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A1.
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What is the definition of an "eligible rural LEA?"
In a March 31, 2004 letter to Chief State School Officers, the U.S. Secretary
of Education extended the deadlines for being "highly qualified" teachers
of multiple core academic subjects who are employed by "eligible rural LEAs,"
provided that the "eligible rural LEAs" provide assurances that they will
meet several requirements. The Secretary's letter is available at
http://www.ed.gov/policy/elsec/guid/secletter/040331.html
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The Secretary's letter indicates that the definition of an "eligible rural
LEA" for the purpose of the extended deadlines is borrowed from the definition
for the Small Rural Schools Achievement (SRSA) Program in the Rural Education
Achievement Program (REAP) in Title VI of the NCLB. The REAP definition
of an "eligible rural LEA" is:
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The total number of students in average daily attendance at all schools
served by the LEA is fewer than 600, or all schools in the district are
located in counties with a population density of fewer than 10 persons
per square mile; and
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All schools served by the LEA have a school locale code of 7 or 8,
as determined by the Secretary, or all schools served by the LEA are located
in an area of the State defined as rural by the State Education Agency
(SEA) or another governmental agency of the State.
USDOE staff provided technical assistance to SED to clarify that school
districts, Boards of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES), charter
schools, the State schools at Batavia and Rome and Special Act School
Districts defined in section 4001 of the Education Law may all qualify
as "eligible rural LEAs" for the extended deadlines if they meet the federal
definition, despite the fact that they are not all eligible to receive
NCLB Title VI REAP funds. All these entities are subject to the NCLB's
requirements for public school teachers of core academic subjects, as
explained in Item A2 of NCLB NYS Field Memo #09-2003.
As part of the Rural Affairs Act, Section 481(7) of Article 19-F of
the Laws of New York State defines rural areas for the State as either
rural counties or rural towns in urban counties that meet specified population
limits. According to the New York State Legislative Commission on Rural
Resources, at the present time the following 44 counties meet the State
definition of a rural area: Allegany, Cattaraugus, Cayuga, Chautauqua,
Chemung, Chenango, Clinton, Columbia, Cortland, Delaware, Essex, Franklin,
Fulton, Genesee, Greene, Hamilton, Herkimer, Jefferson, Lewis, Livingston,
Madison, Montgomery, Ontario, Orleans, Oswego, Otsego, Putnam, Rensselaer,
Saint Lawrence, Saratoga, Schenectady, Schoharie, Schuyler, Seneca, Steuben,
Sullivan, Tioga, Tompkins, Ulster, Warren, Washington, Wayne, Wyoming
and Yates. In addition, at the present time the towns in urban counties
that meet the State definition of a rural area include all the towns listed
in Appendix B.
Appendix A contains a list of all the entities that meet the complete
definition of an "eligible rural LEA" according to federal and SED databases
as of June 2004. In addition, a public school district that is not listed
in Appendix A may identify itself as an "eligible rural LEA" if it has
an average daily attendance of fewer than 600 students and has all its
locations in one or more rural towns listed in Appendix B. (NOTE: It is
possible for a public school district to be covered by both Appendix A
and Appendix B.)
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A2.
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What requirements must "eligible rural LEAs" meet before using the
extended deadlines?
An "eligible rural LEA" must submit to SED a Notice of Intent to
use the extended deadlines. The Notice of Intent form is in Appendix
C. Completed Notices of Intent should be sent by October 1, 2004 to:
NCLB Rural LEA Extensions
New York State Education Department
89 Washington Avenue - Room 876 EBA
Albany, NY 12234
To be acceptable, a Notice of Intent must:
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be from an LEA listed in Appendix A or from an LEA that correctly
identifies itself using Appendix B; and
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provide assurances that the LEA will meet the three requirements
established by the U.S. Secretary of Education; and
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have a signature from the superintendent or chief executive officer.
By signing the Notice of Intent, a superintendent is providing
assurances that an "eligible rural LEA" will meet the following requirements
established by the U.S. Secretary of Education.
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Its teachers of multiple core academic subjects who use the extended
deadlines will be "highly qualified" in at least one core academic
subject they teach.
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It will provide "high quality professional development," as defined
in Appendix B of NCLB NYS Field Memo #09-2003, that increases the
content knowledge of teachers using the extended deadlines in the
additional core academic subject(s) they teach.
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It will provide mentoring or a program of intensive support that
consists of structured guidance and regular, ongoing support so
that teachers using the extended deadlines become "highly qualified"
in the additional core academic subject(s) they teach.
SED will keep a record of the entities that submit acceptable
Notices of Intent so that SED can extend the deadlines for these
entities' NCLB Annual Measurable Objectives for teacher quality.
SED will provide technical assistance to entities that submit Notices
of Intent that are unacceptable.
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