United States Department of Education to Linda Carter — Sweetwater County School District #1 (July 7, 2022)

Summary

A July 7, 2022 letter from the United States Department of Education, Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, to Linda Carter, Director, Grants and Federal Programs at Sweetwater County School District #1. It responds to a request received March 28, 2022 for an exception to the requirement that the district maintain equity in two of its high-poverty schools in fiscal year (FY) 2022. The letter says two schools were closed in the 2021-2022 school year due to declining enrollment. It states that the Department concurs these events are an exceptional or uncontrollable circumstance and that the district is excepted for FY 2022 for Desert View Elementary and Eastside Elementary. The signature block names Laura Jimenez, Director, Office of State and Grantee Relations.

Summary drafted by a model from the document's text below and checked by script against that text before publication. It is a navigation aid, not a reading of what the document proves. Where AI is used

Issuer: Congressional materials
Document type: Department Of Education Pdf Www Ed Gov 49B8Aaeb11
Case: Department Of Education Pdf Www Ed Gov 49B8Aaeb11

Cite this document

“United States Department of Education to Linda Carter — Sweetwater County School District #1 (July 7, 2022).” Original at www.ed.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/department-of-education-pdf-www-ed-gov-49b8aaeb11/, SHA-256 8566f3b3442fabea87ddf82e538f1388f87b514fee00e0b8c53ccd0d24f85fea.

Full text

                         UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
                             OFFICE OF ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION




                                                July 7, 2022
Linda Carter
Director, Grants and Federal Programs
Sweetwater County School District #1
P.O. Box 1089
Rock Springs, Wyoming 82902

Dear Ms. Carter,

Thank you for submitting to the U.S. Department of Education (the Department) your request for an
exception to the requirement that Sweetwater County School District #1 maintain equity in two of its
high-poverty schools in fiscal year (FY) 2022.

As you know, section 2004(c)(2) of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 specifies that a local
educational agency (LEA) need not maintain equity if the LEA “demonstrates an exceptional or
uncontrollable circumstance, such as unpredictable changes in student enrollment or a precipitous decline
in the financial resources of [the LEA], as determined by the Secretary.” An “exceptional or
uncontrollable circumstance” might include, for example, increased one-time expenditures in the baseline
year (school year 2020-2021) due to the pandemic, a very small school where the maintenance of equity
calculations do not result in meaningful information about resource availability, or a significant change in
the expenses of a school that no longer serves a student whose educational and support needs required
services that have a particularly high cost. Each request for an exception requires a case-by-case review
by the Department.

On March 28, 2022, the Department received your request for an exception to the maintenance of equity
requirement for your high-poverty schools in FY 2022. According to the materials you provided, you
request an exception to maintaining equity because Sweetwater County School District #1 has
experienced an LEA-wide reconfiguration of schools that led to uncontrollable changes in student
enrollment and full-time equivalent (FTE) staff in FY 2022 compared to FY 2021. Specifically, two
schools were closed in the 2021-2022 school year due to declining enrollment. Sweetwater County
School District #1 went through a grade-span reconfiguration due to the closures, transitioning from a K-4
and 5-6 elementary school configuration in FY 2021 to a K-3 and 4-6 grade-span configuration in FY
2022. This reconfiguration resulted in significantly increased enrollment in one high-poverty school and
significantly decreased enrollment in another high-poverty school, leading to corresponding changes in
FTEs.

After reviewing your request, we concur that these events constitute an exceptional or uncontrollable
circumstance that prevents Sweetwater County School District #1 from meeting the maintenance of
equity requirement in FY 2022 with respect to Desert View Elementary and Eastside Elementary. As a
result, Sweetwater County School District #1 is excepted from the local maintenance of equity
requirements for FY 2022.

Thank you again for reaching out to the Department and for your ongoing commitment to maintaining
equity. If you have any questions, please contact the Wyoming state mailbox
at: Wyoming.OESE@ed.gov.
                                       Sincerely,

                                       Laura Jimenez

                                       Laura Jimenez
                                       Director, Office of State and Grantee Relations
                                       Office of Elementary and Secondary Education
                                       United States Department of Education

CC: The Honorable Brian Schroeder
Superintendent of Public Instruction
Wyoming Department of Education

File and source

File: department-of-education-pdf-www-ed-gov-49b8aaeb11.pdf
Size: 232,299 bytes
SHA-256: 8566f3b3442fabea87ddf82e538f1388f87b514fee00e0b8c53ccd0d24f85fea
Our copy: department-of-education-pdf-www-ed-gov-49b8aaeb11.pdf
Original: www.ed.gov