessed with an alternate assessment aligned with 
alternate academic achievement standards under section 1111(b)(1)(E) of 
the Act and aligned with the State's academic content standards for the 
grade in which the student is enrolled, an annual summative 
determination relative to such alternate academic achievement standards 
for each such student; and
    (ii) May, in any required grade or subject, include one or more of 
the following types of assessments:
    (A) Cumulative year-end assessments.
    (B) Competency-based assessments.
    (C) Instructionally embedded assessments.
    (D) Interim assessments.
    (E) Performance-based assessments.
    (F) Another innovative assessment design that meets the 
requirements under 34 CFR 200.105(b).
    (4) Participating LEA means a LEA in the State with at least one 
school participating in the innovative assessment demonstration 
authority.
    (5) Participating school means a public school in the State in 
which the innovative assessment system is administered under the 
innovative assessment demonstration authority instead of, or in 
addition to, the statewide assessment under section 1111(b)(2) of the 
Act and where the results of the school's students on the innovative 
assessment system are used by its State and LEA for purposes of 
accountability and reporting under section 1111(c) and 1111(h) of the 
Act.
    Program Authority: Section 1204 of the ESEA (Pub. L. 114-95); 34 
CFR 200.104 through 200.108.

II. Award Information

    Type of Award: Innovation authority.
    Estimated Available Funds: No funds are authorized to be 
appropriated for the Innovative Assessment Demonstration Authority. 
However, an SEA may use funds it receives under Grants for State 
Assessments and Related Activities to implement its innovative 
assessment system.
    Estimated Number of Awards: For the initial demonstration period, 
no more than seven States, including States that are part of a 
consortium (which may include no more than four States).
    Project Period: Up to 60 months.

III. Eligibility Information

    1. Eligible Applicants: SEAs (as defined in section 8101(49) of the 
ESEA) and consortia of SEAs that include no more than four SEAs.
    2. Cost Sharing or Matching: This program does not require cost 
sharing or matching.
    3. Other: An application from a consortium of SEAs must designate 
one SEA as the lead State for project management.

IV. Application and Submission Information

    1. Address to Request Application Package: Donald Peasley, Office 
of Elementary and Secondary Education, U.S. Department of Education, 
400 Maryland Avenue SW, Room 3E124, Washington, DC 20202-6132. 
Telephone: (202) 453-7982 or by email: [email protected].
    To obtain a copy via the internet, use the following address: 
https://www2.ed.gov/admins/lead/account/saa.html#Related_Programs_and_Initiatives.
    If you use a TDD or a TTY, call the FRS, toll free, at 1-800-877-
8339.
    Individuals with disabilities can obtain a copy of the application 
package in an accessible format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, 
or compact disc) by contacting the program contact person listed in 
this section.
    2. a. Content and Form of Application Submission: Requirements 
concerning the content and form of an application, together with the 
forms you must

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submit, are in the application package for this program, which can be 
found at https://www2.ed.gov/admins/lead/account/saa.html#Related_Programs_and_Initiatives.
    Notice of Intent To Apply: We will be able to develop a more 
efficient process for reviewing applications if we have a better 
understanding of the number of applicants that intend to apply for 
selection under this program. Therefore, we strongly encourage each 
potential applicant to notify us of the applicant's intent to submit an 
application. This notification should be brief, and identify the SEA 
applicant and, if part of a consortium, the SEA that is the fiscal 
agent for the consortium. Submit this notification by email to 
[email protected] with ``Intent to Apply'' in the email subject 
line or mail to Donald Peasley, U.S. Department of Education, 400 
Maryland Avenue SW, Room 3E124, Washington, DC 20202-6132. Applicants 
that do not provide this notification may still apply for the 
authority.
    b. Submission of Proprietary Information: Given the types of 
projects that may be proposed in applications for the Innovative 
Assessment Demonstration Authority, your application may include 
business information that you consider proprietary. In 34 CFR 5.11 we 
define ``business information'' and describe the process we use in 
determining whether any of that information is proprietary and, thus, 
protected from disclosure under Exemption 4 of the Freedom of 
Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552, as amended). Because we plan to make 
successful applications available to the public, you may wish to 
request confidentiality of business information.
    Consistent with Executive Order 12600, please designate in your 
application any information that you believe is exempt from disclosure 
under Exemption 4. In the appropriate Appendix section of your 
application, under ``Other Attachments Form,'' please list the page 
number or numbers on which we can find this information. For additional 
information, please see 34 CFR 5.11(c).
    3. Submission Dates and Times:
    Applications Available: January 3, 2018.
    Deadline for Notice of Intent to Apply: February 2, 2018.
    Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: April 2, 2018.
    Applications under this program must be submitted electronically 
using the Department's application portal at www.Max.gov. For 
directions on how to access and use the application portal, please 
contact Donald Peasley at [email protected]. For information 
(including dates and times) about how to submit your application 
electronically, please refer to Other Submission Requirements in 
section IV of this notice.
    We do not consider an application that does not comply with the 
deadline requirements.
    Individuals with disabilities who need an accommodation or 
auxiliary aid in connection with the application process should contact 
the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. If the 
Department provides an accommodation or auxiliary aid to an individual 
with a disability in connection with the application process, the 
individual's application remains subject to all other requirements and 
limitations in this notice.
    4. Other Submission Requirements:
    a. Electronic Submission of Applications.
    Applications under this program must be submitted electronically 
using the Department's application portal at www.Max.gov by 5:00:00 
p.m. EDT on April 2, 2018. For directions on how to access and use the 
application portal, please contact Donald Peasley at 
[email protected].
    You may access the electronic application for this program at 
https://www2.ed.gov/admins/lead/account/saa.html#Related_Programs_and_Initiatives. You must submit all 
documents electronically.
     You must upload any narrative sections and all other 
attachments to your application as files in a read-only, flattened 
Portable Document Format (PDF), meaning any fillable PDF documents must 
be saved as flattened non-fillable files. Do not upload an interactive 
or fillable PDF file. If you upload a file type other than a read-only, 
flattened PDF (e.g., Word, Excel, WordPerfect, etc.) or submit a 
password-protected file, we will not review that material. Please note 
that this could result in your application not being considered because 
the material in question--for example, the project narrative--is 
critical to a meaningful review of your proposal. For that reason it is 
important to allow yourself adequate time to upload all material as PDF 
files. The Department will not convert material from other formats to 
PDF.
     Your application must also meet the Department's 
application requirements as specified in this notice and in the 
application instructions. Disqualifying errors could include, for 
instance, failure to upload attachments in a read-only, flattened PDF; 
failure to submit a required part of the application; or failure to 
meet applicant eligibility requirements. It is your responsibility to 
ensure that your submitted application has met all of the Department's 
requirements.
     We may request that you provide us original signatures on 
forms at a later date.
    b. Submission of Application in Case of Technical Issues.
    If you are prevented from electronically submitting your 
application on the application deadline date because of technical 
problems with the Max.gov system, you may email your application to the 
person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT and provide an 
explanation of the technical problem you experienced. We will contact 
you after we determine whether your application will be accepted.

V. Application Review Information

    1. Selection Criteria: The selection criteria for this program are 
from 34 CFR 200.106. We will award up to 110 points to an application 
under the selection criteria; the total possible points for addressing 
each selection criterion are noted in parentheses.
    (a) Project narrative. (Up to 40 points)
    The quality of the SEA's or consortium's plan for implementing the 
innovative assessment demonstration authority. In determining the 
quality of the plan, the Secretary considers--
    (1) The rationale for developing or selecting the particular 
innovative assessment system to be implemented under the demonstration 
authority, including--
    (i) The distinct purpose of each assessment that is part of the 
innovative assessment system and how the system will advance the design 
and delivery of large-scale, statewide academic assessments in 
innovative ways; and
    (ii) The extent to which the innovative assessment system as a 
whole will promote high-quality instruction, mastery of challenging 
State academic standards, and improved student outcomes, including for 
each subgroup of students described in section 1111(c)(2) of the Act; 
(5 points if factor (3) is applicable; 10 points if factor (3) is 
inapplicable)
    (2) The plan the SEA or consortium, in consultation with any 
external partners, if applicable, has to--
    (i) Develop and use standardized and calibrated tools, rubrics, 
methods, or other strategies for scoring innovative assessments 
throughout the demonstration authority period, consistent with relevant 
nationally recognized professional and technical

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standards, to ensure inter-rater reliability and comparability of 
innovative assessment results consistent with 34 CFR 200.105(b)(4)(ii), 
which may include evidence of inter-rater reliability; and
    (ii) Train evaluators to use such strategies, if applicable; (25 
points if factor (3) is applicable; 30 points if factor (3) is 
inapplicable) and
    (3) If the system will initially be administered in a subset of 
schools or LEAs in a State--
    (i) The strategies the SEA, including each SEA in a consortium, 
will use to scale the innovative assessment to all schools statewide, 
with a rationale for selecting those strategies;
    (ii) The strength of the SEA's or consortium's criteria that will 
be used to determine LEAs and schools that will initially participate 
and when to approve additional LEAs and schools, if applicable, to 
participate during the requested demonstration authority period; and
    (iii) The SEA's plan, including each SEA in a consortium, for how 
it will ensure that, during the demonstration authority period, the 
inclusion of additional LEAs and schools continues to reflect high-
quality and consistent implementation across demographically diverse 
LEAs and schools, or contributes to progress toward achieving such 
implementation across demographically diverse LEAs and schools, 
including diversity based on enrollment of subgroups of students 
described in section 1111(c)(2) of the Act and student achievement. The 
plan must also include annual benchmarks toward achieving high-quality 
and consistent implementation across participating schools that are, as 
a group, demographically similar to the State as a whole during the 
demonstration authority period, using the demographics of initially 
participating schools as a baseline. (10 points, if applicable)
    (b) Prior experience, capacity, and stakeholder support. (Up to 15 
points)
    (1) The extent and depth of prior experience that the SEA, 
including each SEA in a consortium, and its LEAs have in developing and 
implementing the components of the innovative assessment system. An SEA 
may also describe the prior experience of any external partners that 
will be participating in or supporting its demonstration authority in 
implementing those components. In evaluating the extent and depth of 
prior experience, the Secretary considers--
    (i) The success and track record of efforts to implement innovative 
assessments or innovative assessment items aligned to the challenging 
State academic standards under section 1111(b)(1) of the Act in LEAs 
planning to participate; and
    (ii) The SEA's or LEA's development or use of--
    (A) Effective supports and appropriate accommodations consistent 
with 34 CFR 200.6(b) and (f)(1)(i) and section 1111(b)(2)(B)(vii) of 
the Act for administering innovative assessments to all students, 
including English learners and children with disabilities, which must 
include professional development for school staff on providing such 
accommodations;
    (B) Effective and high-quality supports for school staff to 
implement innovative assessments and innovative assessment items, 
including professional development; and
    (C) Standardized and calibrated tools, rubrics, methods, or other 
strategies for scoring innovative assessments, with documented evidence 
of the validity, reliability, and comparability of annual summative 
determinations of achievement, consistent with 34 CFR 200.105(b)(4) and 
(7). (5 points)
    (2) The extent and depth of SEA, including each SEA in a 
consortium, and LEA capacity to implement the innovative assessment 
system considering the availability of technological infrastructure; 
State and local laws; dedicated and sufficient staff, expertise, and 
resources; and other relevant factors. An SEA or consortium may also 
describe how it plans to enhance its capacity by collaborating with 
external partners that will be participating in or supporting its 
demonstration authority. In evaluating the extent and depth of 
capacity, the Secretary considers--
    (i) The SEA's analysis of how capacity influenced the success of 
prior efforts to develop and implement innovative assessments or 
innovative assessment items; and
    (ii) The strategies the SEA is using, or will use, to mitigate 
risks, including those identified in its analysis, and support 
successful implementation of the innovative assessment. (5 points)
    (3) The extent and depth of State and local support for the 
application for demonstration authority in each SEA, including each SEA 
in a consortium, as demonstrated by signatures from the following:
    (i) Superintendents (or equivalent) of LEAs, including 
participating LEAs in the first year of the demonstration authority 
period.
    (ii) Presidents of local school boards (or equivalent, where 
applicable), including within participating LEAs in the first year of 
the demonstration authority.
    (iii) Local teacher organizations (including labor organizations, 
where applicable), including within participating LEAs in the first 
year of the demonstration authority.
    (iv) Other affected stakeholders, such as parent organizations, 
civil rights organizations, and business organizations. (5 points)
    (c) Timeline and budget. (Up to 15 points)
    The quality of the SEA's or consortium's timeline and budget for 
implementing the innovative assessment demonstration authority. In 
determining the quality of the timeline and budget, the Secretary 
considers--
    (1) The extent to which the timeline reasonably demonstrates that 
each SEA will implement the system statewide by the end of the 
requested demonstration authority period, including a description of--
    (i) The activities to occur in each year of the requested 
demonstration authority period;
    (ii) The parties responsible for each activity; and
    (iii) If applicable, how a consortium's member SEAs will implement 
activities at different paces and how the consortium will implement 
interdependent activities, so long as each non-affiliate member SEA 
begins using the innovative assessment in the same school year 
consistent with 34 CFR part 200.104(b)(2); (5 points) and
    (2) The adequacy of the project budget for the duration of the 
requested demonstration authority period, including Federal, State, 
local, and non-public sources of funds to support and sustain, as 
applicable, the activities in the timeline under paragraph (c)(1) of 
this section, including--
    (i) How the budget will be sufficient to meet the expected costs at 
each phase of the SEA's planned expansion of its innovative assessment 
system; and
    (ii) The degree to which funding in the project budget is 
contingent upon future appropriations at the State or local level or 
additional commitments from non-public sources of funds. (10 points)
    (d) Supports for educators, students, and parents. (Up to 25 
points)
    The quality of the SEA or consortium's plan to provide supports 
that can be delivered consistently at scale to educators, students, and 
parents to enable successful implementation of the innovative 
assessment system and improve instruction and student outcomes. In 
determining the quality of supports, the Secretary considers--

[[Page 367]]

    (1) The extent to which the SEA or consortium has developed, 
provided, and will continue to provide training to LEA and school 
staff, including teachers, principals, and other school leaders, that 
will familiarize them with the innovative assessment system and develop 
teacher capacity to implement instruction that is informed by the 
innovative assessment system and its results; (5 points if factor (4) 
is applicable; 9 points if factor (4) is inapplicable)
    (2) The strategies the SEA or consortium has developed and will use 
to familiarize students and parents with the innovative assessment 
system; (5 points if factor (4) is applicable; 8 points if factor (4) 
is inapplicable)
    (3) The strategies the SEA will use to ensure that all students and 
each subgroup of students under section 1111(c)(2) of the Act in 
participating schools receive the support, including appropriate 
accommodations consistent with 34 CFR 200.6(b) and (f)(1)(i) and 
section 1111(b)(2)(B)(vii) of the Act, needed to meet the challenging 
State academic standards under section 1111(b)(1) of the Act; (5 points 
if factor (4) is applicable; 8 points if factor (4) is inapplicable) 
and
    (4) If the system includes assessment items that are locally 
developed or locally scored, the strategies and safeguards (e.g., test 
blueprints, item and task specifications, rubrics, scoring tools, 
documentation of quality control procedures, inter-rater reliability 
checks, audit plans) the SEA or consortium has developed, or plans to 
develop, to validly and reliably score such items, including how the 
strategies engage and support teachers and other staff in designing, 
developing, implementing, and validly and reliably scoring high-quality 
assessments; how the safeguards are sufficient to ensure unbiased, 
objective scoring of assessment items; and how the SEA will use 
effective professional development to aid in these efforts. (10 points 
if applicable)
    (e) Evaluation and continuous improvement. (Up to 15 points)
    The quality of the SEA's or consortium's plan to annually evaluate 
its implementation of innovative assessment demonstration authority. In 
determining the quality of the evaluation, the Secretary considers--
    (1) The strength of the proposed evaluation of the innovative 
assessment system included in the application, including whether the 
evaluation will be conducted by an independent, experienced third 
party, and the likelihood that the evaluation will sufficiently 
determine the system's validity, reliability, and comparability to the 
statewide assessment system consistent with the requirements of 34 CFR 
200.105(b)(4) and (9); (10 points) and
    (2) The SEA's or consortium's plan for continuous improvement of 
the innovative assessment system, including its process for--
    (i) Using data, feedback, evaluation results, and other information 
from participating LEAs and schools to make changes to improve the 
quality of the innovative assessment; and
    (ii) Evaluating and monitoring implementation of the innovative 
assessment system in participating LEAs and schools annually. (5 
points)
    2. Risk Assessment and Special Conditions: Consistent with 2 CFR 
200.205(c) and 200.207, before approving a project under this 
authority, the Department may conduct a review of the risks posed by 
the applicant and impose specific conditions as needed.

VI. Administration Information

    1. Approval Notices: If your application is approved, we notify 
your U.S. Representative and U.S. Senators and send you a letter or 
email approving your project.
    If your application is not evaluated or not selected, we notify 
you.
    2. Programmatic Requirements: Your application must address the 
programmatic requirements in section 1204 of the ESEA and 34 CFR 
200.104 through 200.108.
    3. Reporting: (a) If you apply under this program, you must ensure 
that you have in place the necessary processes and systems to comply 
with the reporting requirements should your application be approved.
    (b) You must submit, at the end of each year of your project 
period, an annual update on program activity according to the 
requirements of 34 CFR 200.105(d)(3).
    4. Transition to Statewide Use: Pursuant to 34 CFR 200.107:
    (a)(1) After an SEA has scaled its innovative assessment system to 
operate statewide in all schools and LEAs in the State, the SEA must 
submit evidence for peer review under section 1111(a)(4) of the Act and 
34 CFR 200.2(d) to determine whether the system may be used for 
purposes of both academic assessments and the State accountability 
system under sections 1111(b)(2), (c), and (d) and 1003 of the Act.
    (2) An SEA may only use the innovative assessment system for the 
purposes described in paragraph (a)(1) of this section if the Secretary 
determines that the system is of high quality consistent with paragraph 
(b) of this section.
    (b) Through the peer review process of State assessments and 
accountability systems under section 1111(a)(4) of the Act and 34 CFR 
200.2(d), the Secretary determines that the innovative assessment 
system is of high quality if--
    (1) An innovative assessment developed in any grade or subject 
under 34 CFR 200.5(a)(1) and section 1111(b)(2)(B)(v) of the Act--
    (i) Meets all of the requirements under section 1111(b)(2) of the 
Act and 34 CFR 200.105(b) and (c);
    (ii) Provides coherent and timely information about student 
achievement based on the challenging State academic standards under 
section 1111(b)(1) of the Act;
    (iii) Includes objective measurements of academic achievement, 
knowledge, and skills; and
    (iv) Is valid, reliable, and consistent with relevant, nationally 
recognized professional and technical standards;
    (2) The SEA provides satisfactory evidence that it has examined the 
statistical relationship between student performance on the innovative 
assessment in each subject area and student performance on other 
measures of success, including the measures used for each relevant 
grade-span within the remaining indicators (i.e., indicators besides 
Academic Achievement) in the statewide accountability system under 
section 1111(c)(4)(B)(ii)-(v) of the Act, and how the inclusion of the 
innovative assessment in its Academic Achievement indicator under 
section 1111(c)(4)(B)(i) of the Act affects the annual meaningful 
differentiation of schools under section 1111(c)(4)(C) of the Act;
    (3) The SEA has solicited information, consistent with the 
requirements under 34 CFR 200.105(d)(3)(iv), and taken into account 
feedback from teachers, principals, other school leaders, parents, and 
other stakeholders under 34 CFR 200.105(a)(2) about their satisfaction 
with the innovative assessment system; and
    (4) The SEA has demonstrated that the same innovative assessment 
system was used to measure--
    (i) The achievement of all students and each subgroup of students 
described in section 1111(c)(2) of the Act, and that appropriate 
accommodations were provided consistent with 34 CFR 200.6(b) and 
(f)(1)(i) under section 1111(b)(2)(B)(vii) of the Act; and
    (ii) For purposes of the State accountability system consistent 
with section 1111(c)(4)(E) of the Act, progress on the Academic 
Achievement indicator

[[Page 368]]

under section 1111(c)(4)(B)(i) of the Act of at least 95 percent of all 
students, and 95 percent of students in each subgroup of students 
described in section 1111(c)(2) of the Act.
    (c) With respect to the evidence submitted to the Secretary to make 
the determination described in paragraph (b)(2) of this section, the 
baseline year for any evaluation is the first year that a participating 
LEA in the State administered the innovative assessment system under 
the demonstration authority.
    (d) In the case of a consortium of SEAs, evidence may be submitted 
for the consortium as a whole so long as the evidence demonstrates how 
each member SEA meets each requirement of paragraph (b) of this section 
applicable to an SEA.
    5. Continuation of Authority: Pursuant to 34 CFR 200.108:
    (1) The Secretary may extend an SEA's demonstration authority 
period for no more than two years if the SEA submits to the Secretary--
    (i) Evidence that its innovative assessment system continues to 
meet the requirements under 34 CFR 200.105 and the SEA continues to 
implement the plan described in its application in response to the 
selection criteria in 34 CFR 200.106 in all participating schools and 
LEAs;
    (ii) A high-quality plan, including input from stakeholders under 
34 CFR 200.105(a)(2), for transitioning to statewide use of the 
innovative assessment system by the end of the extension period; and
    (iii) A demonstration that the SEA and all LEAs that are not yet 
fully implementing the innovative assessment system have sufficient 
capacity to support use of the system statewide by the end of the 
extension period.
    (2) In the case of a consortium of SEAs, the Secretary may extend 
the demonstration authority period for the consortium as a whole or for 
an individual member SEA.
    (b) Withdrawal of demonstration authority. (1) The Secretary may 
withdraw the innovative assessment demonstration authority provided to 
an SEA, including an individual SEA member of a consortium, if at any 
time during the approved demonstration authority period or extension 
period, the Secretary requests, and the SEA does not present in a 
timely manner--
    (i) A high-quality plan, including input from stakeholders under 34 
CFR 200.105(a)(2), to transition to full statewide use of the 
innovative assessment system by the end of its approved demonstration 
authority period or extension period, as applicable; or
    (ii) Evidence that--
    (A) The innovative assessment system meets all requirements under 
34 CFR 200.105, including a demonstration that the innovative 
assessment system has met the requirements under 34 CFR 200.105(b);
    (B) The SEA continues to implement the plan described in its 
application in response to the selection criteria in 34 CFR 200.106;
    (C) The innovative assessment system includes and is used to assess 
all students attending participating schools in the demonstration 
authority, consistent with the requirements under section 1111(b)(2) of 
the Act to provide for participation in State assessments, including 
among each subgroup of students described in section 1111(c)(2) of the 
Act, and for appropriate accommodations consistent with 34 CFR 200.6(b) 
and (f)(1)(i) and section 1111(b)(2)(B)(vii) of the Act;
    (D) The innovative assessment system provides an unbiased, 
rational, and consistent determination of progress toward the State's 
long-term goals and measurements of interim progress for academic 
achievement under section 1111(c)(4)(A) of the Act for all students and 
subgroups of students described in section 1111(c)(2) of the Act and a 
comparable measure of student performance on the Academic Achievement 
indicator under section 1111(c)(4)(B)(i) of the Act for participating 
schools relative to non-participating schools; or
    (E) The innovative assessment system demonstrates comparability to 
the statewide assessments under section 1111(b)(2) of the Act in 
content coverage, difficulty, and quality.
    (2)(i) In the case of a consortium of SEAs, the Secretary may 
withdraw innovative assessment demonstration authority for the 
consortium as a whole at any time during its demonstration authority 
period or extension period if the Secretary requests, and no member of 
the consortium provides, the information under paragraph (b)(1)(i) or 
(ii) of this section.
    (ii) If innovative assessment demonstration authority for one or 
more SEAs in a consortium is withdrawn, the consortium may continue to 
implement the authority if it can demonstrate, in an amended 
application to the Secretary that, as a group, the remaining SEAs 
continue to meet all requirements and selection criteria in 34 CFR 
200.105 and 200.106.
    (c) Waiver authority. (1) At the end of the extension period, an 
SEA that is not yet approved consistent with 34 CFR 200.107 to 
implement its innovative assessment system statewide may request a 
waiver from the Secretary consistent with section 8401 of the Act to 
delay the withdrawal of authority under paragraph (b) of this section 
for the purpose of providing the SEA with the time necessary to receive 
approval to transition to use of the innovative assessment system 
statewide under 34 CFR 200.107(b).
    (2) The Secretary may grant an SEA a one-year waiver to continue 
the innovative assessment demonstration authority, if the SEA submits, 
in its request under paragraph (c)(1) of this section, evidence 
satisfactory to the Secretary that it--
    (i) Has met all of the requirements under paragraph (b)(1) of this 
section and of 34 CFR 200.105 and 200.106; and
    (ii) Has a high-quality plan, including input from stakeholders 
under 34 CFR 200.105(a)(2), for transition to statewide use of the 
innovative assessment system, including peer review consistent with 34 
CFR 200.107, in a reasonable period of time.
    (3) In the case of a consortium of SEAs, the Secretary may grant a 
one-year waiver consistent with paragraph (c)(1) of this section for 
the consortium as a whole or for individual member SEAs, as necessary.
    (d) Return to the statewide assessment system. If the Secretary 
withdraws innovative assessment demonstration authority consistent with 
paragraph (b) of this section, or if an SEA voluntarily terminates use 
of its innovative assessment system prior to the end of its 
demonstration authority, extension, or waiver period under paragraph 
(c) of this section, as applicable, the SEA must--
    (1) Return to using, in all LEAs and schools in the State, a 
statewide assessment that meets the requirements of section 1111(b)(2) 
of the Act; and
    (2) Provide timely notice to all participating LEAs and schools of 
the withdrawal of authority and the SEA's plan for transition back to 
use of a statewide assessment.

VII. Other Information

    Accessible Format: Individuals with disabilities can obtain this 
document and a copy of the application package in an accessible format 
(e.g., braille, large print, audiotape, or compact disc) on request to 
the program contact person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT.
    Electronic Access to This Document: The official version of this 
document is the document published in the Federal Register. Free 
internet access to the official edition of the Federal Register

[[Page 369]]

and the Code of Federal Regulations is available via the Federal 
Digital System at: www.thefederalregister.org/fdsys. At this site you can view this 
document, as well as all other documents of this Department published 
in the Federal Register, in text or PDF. To use PDF you must have Adobe 
Acrobat Reader, which is available free at the site.
    You may also access documents of the Department published in the 
Federal Register by using the article search feature at: 
www.federalregister.gov. Specifically, through the advanced search 
feature at this site, you can limit your search to documents published 
by the Department.

    Dated: December 28, 2017.
Jason Botel,
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Delegated the Authority to 
Perform the Functions and Duties of Assistant Secretary for Elementary 
and Secondary Education.
[FR Doc. 2017-28424 Filed 1-2-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4000-01-P



                                                                             Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 2 / Wednesday, January 3, 2018 / Notices                                                       361

                                                agency or state approval agency under                   instructions contained in this notice                    Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1011c.
                                                review will not be accepted at this time.               will be afforded an opportunity to                     Kathleen A. Smith,
                                                However, members of the public may                      speak.
                                                                                                                                                               Senior Advisor to the Assistant Secretary,
                                                submit written statements regarding                         Method Two: Register at the meeting                Delegated Authority of Assistant Secretary,
                                                other issues within the scope of                        location on February 7, 2018, from 7:30                Office of Postsecondary Education.
                                                NACIQI’s authority for consideration by                 a.m.–8:30 a.m., to make an oral                        [FR Doc. 2017–28406 Filed 1–2–18; 8:45 am]
                                                the Committee in the manner described                   comment during NACIQI’s
                                                                                                                                                               BILLING CODE 4000–01–P
                                                below. No individual in attendance or                   deliberations. The requestor must
                                                making oral presentations may                           provide the subject on which he or she
                                                distribute written materials at the                     wishes to comment, in addition to his                  DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
                                                meeting. Oral comments may not exceed                   or her name, title, organization/
                                                three minutes.                                          affiliation, mailing address, email                    Applications for New Authorities;
                                                   Oral comments about an agency’s                      address, and telephone number. A total                 Innovative Assessment Demonstration
                                                recognition after review of a compliance                of up to fifteen minutes for each agenda               Authority
                                                report must relate to issues identified in              item will be allotted for oral
                                                the compliance report and the criteria                  commenters who register on February 7,                 AGENCY: Office of Elementary and
                                                for recognition cited in the senior                     2018 by 8:30 a.m. Individuals will be                  Secondary Education, Department of
                                                Department official’s letter that                       selected on a first-come, first-served                 Education.
                                                requested the report, or in the                         basis. If selected, each commenter may                 ACTION: Notice.
                                                Secretary’s appeal decision, if any. Oral               not exceed three minutes.
                                                comments about an agency seeking                                                                               SUMMARY:   The Department of Education
                                                                                                            Access to Records of the Meeting: The              is issuing a notice inviting applications
                                                expansion of scope must be directed to                  Department will post the official report
                                                the agency’s ability to serve as a                                                                             for new authorities for fiscal year (FY)
                                                                                                        of the meeting on the NACIQI website                   2018 under the Innovative Assessment
                                                recognized accrediting agency with                      within 90 days after the meeting.
                                                respect to the kinds of institutions or                                                                        Demonstration Authority.
                                                                                                        Pursuant to the FACA, the public may
                                                programs requested to be added. Oral                    also inspect the materials at 400                      DATES:
                                                comments about the renewal of an                                                                                  Applications Available: January 3,
                                                                                                        Maryland Avenue SW, Washington, DC,
                                                agency’s recognition based on a review                                                                         2018.
                                                                                                        by emailing aslrecordsmanager@ed.gov
                                                of the agency’s petition must relate to its                                                                       Deadline for Notice of Intent to Apply:
                                                                                                        or by calling (202) 453–7110 to schedule
                                                compliance with the Criteria for the                                                                           February 2, 2018.
                                                                                                        an appointment.                                           Deadline for Transmittal of
                                                Recognition of Accrediting Agencies, or
                                                                                                            Reasonable Accommodations: The                     Applications: April 2, 2018.
                                                the Criteria and Procedures for
                                                                                                        meeting site is accessible to individuals
                                                Recognition of State Agencies for                                                                              FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
                                                                                                        with disabilities. If you will need an
                                                Approval of Nurse Education, as                                                                                Donald Peasley, U.S. Department of
                                                appropriate, which are available at:                    auxiliary aid or service to participate in
                                                                                                                                                               Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW,
                                                http://www.ed.gov/admins/finaid/                        the meeting (e.g., interpreting service,
                                                                                                                                                               Room 3E124, Washington, DC 20202–
                                                accred/index.html. Written statements                   assistive listening device, or materials in
                                                                                                                                                               6132. Telephone: (202) 453–7982 or by
                                                and oral comments, besides those                        an alternate format), notify the contact
                                                                                                                                                               email: Donald.Peasley@ed.gov.
                                                regarding a specific accrediting agency                 person listed in this notice at least two
                                                                                                                                                                  If you use a telecommunications
                                                under review, must be limited to the                    weeks before the scheduled meeting
                                                                                                                                                               device for the deaf (TDD) or a text
                                                scope of NACIQI’s authority as outlined                 date. Although we will attempt to meet
                                                                                                                                                               telephone (TTY), call the Federal Relay
                                                under section 114 of the HEA.                           a request received after that date, we
                                                                                                                                                               Service (FRS), toll free, at 1–800–877–
                                                   There are two methods the public                     may not be able to make available the
                                                                                                                                                               8339.
                                                may use to request to make a third-party                requested auxiliary aid or service
                                                                                                        because of insufficient time to arrange                SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
                                                oral comment of three minutes at the
                                                February 7–9, 2018 meeting. To submit                   it.                                                    Full Text of Announcement
                                                a written statement to NACIQI in                            Electronic Access to this Document:
                                                                                                        The official version of this document is               I. Opportunity Description
                                                accordance with the parameters stated
                                                above, please follow Method One.                        the document published in the Federal                    Purpose of Program: The Secretary
                                                   Method One: Submit a request by                      Register. Free internet access to the                  provides State educational agencies
                                                email to the ThirdPartyComments@                        official edition of the Federal Register               (SEAs), including consortia of SEAs,
                                                ed.gov mailbox. Please do not send                      and the Code of Federal Regulations is                 with the authority to establish and
                                                material directly to NACIQI members.                    available via the Federal Digital System               operate an innovative assessment
                                                Requests must be received by January                    at: www.gpo.gov/fdsys . At this site you               system in their public schools under the
                                                26, 2018, and include the subject line                  can view this document, as well as all                 Innovative Assessment Demonstration
                                                ‘‘Oral Comment Request: (agency                         other documents of this Department                     Authority in section 1204 of the
                                                name),’’ ‘‘Oral Comment Request:                        published in the Federal Register, in                  Elementary and Secondary Education
                                                (subject)’’ or ‘‘Written Statement:                     text or Adobe Portable Document                        Act of 1965, as amended by the Every
                                                (subject).’’ The email must include the                 Format (PDF). To use PDF, you must                     Student Succeeds Act (ESEA or the
                                                name(s), title, organization/affiliation,               have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is                    Act). During the initial demonstration
                                                mailing address, email address,                         available free at the site. You may also               period—i.e., the first three years that the
                                                telephone number, of the person(s)                      access documents of the Department
sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES




                                                                                                                                                               Secretary provides innovative
                                                submitting a written statement or                       published in the Federal Register by                   assessment demonstration authority—
                                                requesting to speak, and a brief                        using the article search feature at:                   no more than seven SEAs may
                                                summary (not to exceed one page) of the                 www.federalregister.gov. Specifically,                 participate, including those
                                                principal points to be made during the                  through the advanced search feature at                 participating in consortia, which may
                                                oral presentation, if applicable. All                   this site, you can limit your search to                include no more than four SEAs.
                                                individuals submitting a request in                     documents published by the                               Requirements: The following
                                                accordance with the deadlines and                       Department.                                            requirements are from 34 CFR 200.105.


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                                                362                          Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 2 / Wednesday, January 3, 2018 / Notices

                                                  An eligible application must include                  section 1111(b)(1) of the Act, including               statewide assessment in the same
                                                the following:                                          the depth and breadth of such                          subject would also be administered in
                                                  (a) Consultation. Evidence that the                   standards, for the grade in which a                    the same school year to all students
                                                SEA or consortium has developed an                      student is enrolled; and                               included in the sample.
                                                innovative assessment system in                            (ii) May measure a student’s academic                  (C) Including, as a significant portion
                                                collaboration with—                                     proficiency and growth using items                     of the innovative assessment system in
                                                   (1) Experts in the planning,                         above or below the student’s grade level               each required grade and subject in
                                                development, implementation, and                        so long as, for purposes of meeting the                which both an innovative and statewide
                                                evaluation of innovative assessment                     requirements for reporting and school                  assessment are administered, items or
                                                systems, which may include external                     accountability under sections 1111(c)                  performance tasks from the statewide
                                                partners; and                                           and 1111(h) of the Act and paragraphs                  assessment system that, at a minimum,
                                                   (2) Affected stakeholders in the State,              (b)(3) and (b)(7)–(9) of this section, the             have been previously pilot tested or
                                                or in each State in the consortium,                     State measures each student’s academic                 field tested for use in the statewide
                                                including—                                              proficiency based on the challenging                   assessment system.
                                                   (i) Those representing the interests of              State academic standards for the grade                    (D) Including, as a significant portion
                                                children with disabilities, English                     in which the student is enrolled;                      of the statewide assessment system in
                                                learners, and other subgroups of                           (3) Express student results or                      each required grade and subject in
                                                students described in section 1111(c)(2)                competencies consistent with the                       which both an innovative and statewide
                                                of the Act;                                             challenging State academic achievement                 assessment are administered, items or
                                                   (ii) Teachers, principals, and other                 standards under section 1111(b)(1) of                  performance tasks from the innovative
                                                school leaders;                                         the Act and identify which students are                assessment system that, at a minimum,
                                                   (iii) Local educational agencies                     not making sufficient progress toward,                 have been previously pilot tested or
                                                (LEAs);                                                 and attaining, grade-level proficiency on              field tested for use in the innovative
                                                   (iv) Representatives of Indian tribes                such standards;                                        assessment system.
                                                located in the State;                                      (4)(i) Generate results, including                     (E) An alternative method for
                                                   (v) Students and parents, including                  annual summative determinations as                     demonstrating comparability that an
                                                parents of children described in                        defined in paragraph (b)(7) of this                    SEA can demonstrate will provide for
                                                paragraph (a)(2)(i) of this section; and                section, that are valid, reliable, and                 an equally rigorous and statistically
                                                   (vi) Civil rights organizations.                     comparable for all students and for each               valid comparison between student
                                                   (b) Innovative assessment system. A                  subgroup of students described in 34                   performance on the innovative
                                                demonstration that the innovative                       CFR 200.2(b)(11)(i)(A)–(I) and sections                assessment and the statewide
                                                assessment system does or will—                         1111(b)(2)(B)(xi) and 1111(h)(1)(C)(ii) of             assessment, including for each subgroup
                                                   (1) Meet the requirements of section                 the Act, to the results generated by the               of students described in 34 CFR
                                                1111(b)(2)(B) of the Act, except that an                State academic assessments described in                200.2(b)(11)(i)(A)–(I) and sections
                                                innovative assessment—                                  34 CFR 200.2(a)(1) and section                         1111(b)(2)(B)(xi) and 1111(h)(1)(C)(ii) of
                                                   (i) Need not be the same assessment                  1111(b)(2) of the Act for such students.               the Act; and
                                                administered to all public elementary                   Consistent with the SEA’s or                              (ii) Generate results, including annual
                                                and secondary school students in the                    consortium’s evaluation plan under 34                  summative determinations as defined in
                                                State during the demonstration                          CFR 200.106(e), the SEA must plan to                   paragraph (b)(7) of this section, that are
                                                authority period described in 34 CFR                    annually determine comparability                       valid, reliable, and comparable, for all
                                                200.104(b)(2) or extension period                       during each year of its demonstration                  students and for each subgroup of
                                                described in 34 CFR 200.108 and prior                   authority period in one of the following               students described in 34 CFR
                                                to statewide use consistent with 34 CFR                 ways:                                                  200.2(b)(11)(i)(A)–(I) and sections
                                                200.107, if the innovative assessment                      (A) Administering full assessments                  1111(b)(2)(B)(xi) and 1111(h)(1)(C)(ii) of
                                                system will be administered initially to                from both the innovative and statewide                 the Act, among participating schools
                                                all students in participating schools                   assessment systems to all students                     and LEAs in the innovative assessment
                                                within a participating LEA, provided                    enrolled in participating schools, such                demonstration authority. Consistent
                                                that the statewide academic assessments                 that at least once in any grade span (i.e.,            with the SEA’s or consortium’s
                                                under 34 CFR 200.2(a)(1) and section                    3–5, 6–8, or 9–12) and subject for which               evaluation plan under 34 CFR
                                                1111(b)(2) of the Act are administered to               there is an innovative assessment, a                   200.106(e), the SEA must plan to
                                                all students in any non-participating                   statewide assessment in the same                       annually determine comparability
                                                LEA or any non-participating school                     subject would also be administered to                  during each year of its demonstration
                                                within a participating LEA; and                         all such students. As part of this                     authority period;
                                                   (ii) Need not be administered                        determination, the innovative                             (5)(i) Provide for the participation of
                                                annually in each of grades 3–8 and at                   assessment and statewide assessment                    all students, including children with
                                                least once in grades 9–12 in the case of                need not be administered to an                         disabilities and English learners;
                                                reading/language arts and mathematics                   individual student in the same school                     (ii) Be accessible to all students by
                                                assessments, and at least once in grades                year.                                                  incorporating the principles of universal
                                                3–5, 6–9, and 10–12 in the case of                         (B) Administering full assessments                  design for learning, to the extent
                                                science assessments, so long as the                     from both the innovative and statewide                 practicable, consistent with 34 CFR
                                                statewide academic assessments under                    assessment systems to a                                200.2(b)(2)(ii); and
                                                                                                        demographically representative sample
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                                                34 CFR 200.2(a)(1) and section                                                                                    (iii) Provide appropriate
                                                1111(b)(2) of the Act are administered in               of all students and subgroups of                       accommodations consistent with 34
                                                any required grade and subject under 34                 students described in section 1111(c)(2)               CFR 200.6(b) and (f)(1)(i) and section
                                                CFR 200.5(a)(1) in which the SEA does                   of the Act, from among those students                  1111(b)(2)(B)(vii) of the Act;
                                                not choose to implement an innovative                   enrolled in participating schools, such                   (6) For purposes of the State
                                                assessment;                                             that at least once in any grade span (i.e.,            accountability system consistent with
                                                   (2)(i) Align with the challenging State              3–5, 6–8, or 9–12) and subject for which               section 1111(c)(4)(E) of the Act,
                                                academic content standards under                        there is an innovative assessment, a                   annually measure in each participating


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                                                                             Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 2 / Wednesday, January 3, 2018 / Notices                                               363

                                                school progress on the Academic                           (c) Selection Criteria. Information that             required to be reported consistent with
                                                Achievement indicator under section                     addresses each of the selection criteria               section 1111(h) of the Act, except that
                                                1111(c)(4)(B) of the Act of at least 95                 under 34 CFR 200.106.                                  such data may not reveal any personally
                                                percent of all students, and 95 percent                   (d) Assurances. Assurances that the                  identifiable information.
                                                of students in each subgroup of students                SEA, or each SEA in a consortium,                         (iii) If the innovative assessment
                                                described in section 1111(c)(2) of the                  will—                                                  system is not yet implemented
                                                Act, who are required to take such                         (1) Continue use of the statewide                   statewide, school demographic
                                                assessments consistent with paragraph                   academic assessments in reading/                       information, including enrollment and
                                                (b)(1)(ii) of this section;                             language arts, mathematics, and science                student achievement information, for
                                                   (7) Generate an annual summative                     required under 34 CFR 200.2(a)(1) and                  the subgroups of students described in
                                                determination of achievement, using the                 section 1111(b)(2) of the Act—                         section 1111(c)(2) of the Act, among
                                                annual data from the innovative                            (i) In all non-participating schools;               participating schools and LEAs and for
                                                assessment, for each student in a                       and                                                    any schools or LEAs that will
                                                                                                           (ii) In all participating schools for               participate for the first time in the
                                                participating school in the
                                                                                                        which such assessments will be used in                 following year, and a description of how
                                                demonstration authority that
                                                                                                        addition to innovative assessments for                 the participation of any additional
                                                describes—
                                                                                                        accountability purposes under section                  schools or LEAs in that year contributed
                                                   (i) The student’s mastery of the                     1111(c) of the Act consistent with
                                                challenging State academic standards                                                                           to progress toward achieving high-
                                                                                                        paragraph (b)(1)(ii) of this section or for            quality and consistent implementation
                                                under section 1111(b)(1) of the Act for                 evaluation purposes consistent with 34
                                                the grade in which the student is                                                                              across demographically diverse LEAs in
                                                                                                        CFR 200.106(e) during the                              the State consistent with the SEA’s
                                                enrolled; or                                            demonstration authority period;                        benchmarks described in 34 CFR
                                                   (ii) In the case of a student with the                  (2) Ensure that all students and each               200.106(a)(3)(iii).
                                                most significant cognitive disabilities                 subgroup of students described in
                                                                                                                                                                  (iv) Feedback from teachers,
                                                assessed with an alternate assessment                   section 1111(c)(2) of the Act in
                                                                                                                                                               principals and other school leaders, and
                                                aligned with alternate academic                         participating schools are held to the
                                                                                                                                                               other stakeholders consulted under
                                                achievement standards under section                     same challenging State academic
                                                                                                                                                               paragraph (a)(2) of this section,
                                                1111(b)(1)(E) of the Act, the student’s                 standards under section 1111(b)(1) of
                                                                                                                                                               including parents and students, from
                                                mastery of those standards;                             the Act as all other students, except that
                                                                                                                                                               participating schools and LEAs about
                                                   (8) Provide disaggregated results by                 students with the most significant
                                                                                                                                                               their satisfaction with the innovative
                                                each subgroup of students described in                  cognitive disabilities may be assessed
                                                                                                                                                               assessment system;
                                                34 CFR 200.2(b)(11)(i)(A)–(I) and                       with alternate assessments aligned with
                                                                                                                                                                  (4) Ensure that each participating LEA
                                                sections 1111(b)(2)(B)(xi) and                          alternate academic achievement
                                                                                                                                                               informs parents of all students in
                                                1111(h)(1)(C)(ii) of the Act, including                 standards consistent with 34 CFR 200.6
                                                                                                                                                               participating schools about the
                                                timely data for teachers, principals and                and section 1111(b)(1)(E) and (b)(2)(D)
                                                                                                                                                               innovative assessment, including the
                                                other school leaders, students, and                     of the Act, and receive the instructional
                                                                                                                                                               grades and subjects in which the
                                                parents consistent with 34 CFR 200.8                    support needed to meet such standards;
                                                                                                           (3) Report the following annually to                innovative assessment will be
                                                and section 1111(b)(2)(B)(x) and (xii)                                                                         administered, and, consistent with
                                                and section 1111(h) of the Act, and                     the Secretary, at such time and in such
                                                                                                        manner as the Secretary may reasonably                 section 1112(e)(2)(B) of the Act, at the
                                                provide results to parents in a manner                                                                         beginning of each school year during
                                                consistent with paragraph (b)(4)(i) of                  require:
                                                                                                           (i) An update on implementation of                  which an innovative assessment will be
                                                this section and part 200.2(e); and                                                                            implemented. Such information must
                                                   (9) Provide an unbiased, rational, and               the innovative assessment
                                                                                                        demonstration authority, including—                    be—
                                                consistent determination of progress                                                                              (i) In an understandable and uniform
                                                                                                           (A) The SEA’s progress against its
                                                toward the State’s long-term goals for                                                                         format;
                                                                                                        timeline under 34 CFR 200.106(c) and
                                                academic achievement under section                                                                                (ii) To the extent practicable, written
                                                                                                        any outcomes or results from its
                                                1111(c)(4)(A) of the Act for all students                                                                      in a language that parents can
                                                                                                        evaluation and continuous
                                                and each subgroup of students                                                                                  understand or, if it is not practicable to
                                                                                                        improvement process under 34 CFR
                                                described in section 1111(c)(2) of the                                                                         provide written translations to a parent
                                                                                                        200.106(e); and
                                                Act and a comparable measure of                            (B) If the innovative assessment                    with limited English proficiency, be
                                                student performance on the Academic                     system is not yet implemented                          orally translated for such parent; and
                                                Achievement indicator under section                     statewide consistent with 34 CFR                          (iii) Upon request by a parent who is
                                                1111(c)(4)(B) of the Act for participating              200.104(a)(2), a description of the SEA’s              an individual with a disability as
                                                schools relative to non-participating                   progress in scaling up the system to                   defined by the Americans with
                                                schools so that the SEA may validly and                 additional LEAs or schools consistent                  Disabilities Act, provided in an
                                                reliably aggregate data from the system                 with its strategies under 34 CFR                       alternative format accessible to that
                                                for purposes of meeting requirements                    200.106(a)(3)(i), including updated                    parent; and
                                                for—                                                    assurances from participating LEAs                        (5) Coordinate with and provide
                                                   (i) Accountability under sections 1003               consistent with paragraph (e)(2) of this               information to, as applicable, the
                                                and 1111(c) and (d) of the Act,                         section.                                               Institute of Education Sciences for
                                                including how the SEA will identify                        (ii) The performance of students in                 purposes of the progress report
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                                                participating and non-participating                     participating schools at the State, LEA,               described in section 1204(c) of the Act
                                                schools in a consistent manner for                      and school level, for all students and                 and ongoing dissemination of
                                                comprehensive and targeted support                      disaggregated for each subgroup of                     information under section 1204(m) of
                                                and improvement under section                           students described in section 1111(c)(2)               the Act.
                                                1111(c)(4)(D) of the Act; and                           of the Act, on the innovative                             (e) Initial implementation in a subset
                                                   (ii) Reporting on State and LEA report               assessment, including academic                         of LEAs or schools. If the innovative
                                                cards under section 1111(h) of the Act.                 achievement and participation data                     assessment system will initially be


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                                                364                          Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 2 / Wednesday, January 3, 2018 / Notices

                                                administered in a subset of LEAs or                     under sections 1111(c) and 1111(h) of                  instead of, or in addition to, the
                                                schools in a State—                                     the Act.                                               statewide assessment under section
                                                   (1) A description of each LEA, and                      (2) Demonstration authority period                  1111(b)(2) of the Act and where the
                                                each of its participating schools, that                 refers to the period of time over which                results of the school’s students on the
                                                will initially participate, including                   an SEA, or consortium of SEAs, is                      innovative assessment system are used
                                                demographic information and its most                    authorized to implement the innovative                 by its State and LEA for purposes of
                                                recent LEA report card under section                    assessment demonstration authority,                    accountability and reporting under
                                                1111(h)(2) of the Act; and                              which may not exceed five years and                    section 1111(c) and 1111(h) of the Act.
                                                   (2) An assurance from each                           does not include the extension or                        Program Authority: Section 1204 of
                                                participating LEA, for each year that the               waiver period under 34 CFR 200.108.                    the ESEA (Pub. L. 114–95); 34 CFR
                                                LEA is participating, that the LEA will                 An SEA must use its innovative                         200.104 through 200.108.
                                                comply with all requirements of this                    assessment system in all participating
                                                                                                                                                               II. Award Information
                                                section.                                                schools instead of, or in addition to, the
                                                   (f) Application from a consortium of                 statewide assessment under section                       Type of Award: Innovation authority.
                                                SEAs. If an application for the                         1111(b)(2) of the Act for purposes of                    Estimated Available Funds: No funds
                                                innovative assessment demonstration                     accountability and reporting under                     are authorized to be appropriated for the
                                                authority is submitted by a consortium                  section 1111(c) and 1111(h) of the Act                 Innovative Assessment Demonstration
                                                of SEAs—                                                in each year of the demonstration                      Authority. However, an SEA may use
                                                   (1) A description of the governance                  authority period.                                      funds it receives under Grants for State
                                                structure of the consortium, including—                    (3) Innovative assessment system                    Assessments and Related Activities to
                                                   (i) The roles and responsibilities of                means a system of assessments, which                   implement its innovative assessment
                                                each member SEA, which may include                      may include any combination of general                 system.
                                                a description of affiliate members, if                  assessments or alternate assessments                     Estimated Number of Awards: For the
                                                applicable, and must include a                          aligned with alternate academic                        initial demonstration period, no more
                                                description of financial responsibilities               achievement standards, in reading/                     than seven States, including States that
                                                of member SEAs;                                         language arts, mathematics, or science                 are part of a consortium (which may
                                                   (ii) How the member SEAs will                        administered in at least one required                  include no more than four States).
                                                manage and, at their discretion, share                  grade under 34 CFR 200.5(a)(1) and                       Project Period: Up to 60 months.
                                                intellectual property developed by the                  section 1111(b)(2)(B)(v) of the Act that—              III. Eligibility Information
                                                consortium as a group; and                                 (i) Produces—
                                                                                                           (A) An annual summative                               1. Eligible Applicants: SEAs (as
                                                   (iii) How the member SEAs will                                                                              defined in section 8101(49) of the ESEA)
                                                consider requests from SEAs to join or                  determination of each student’s mastery
                                                                                                        of grade-level content standards aligned               and consortia of SEAs that include no
                                                leave the consortium and ensure that                                                                           more than four SEAs.
                                                changes in membership do not affect the                 to the challenging State academic
                                                                                                        standards under section 1111(b)(1) of                    2. Cost Sharing or Matching: This
                                                consortium’s ability to implement the                                                                          program does not require cost sharing or
                                                innovative assessment demonstration                     the Act; or
                                                                                                           (B) In the case of a student with the               matching.
                                                authority consistent with the                                                                                    3. Other: An application from a
                                                requirements and selection criteria in                  most significant cognitive disabilities
                                                                                                        assessed with an alternate assessment                  consortium of SEAs must designate one
                                                this section and 34 CFR 200.106.                                                                               SEA as the lead State for project
                                                                                                        aligned with alternate academic
                                                   (2) While the terms of the association                                                                      management.
                                                                                                        achievement standards under section
                                                with affiliate members are defined by
                                                                                                        1111(b)(1)(E) of the Act and aligned                   IV. Application and Submission
                                                each consortium, consistent with 34
                                                                                                        with the State’s academic content                      Information
                                                CFR 200.104(b)(1) and paragraph (f)(1)(i)
                                                                                                        standards for the grade in which the
                                                of this section, for an affiliate member                                                                         1. Address to Request Application
                                                                                                        student is enrolled, an annual
                                                to become a full member of the                                                                                 Package: Donald Peasley, Office of
                                                                                                        summative determination relative to
                                                consortium and to use the consortium’s                                                                         Elementary and Secondary Education,
                                                                                                        such alternate academic achievement
                                                innovative assessment system under the                                                                         U.S. Department of Education, 400
                                                                                                        standards for each such student; and
                                                demonstration authority, the consortium                                                                        Maryland Avenue SW, Room 3E124,
                                                                                                           (ii) May, in any required grade or
                                                must submit a revised application to the                                                                       Washington, DC 20202–6132.
                                                                                                        subject, include one or more of the
                                                Secretary for approval, consistent with                                                                        Telephone: (202) 453–7982 or by email:
                                                                                                        following types of assessments:
                                                the requirements of this section and 34                    (A) Cumulative year-end assessments.                Donald.Peasley@ed.gov.
                                                CFR 200.106 and subject to the                             (B) Competency-based assessments.                     To obtain a copy via the internet, use
                                                limitation under 34 CFR 200.104(d).                        (C) Instructionally embedded                        the following address: https://
                                                   Definitions: The following definitions               assessments.                                           www2.ed.gov/admins/lead/account/
                                                are from 34 CFR 200.104(b).                                (D) Interim assessments.                            saa.html#Related_Programs_and_
                                                   (1) Affiliate member of a consortium                    (E) Performance-based assessments.                  Initiatives.
                                                means an SEA that is formally                              (F) Another innovative assessment                     If you use a TDD or a TTY, call the
                                                associated with a consortium of SEAs                    design that meets the requirements                     FRS, toll free, at 1–800–877–8339.
                                                that is implementing the innovative                     under 34 CFR 200.105(b).                                 Individuals with disabilities can
                                                assessment demonstration authority, but                    (4) Participating LEA means a LEA in                obtain a copy of the application package
                                                is not yet a full member of the                                                                                in an accessible format (e.g., Braille,
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                                                                                                        the State with at least one school
                                                consortium because it is not proposing                  participating in the innovative                        large print, audiotape, or compact disc)
                                                to use the consortium’s innovative                      assessment demonstration authority.                    by contacting the program contact
                                                assessment system under the                                (5) Participating school means a                    person listed in this section.
                                                demonstration authority, instead of, or                 public school in the State in which the                  2. a. Content and Form of Application
                                                in addition to, its statewide assessment                innovative assessment system is                        Submission: Requirements concerning
                                                under section 1111(b)(2) of the Act for                 administered under the innovative                      the content and form of an application,
                                                purposes of accountability and reporting                assessment demonstration authority                     together with the forms you must


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                                                                             Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 2 / Wednesday, January 3, 2018 / Notices                                                365

                                                submit, are in the application package                  Donald.Peasley@ed.gov. For information                 required part of the application; or
                                                for this program, which can be found at                 (including dates and times) about how                  failure to meet applicant eligibility
                                                https://www2.ed.gov/admins/lead/                        to submit your application                             requirements. It is your responsibility to
                                                account/saa.html#Related_Programs_                      electronically, please refer to Other                  ensure that your submitted application
                                                and_Initiatives.                                        Submission Requirements in section IV                  has met all of the Department’s
                                                   Notice of Intent To Apply: We will be                of this notice.                                        requirements.
                                                able to develop a more efficient process                   We do not consider an application                      • We may request that you provide us
                                                for reviewing applications if we have a                 that does not comply with the deadline                 original signatures on forms at a later
                                                better understanding of the number of                   requirements.                                          date.
                                                applicants that intend to apply for                        Individuals with disabilities who                      b. Submission of Application in Case
                                                selection under this program. Therefore,                need an accommodation or auxiliary aid                 of Technical Issues.
                                                we strongly encourage each potential                    in connection with the application                        If you are prevented from
                                                applicant to notify us of the applicant’s               process should contact the person listed               electronically submitting your
                                                intent to submit an application. This                   under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION                          application on the application deadline
                                                notification should be brief, and identify              CONTACT. If the Department provides an                 date because of technical problems with
                                                the SEA applicant and, if part of a                     accommodation or auxiliary aid to an                   the Max.gov system, you may email
                                                consortium, the SEA that is the fiscal                  individual with a disability in                        your application to the person listed
                                                agent for the consortium. Submit this                   connection with the application                        under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
                                                notification by email to                                process, the individual’s application                  CONTACT and provide an explanation of
                                                Donald.Peasley@ed.gov with ‘‘Intent to                  remains subject to all other                           the technical problem you experienced.
                                                Apply’’ in the email subject line or mail               requirements and limitations in this                   We will contact you after we determine
                                                to Donald Peasley, U.S. Department of                   notice.                                                whether your application will be
                                                Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW,                         4. Other Submission Requirements:                   accepted.
                                                Room 3E124, Washington, DC 20202–                          a. Electronic Submission of
                                                                                                        Applications.                                          V. Application Review Information
                                                6132. Applicants that do not provide
                                                this notification may still apply for the                  Applications under this program must                   1. Selection Criteria: The selection
                                                authority.                                              be submitted electronically using the                  criteria for this program are from 34 CFR
                                                   b. Submission of Proprietary                         Department’s application portal at                     200.106. We will award up to 110 points
                                                Information: Given the types of projects                www.Max.gov by 5:00:00 p.m. EDT on                     to an application under the selection
                                                that may be proposed in applications for                April 2, 2018. For directions on how to                criteria; the total possible points for
                                                the Innovative Assessment                               access and use the application portal,                 addressing each selection criterion are
                                                Demonstration Authority, your                           please contact Donald Peasley at                       noted in parentheses.
                                                application may include business                        Donald.Peasley@ed.gov.                                    (a) Project narrative. (Up to 40 points)
                                                information that you consider                              You may access the electronic                          The quality of the SEA’s or
                                                proprietary. In 34 CFR 5.11 we define                   application for this program at https://               consortium’s plan for implementing the
                                                ‘‘business information’’ and describe the               www2.ed.gov/admins/lead/account/                       innovative assessment demonstration
                                                process we use in determining whether                   saa.html#Related_Programs_and_                         authority. In determining the quality of
                                                any of that information is proprietary                  Initiatives. You must submit all                       the plan, the Secretary considers—
                                                and, thus, protected from disclosure                    documents electronically.                                 (1) The rationale for developing or
                                                under Exemption 4 of the Freedom of                        • You must upload any narrative                     selecting the particular innovative
                                                Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552, as                       sections and all other attachments to                  assessment system to be implemented
                                                amended). Because we plan to make                       your application as files in a read-only,              under the demonstration authority,
                                                successful applications available to the                flattened Portable Document Format                     including—
                                                public, you may wish to request                         (PDF), meaning any fillable PDF                           (i) The distinct purpose of each
                                                confidentiality of business information.                documents must be saved as flattened                   assessment that is part of the innovative
                                                   Consistent with Executive Order                      non-fillable files. Do not upload an                   assessment system and how the system
                                                12600, please designate in your                         interactive or fillable PDF file. If you               will advance the design and delivery of
                                                application any information that you                    upload a file type other than a read-                  large-scale, statewide academic
                                                believe is exempt from disclosure under                 only, flattened PDF (e.g., Word, Excel,                assessments in innovative ways; and
                                                Exemption 4. In the appropriate                         WordPerfect, etc.) or submit a password-                  (ii) The extent to which the
                                                Appendix section of your application,                   protected file, we will not review that                innovative assessment system as a
                                                under ‘‘Other Attachments Form,’’                       material. Please note that this could                  whole will promote high-quality
                                                please list the page number or numbers                  result in your application not being                   instruction, mastery of challenging State
                                                on which we can find this information.                  considered because the material in                     academic standards, and improved
                                                For additional information, please see                  question—for example, the project                      student outcomes, including for each
                                                34 CFR 5.11(c).                                         narrative—is critical to a meaningful                  subgroup of students described in
                                                   3. Submission Dates and Times:                       review of your proposal. For that reason               section 1111(c)(2) of the Act; (5 points
                                                   Applications Available: January 3,                   it is important to allow yourself                      if factor (3) is applicable; 10 points if
                                                2018.                                                   adequate time to upload all material as                factor (3) is inapplicable)
                                                   Deadline for Notice of Intent to Apply:              PDF files. The Department will not                        (2) The plan the SEA or consortium,
                                                February 2, 2018.                                       convert material from other formats to                 in consultation with any external
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                                                   Deadline for Transmittal of                          PDF.                                                   partners, if applicable, has to—
                                                Applications: April 2, 2018.                               • Your application must also meet the                  (i) Develop and use standardized and
                                                   Applications under this program must                 Department’s application requirements                  calibrated tools, rubrics, methods, or
                                                be submitted electronically using the                   as specified in this notice and in the                 other strategies for scoring innovative
                                                Department’s application portal at                      application instructions. Disqualifying                assessments throughout the
                                                www.Max.gov. For directions on how to                   errors could include, for instance,                    demonstration authority period,
                                                access and use the application portal,                  failure to upload attachments in a read-               consistent with relevant nationally
                                                please contact Donald Peasley at                        only, flattened PDF; failure to submit a               recognized professional and technical


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                                                standards, to ensure inter-rater                        items aligned to the challenging State                 the first year of the demonstration
                                                reliability and comparability of                        academic standards under section                       authority.
                                                innovative assessment results consistent                1111(b)(1) of the Act in LEAs planning                    (iii) Local teacher organizations
                                                with 34 CFR 200.105(b)(4)(ii), which                    to participate; and                                    (including labor organizations, where
                                                may include evidence of inter-rater                        (ii) The SEA’s or LEA’s development                 applicable), including within
                                                reliability; and                                        or use of—                                             participating LEAs in the first year of
                                                   (ii) Train evaluators to use such                       (A) Effective supports and appropriate              the demonstration authority.
                                                strategies, if applicable; (25 points if                accommodations consistent with 34                         (iv) Other affected stakeholders, such
                                                factor (3) is applicable; 30 points if                  CFR 200.6(b) and (f)(1)(i) and section                 as parent organizations, civil rights
                                                factor (3) is inapplicable) and                         1111(b)(2)(B)(vii) of the Act for                      organizations, and business
                                                   (3) If the system will initially be                  administering innovative assessments to                organizations. (5 points)
                                                administered in a subset of schools or                  all students, including English learners                  (c) Timeline and budget. (Up to 15
                                                LEAs in a State—                                        and children with disabilities, which                  points)
                                                   (i) The strategies the SEA, including                must include professional development                     The quality of the SEA’s or
                                                each SEA in a consortium, will use to                   for school staff on providing such                     consortium’s timeline and budget for
                                                scale the innovative assessment to all                  accommodations;                                        implementing the innovative
                                                schools statewide, with a rationale for                    (B) Effective and high-quality                      assessment demonstration authority. In
                                                selecting those strategies;                             supports for school staff to implement                 determining the quality of the timeline
                                                   (ii) The strength of the SEA’s or
                                                                                                        innovative assessments and innovative                  and budget, the Secretary considers—
                                                consortium’s criteria that will be used to
                                                                                                        assessment items, including                               (1) The extent to which the timeline
                                                determine LEAs and schools that will
                                                                                                        professional development; and                          reasonably demonstrates that each SEA
                                                initially participate and when to
                                                approve additional LEAs and schools, if                    (C) Standardized and calibrated tools,              will implement the system statewide by
                                                applicable, to participate during the                   rubrics, methods, or other strategies for              the end of the requested demonstration
                                                requested demonstration authority                       scoring innovative assessments, with                   authority period, including a
                                                period; and                                             documented evidence of the validity,                   description of—
                                                   (iii) The SEA’s plan, including each                 reliability, and comparability of annual                  (i) The activities to occur in each year
                                                SEA in a consortium, for how it will                    summative determinations of                            of the requested demonstration
                                                ensure that, during the demonstration                   achievement, consistent with 34 CFR                    authority period;
                                                authority period, the inclusion of                      200.105(b)(4) and (7). (5 points)                         (ii) The parties responsible for each
                                                additional LEAs and schools continues                      (2) The extent and depth of SEA,                    activity; and
                                                to reflect high-quality and consistent                  including each SEA in a consortium,                       (iii) If applicable, how a consortium’s
                                                implementation across demographically                   and LEA capacity to implement the                      member SEAs will implement activities
                                                diverse LEAs and schools, or                            innovative assessment system                           at different paces and how the
                                                contributes to progress toward achieving                considering the availability of                        consortium will implement
                                                such implementation across                              technological infrastructure; State and                interdependent activities, so long as
                                                demographically diverse LEAs and                        local laws; dedicated and sufficient                   each non-affiliate member SEA begins
                                                schools, including diversity based on                   staff, expertise, and resources; and other             using the innovative assessment in the
                                                enrollment of subgroups of students                     relevant factors. An SEA or consortium                 same school year consistent with 34
                                                described in section 1111(c)(2) of the                  may also describe how it plans to                      CFR part 200.104(b)(2); (5 points) and
                                                Act and student achievement. The plan                   enhance its capacity by collaborating                     (2) The adequacy of the project budget
                                                must also include annual benchmarks                     with external partners that will be                    for the duration of the requested
                                                toward achieving high-quality and                       participating in or supporting its                     demonstration authority period,
                                                consistent implementation across                        demonstration authority. In evaluating                 including Federal, State, local, and non-
                                                participating schools that are, as a                    the extent and depth of capacity, the                  public sources of funds to support and
                                                group, demographically similar to the                   Secretary considers—                                   sustain, as applicable, the activities in
                                                State as a whole during the                                (i) The SEA’s analysis of how capacity              the timeline under paragraph (c)(1) of
                                                demonstration authority period, using                   influenced the success of prior efforts to             this section, including—
                                                the demographics of initially                           develop and implement innovative                          (i) How the budget will be sufficient
                                                participating schools as a baseline. (10                assessments or innovative assessment                   to meet the expected costs at each phase
                                                points, if applicable)                                  items; and                                             of the SEA’s planned expansion of its
                                                   (b) Prior experience, capacity, and                     (ii) The strategies the SEA is using, or            innovative assessment system; and
                                                stakeholder support. (Up to 15 points)                  will use, to mitigate risks, including                    (ii) The degree to which funding in
                                                   (1) The extent and depth of prior                    those identified in its analysis, and                  the project budget is contingent upon
                                                experience that the SEA, including each                 support successful implementation of                   future appropriations at the State or
                                                SEA in a consortium, and its LEAs have                  the innovative assessment. (5 points)                  local level or additional commitments
                                                in developing and implementing the                         (3) The extent and depth of State and               from non-public sources of funds. (10
                                                components of the innovative                            local support for the application for                  points)
                                                assessment system. An SEA may also                      demonstration authority in each SEA,                      (d) Supports for educators, students,
                                                describe the prior experience of any                    including each SEA in a consortium, as                 and parents. (Up to 25 points)
                                                external partners that will be                          demonstrated by signatures from the                       The quality of the SEA or
                                                                                                        following:                                             consortium’s plan to provide supports
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                                                participating in or supporting its
                                                demonstration authority in                                 (i) Superintendents (or equivalent) of              that can be delivered consistently at
                                                implementing those components. In                       LEAs, including participating LEAs in                  scale to educators, students, and parents
                                                evaluating the extent and depth of prior                the first year of the demonstration                    to enable successful implementation of
                                                experience, the Secretary considers—                    authority period.                                      the innovative assessment system and
                                                   (i) The success and track record of                     (ii) Presidents of local school boards              improve instruction and student
                                                efforts to implement innovative                         (or equivalent, where applicable),                     outcomes. In determining the quality of
                                                assessments or innovative assessment                    including within participating LEAs in                 supports, the Secretary considers—


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                                                                             Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 2 / Wednesday, January 3, 2018 / Notices                                               367

                                                   (1) The extent to which the SEA or                   validity, reliability, and comparability               quality consistent with paragraph (b) of
                                                consortium has developed, provided,                     to the statewide assessment system                     this section.
                                                and will continue to provide training to                consistent with the requirements of 34                    (b) Through the peer review process
                                                LEA and school staff, including                         CFR 200.105(b)(4) and (9); (10 points)                 of State assessments and accountability
                                                teachers, principals, and other school                  and                                                    systems under section 1111(a)(4) of the
                                                leaders, that will familiarize them with                  (2) The SEA’s or consortium’s plan for               Act and 34 CFR 200.2(d), the Secretary
                                                the innovative assessment system and                    continuous improvement of the                          determines that the innovative
                                                develop teacher capacity to implement                   innovative assessment system,                          assessment system is of high quality if—
                                                instruction that is informed by the                     including its process for—                                (1) An innovative assessment
                                                innovative assessment system and its                      (i) Using data, feedback, evaluation                 developed in any grade or subject under
                                                results; (5 points if factor (4) is                     results, and other information from                    34 CFR 200.5(a)(1) and section
                                                applicable; 9 points if factor (4) is                   participating LEAs and schools to make                 1111(b)(2)(B)(v) of the Act—
                                                inapplicable)                                           changes to improve the quality of the                     (i) Meets all of the requirements under
                                                   (2) The strategies the SEA or                        innovative assessment; and                             section 1111(b)(2) of the Act and 34 CFR
                                                consortium has developed and will use                     (ii) Evaluating and monitoring                       200.105(b) and (c);
                                                to familiarize students and parents with                implementation of the innovative                          (ii) Provides coherent and timely
                                                the innovative assessment system; (5                    assessment system in participating LEAs                information about student achievement
                                                points if factor (4) is applicable; 8 points            and schools annually. (5 points)                       based on the challenging State academic
                                                if factor (4) is inapplicable)                            2. Risk Assessment and Special                       standards under section 1111(b)(1) of
                                                   (3) The strategies the SEA will use to               Conditions: Consistent with 2 CFR                      the Act;
                                                ensure that all students and each                                                                                 (iii) Includes objective measurements
                                                                                                        200.205(c) and 200.207, before
                                                subgroup of students under section                                                                             of academic achievement, knowledge,
                                                                                                        approving a project under this authority,
                                                1111(c)(2) of the Act in participating                                                                         and skills; and
                                                                                                        the Department may conduct a review of                    (iv) Is valid, reliable, and consistent
                                                schools receive the support, including
                                                                                                        the risks posed by the applicant and                   with relevant, nationally recognized
                                                appropriate accommodations consistent
                                                                                                        impose specific conditions as needed.                  professional and technical standards;
                                                with 34 CFR 200.6(b) and (f)(1)(i) and
                                                section 1111(b)(2)(B)(vii) of the Act,                  VI. Administration Information                            (2) The SEA provides satisfactory
                                                needed to meet the challenging State                                                                           evidence that it has examined the
                                                                                                          1. Approval Notices: If your                         statistical relationship between student
                                                academic standards under section
                                                                                                        application is approved, we notify your                performance on the innovative
                                                1111(b)(1) of the Act; (5 points if factor
                                                                                                        U.S. Representative and U.S. Senators                  assessment in each subject area and
                                                (4) is applicable; 8 points if factor (4) is
                                                                                                        and send you a letter or email approving               student performance on other measures
                                                inapplicable) and
                                                   (4) If the system includes assessment                your project.                                          of success, including the measures used
                                                items that are locally developed or                       If your application is not evaluated or              for each relevant grade-span within the
                                                locally scored, the strategies and                      not selected, we notify you.                           remaining indicators (i.e., indicators
                                                safeguards (e.g., test blueprints, item                   2. Programmatic Requirements: Your                   besides Academic Achievement) in the
                                                and task specifications, rubrics, scoring               application must address the                           statewide accountability system under
                                                tools, documentation of quality control                 programmatic requirements in section                   section 1111(c)(4)(B)(ii)–(v) of the Act,
                                                procedures, inter-rater reliability                     1204 of the ESEA and 34 CFR 200.104                    and how the inclusion of the innovative
                                                checks, audit plans) the SEA or                         through 200.108.                                       assessment in its Academic
                                                consortium has developed, or plans to                     3. Reporting: (a) If you apply under                 Achievement indicator under section
                                                develop, to validly and reliably score                  this program, you must ensure that you                 1111(c)(4)(B)(i) of the Act affects the
                                                such items, including how the strategies                have in place the necessary processes                  annual meaningful differentiation of
                                                engage and support teachers and other                   and systems to comply with the                         schools under section 1111(c)(4)(C) of
                                                staff in designing, developing,                         reporting requirements should your                     the Act;
                                                implementing, and validly and reliably                  application be approved.                                  (3) The SEA has solicited information,
                                                scoring high-quality assessments; how                     (b) You must submit, at the end of                   consistent with the requirements under
                                                the safeguards are sufficient to ensure                 each year of your project period, an                   34 CFR 200.105(d)(3)(iv), and taken into
                                                unbiased, objective scoring of                          annual update on program activity                      account feedback from teachers,
                                                assessment items; and how the SEA will                  according to the requirements of 34 CFR                principals, other school leaders, parents,
                                                use effective professional development                  200.105(d)(3).                                         and other stakeholders under 34 CFR
                                                to aid in these efforts. (10 points if                    4. Transition to Statewide Use:                      200.105(a)(2) about their satisfaction
                                                applicable)                                             Pursuant to 34 CFR 200.107:                            with the innovative assessment system;
                                                   (e) Evaluation and continuous                          (a)(1) After an SEA has scaled its                   and
                                                improvement. (Up to 15 points)                          innovative assessment system to operate                   (4) The SEA has demonstrated that
                                                   The quality of the SEA’s or                          statewide in all schools and LEAs in the               the same innovative assessment system
                                                consortium’s plan to annually evaluate                  State, the SEA must submit evidence for                was used to measure—
                                                its implementation of innovative                        peer review under section 1111(a)(4) of                   (i) The achievement of all students
                                                assessment demonstration authority. In                  the Act and 34 CFR 200.2(d) to                         and each subgroup of students
                                                determining the quality of the                          determine whether the system may be                    described in section 1111(c)(2) of the
                                                evaluation, the Secretary considers—                    used for purposes of both academic                     Act, and that appropriate
                                                   (1) The strength of the proposed                     assessments and the State accountability
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                                                                                                                                                               accommodations were provided
                                                evaluation of the innovative assessment                 system under sections 1111(b)(2), (c),                 consistent with 34 CFR 200.6(b) and
                                                system included in the application,                     and (d) and 1003 of the Act.                           (f)(1)(i) under section 1111(b)(2)(B)(vii)
                                                including whether the evaluation will                     (2) An SEA may only use the                          of the Act; and
                                                be conducted by an independent,                         innovative assessment system for the                      (ii) For purposes of the State
                                                experienced third party, and the                        purposes described in paragraph (a)(1)                 accountability system consistent with
                                                likelihood that the evaluation will                     of this section if the Secretary                       section 1111(c)(4)(E) of the Act, progress
                                                sufficiently determine the system’s                     determines that the system is of high                  on the Academic Achievement indicator


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                                                368                          Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 2 / Wednesday, January 3, 2018 / Notices

                                                under section 1111(c)(4)(B)(i) of the Act               period or extension period, as                         200.107 to implement its innovative
                                                of at least 95 percent of all students, and             applicable; or                                         assessment system statewide may
                                                95 percent of students in each subgroup                    (ii) Evidence that—                                 request a waiver from the Secretary
                                                of students described in section                           (A) The innovative assessment system                consistent with section 8401 of the Act
                                                1111(c)(2) of the Act.                                  meets all requirements under 34 CFR                    to delay the withdrawal of authority
                                                  (c) With respect to the evidence                      200.105, including a demonstration that                under paragraph (b) of this section for
                                                submitted to the Secretary to make the                  the innovative assessment system has                   the purpose of providing the SEA with
                                                determination described in paragraph                    met the requirements under 34 CFR                      the time necessary to receive approval
                                                (b)(2) of this section, the baseline year               200.105(b);                                            to transition to use of the innovative
                                                for any evaluation is the first year that                  (B) The SEA continues to implement                  assessment system statewide under 34
                                                a participating LEA in the State                        the plan described in its application in               CFR 200.107(b).
                                                administered the innovative assessment                  response to the selection criteria in 34                  (2) The Secretary may grant an SEA a
                                                system under the demonstration                          CFR 200.106;                                           one-year waiver to continue the
                                                authority.                                                 (C) The innovative assessment system                innovative assessment demonstration
                                                  (d) In the case of a consortium of                    includes and is used to assess all                     authority, if the SEA submits, in its
                                                SEAs, evidence may be submitted for                     students attending participating schools               request under paragraph (c)(1) of this
                                                the consortium as a whole so long as the                in the demonstration authority,                        section, evidence satisfactory to the
                                                evidence demonstrates how each                          consistent with the requirements under                 Secretary that it—
                                                member SEA meets each requirement of                    section 1111(b)(2) of the Act to provide                  (i) Has met all of the requirements
                                                paragraph (b) of this section applicable                for participation in State assessments,                under paragraph (b)(1) of this section
                                                to an SEA.                                              including among each subgroup of                       and of 34 CFR 200.105 and 200.106; and
                                                  5. Continuation of Authority:                         students described in section 1111(c)(2)                  (ii) Has a high-quality plan, including
                                                Pursuant to 34 CFR 200.108:                             of the Act, and for appropriate                        input from stakeholders under 34 CFR
                                                  (1) The Secretary may extend an                       accommodations consistent with 34                      200.105(a)(2), for transition to statewide
                                                SEA’s demonstration authority period                    CFR 200.6(b) and (f)(1)(i) and section                 use of the innovative assessment
                                                for no more than two years if the SEA                   1111(b)(2)(B)(vii) of the Act;                         system, including peer review
                                                submits to the Secretary—                                  (D) The innovative assessment system                consistent with 34 CFR 200.107, in a
                                                  (i) Evidence that its innovative                      provides an unbiased, rational, and                    reasonable period of time.
                                                assessment system continues to meet                     consistent determination of progress                      (3) In the case of a consortium of
                                                the requirements under 34 CFR 200.105                   toward the State’s long-term goals and                 SEAs, the Secretary may grant a one-
                                                and the SEA continues to implement the                  measurements of interim progress for                   year waiver consistent with paragraph
                                                plan described in its application in                    academic achievement under section                     (c)(1) of this section for the consortium
                                                response to the selection criteria in 34                1111(c)(4)(A) of the Act for all students              as a whole or for individual member
                                                CFR 200.106 in all participating schools                and subgroups of students described in                 SEAs, as necessary.
                                                and LEAs;                                               section 1111(c)(2) of the Act and a                       (d) Return to the statewide assessment
                                                  (ii) A high-quality plan, including                   comparable measure of student                          system. If the Secretary withdraws
                                                input from stakeholders under 34 CFR                    performance on the Academic                            innovative assessment demonstration
                                                200.105(a)(2), for transitioning to                     Achievement indicator under section                    authority consistent with paragraph (b)
                                                statewide use of the innovative                         1111(c)(4)(B)(i) of the Act for                        of this section, or if an SEA voluntarily
                                                assessment system by the end of the                     participating schools relative to non-                 terminates use of its innovative
                                                extension period; and                                   participating schools; or                              assessment system prior to the end of its
                                                  (iii) A demonstration that the SEA                       (E) The innovative assessment system                demonstration authority, extension, or
                                                and all LEAs that are not yet fully                     demonstrates comparability to the                      waiver period under paragraph (c) of
                                                implementing the innovative                             statewide assessments under section                    this section, as applicable, the SEA
                                                assessment system have sufficient                       1111(b)(2) of the Act in content                       must—
                                                capacity to support use of the system                   coverage, difficulty, and quality.                        (1) Return to using, in all LEAs and
                                                statewide by the end of the extension                      (2)(i) In the case of a consortium of               schools in the State, a statewide
                                                period.                                                 SEAs, the Secretary may withdraw                       assessment that meets the requirements
                                                  (2) In the case of a consortium of                    innovative assessment demonstration                    of section 1111(b)(2) of the Act; and
                                                SEAs, the Secretary may extend the                      authority for the consortium as a whole                   (2) Provide timely notice to all
                                                demonstration authority period for the                  at any time during its demonstration                   participating LEAs and schools of the
                                                consortium as a whole or for an                         authority period or extension period if                withdrawal of authority and the SEA’s
                                                individual member SEA.                                  the Secretary requests, and no member                  plan for transition back to use of a
                                                  (b) Withdrawal of demonstration                       of the consortium provides, the                        statewide assessment.
                                                authority. (1) The Secretary may                        information under paragraph (b)(1)(i) or
                                                withdraw the innovative assessment                      (ii) of this section.                                  VII. Other Information
                                                demonstration authority provided to an                     (ii) If innovative assessment                          Accessible Format: Individuals with
                                                SEA, including an individual SEA                        demonstration authority for one or more                disabilities can obtain this document
                                                member of a consortium, if at any time                  SEAs in a consortium is withdrawn, the                 and a copy of the application package in
                                                during the approved demonstration                       consortium may continue to implement                   an accessible format (e.g., braille, large
                                                authority period or extension period,                   the authority if it can demonstrate, in an             print, audiotape, or compact disc) on
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                                                the Secretary requests, and the SEA                     amended application to the Secretary                   request to the program contact person
                                                does not present in a timely manner—                    that, as a group, the remaining SEAs                   listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
                                                  (i) A high-quality plan, including                    continue to meet all requirements and                  CONTACT.
                                                input from stakeholders under 34 CFR                    selection criteria in 34 CFR 200.105 and                  Electronic Access to This Document:
                                                200.105(a)(2), to transition to full                    200.106.                                               The official version of this document is
                                                statewide use of the innovative                            (c) Waiver authority. (1) At the end of             the document published in the Federal
                                                assessment system by the end of its                     the extension period, an SEA that is not               Register. Free internet access to the
                                                approved demonstration authority                        yet approved consistent with 34 CFR                    official edition of the Federal Register


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                                                                             Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 2 / Wednesday, January 3, 2018 / Notices                                             369

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                                                                                                           Filed Date: 12/22/17.                                 Applicants: Storm Lake Power
                                                Accessibility; and (3) Election Data.                      Accession Number: 20171222–5204.
                                                   Ahead of the 2018 midterm elections,                                                                        Partners I LLC.
                                                                                                           Comments Due: 5 p.m. ET 1/12/18.                      Description: § 205(d) Rate Filing:
                                                the U.S. Election Assistance
                                                Commission (EAC) will host an all-day                      Docket Numbers: ER18–520–000.                       Revisions to market-based rate tariff to
                                                summit to highlight a spectrum of issues                   Applicants: Entergy New Orleans,                    be effective 12/23/2017.
                                                that state and local election officials will            LLC.                                                     Filed Date: 12/22/17.
                                                face as they work to administer a secure,                  Description: Baseline eTariff Filing:                 Accession Number: 20171222–5215.
                                                accessible and efficient 2018 Election.                 Notice of Succession to be effective 12/                 Comments Due: 5 p.m. ET 1/12/18.
                                                Commissioners and attendees will hear                   22/2017.                                                 Docket Numbers: ER18–528–000.
                                                from keynote speakers and expert                           Filed Date: 12/22/17.                                 Applicants: Storm Lake Power
                                                panelists who will address topics such                     Accession Number: 20171222–5205.                    Partners II, LLC.
                                                as election security, voting accessibility,                Comments Due: 5 p.m. ET 1/12/18.                      Description: § 205(d) Rate Filing:
                                                                                                           Docket Numbers: ER18–521–000.                       Revisions to market-based rate tariff to
sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES




                                                and how to use election data to improve
                                                the voter experience.                                      Applicants: ALLETE, Inc.                            be effective 12/23/2017.
                                                   This event is free and open to the                      Description: § 205(d) Rate Filing:                    Filed Date: 12/22/17.
                                                public. Due to limited space,                           Revisions to market-based rate tariff to                 Accession Number: 20171222–5216.
                                                registration is strongly recommended.                   be effective 12/23/2017.                                 Comments Due: 5 p.m. ET 1/12/18.
                                                The summit will be recorded and                            Filed Date: 12/22/17.                                 Docket Numbers: ER18–529–000.
                                                available at a later date. There is no                     Accession Number: 20171222–5206.                      Applicants: Condon Wind Power,
                                                livestream scheduled.                                      Comments Due: 5 p.m. ET 1/12/18.                    LLC.


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Document Created: 2018-10-26 09:29:46
Document Modified: 2018-10-26 09:29:46
CategoryRegulatory Information
CollectionFederal Register
sudoc ClassAE 2.7:
GS 4.107:
AE 2.106:
PublisherOffice of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration
SectionNotices
ActionNotice.
DatesApplications Available: January 3, 2018.
ContactDonald Peasley, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW, Room 3E124, Washington, DC 20202- 6132. Telephone: (202) 453-7982 or by email: [email protected]
FR Citation83 FR 361 

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