COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

P.O. BOX 2120

RICHMOND, VIRGINIA 23218-2120

SUPTS. MEMO NO. 43

August 13, 2004

ADMINISTRATIVE

TO:	Division Superintendents
FROM:	Jo Lynne DeMary Superintendent of Public Instruction
SUBJECT:	Appeals of AYP Accountability Decisions for Schools and School Divisions Under the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001

Under the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) and accompanying federal regulations, schools and school divisions may appeal their AYP accountability decisions. AYP accountability decisions include:

• AYP determination for a given school year; and/or
• identification for improvement and sanctions or corrective actions under NCLB.

The Board of Education approved the appeals processes through its adoption of the Amended Consolidated State Application Accountability Workbook on May 26, 2004.

Appeal of a School’s AYP Accountability Decision

Under section 1116(b)(2) of NCLB, school divisions must provide schools with an opportunity to review the data upon which their AYP accountability decisions are based. If a school believes the proposed decision is in error, the school may provide supporting evidence to the school division, and the school division must review the evidence before making a final decision. The decision is forwarded to the Department of Education, Office of Program Administration and Accountability.

The guidelines and procedures for school divisions to use in considering schools’ appeals to their AYP accountability decisions are found in Attachment A of this memo.

Appeal of a School Division’s AYP Accountability Decision

Under section 1116(c)(5) of NCLB, states must provide school divisions with an opportunity to review the data upon which their AYP accountability decisions are based. If a school division believes the proposed decision is in error, the division may provide supporting evidence to the state, and the state must review the evidence before making a final decision. The evidence is forwarded to the Department of Education, Office of Program Administration and Accountability.

The guidelines and procedures for school divisions to use in appealing their AYP accountability decisions are found in Attachment B of this memo.

If you have questions or need additional information about

Either of the appeals processes, contact staff in the Office of Program Administration and Accountability at

(804) 225-2869.

JLD/CWF/pfm

Attachments

http://www.pen.k12.va.us/VDOE/suptsmemos/2004/adm043a.pdf

http://www.pen.k12.va.us/VDOE/suptsmemos/2004/adm043b.pdf