Newton Citizen

COVINGTON -- The Georgia Department of Education has been approved for several waivers from the U.S. Department of Education regarding Title I, Part A requirements that are affected by the availability of Title I, Part A American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds.

The Newton County Board of Education has approved the system's request to seek permission from the Georgia Department of Education for the following waivers:

* An LEA's obligation to spend an amount equal to at least 20 percent of its FY 2009 Title I, Part A, Subpart 2 allocation on transportation for public school choice and on SES.

* The responsibility of a school in improvement to spend 10 percent of its Title I, Part A funds on professional development.

* The responsibility of an LEA in improvement to spend 10 percent of its FY 2009 Title I, Part A, Subpart 2 allocation on professional development.

* The responsibility of an LEA to calculate the per-pupil amount for SES based on its FY 2009 Title I, Part A, Subpart 2 allocation.

* The prohibition on an SEA's ability to grant to its LEAs waivers of the carry over limitation more than once every three years.

Prior to submitting a request, the Newton County School System must provide all persons interested with notice and a reasonable opportunity to comment on the waiver requests. The Georgia Department of Education will consider these comments when determining whether to grant the waiver requests.

Anyone interested in providing feedback is asked to e-mail Dr. Shelia Thomas, director of Federal Programs at Thomas.Shelia@newton.k12.ga.us.

For more information or to provide additional comments, call Thomas at 770-787-1330, ext. 1250.