Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015

Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) was signed into law by President Obama on December 10, 2015.  Contained within this legislation are regulations regarding highly qualified teachers in classrooms.  Caregivers of students in Title 1 schools have the right to request information on the professional qualifications of your student’s classroom teachers and paraprofessionals. 

Professional qualifications include:

•  Whether or not the teacher has met Kansas licensing criteria for the grade levels and subject areas being taught:

• The baccalaureate degree and any other grade certification or degree and the field of discipline of both.

• If servers and provided by paraprofessional, their qualifications;

• If the teacher is teaching under an emergency or professional waiver.

Caregivers who would like information on their child's/children's classroom teachers and paraprofessionals, please contact Megan Epperson, Assistant Director of Human Resources or Kristen Ryan, Executive Director of Human Resources for Lawrence Public Schools (785-832-5000).

Ed-Flex Waiver

The purpose of the Education Flexibility Partnership Act (Ed-Flex) is to help districts and schools carry out educational reforms and raise the achievement levels of all children by providing increased flexibility in the implementation of federal education programs in exchange for enhanced accountability for the performance of students. Kansas’s authority to provide Ed-Flex waivers was renewed under the Education Flexibility Partnership Act of 1999. The Ed-Flex program was reauthorized and extended in 2006 (Pub. L. No. 109-211). Under the extension authority, the Secretary was authorized to carry out the Ed-Flex program for any State that was an Ed-Flex state on September 30, 2004, until the date of enactment of an Act that reauthorized programs under part A of title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA).

The Lawrence Public Schools is requesting a waiver of Public Law 107-110, Title I, Section 1127(b) to carry over more than 15% of its Title I allocation. Students and staff in title buildings will be affected by this waiver and approval will support over 2,150 students and 30 staff members included in Title I plans for 2022-23. The waiver will allow the district to continue improvement efforts towards the goal of reducing the number of students scoring 1 or 2 on state ELA  and Math assessments by 10% at each grade level.  Effectiveness will be measured by the 2023 state assessments.

The public, parents, and educators are invited to submit public comments on this waiver by emailing Patrick Kelly, Chief Academic Officer (pkelly@usd497.org)

Ed-Flex Waiver 2021-22 Title I Part A Funds Applications - USD 497