POLICY LETTER: December 2, 2011 to Patricia Pierce

December 2, 2011Mrs. Patricia PierceDirector of Special EducationNorthwest Indiana Special Education Cooperative2150 West 97th PlaceCrown Point, IN 46307-2396Dear Mrs. Pierce:This is in response to your letter to Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan. Secretary Duncan forwarded your letter to me so that I might address your concerns. I apologize for the delay in responding.In your letter, you raise two specific issues regarding determining adequate yearly progress (AYP) for public schools: (1) that students with the most significant cognitive disabilities who receive a Certificate of Completion are not counted as high school graduates; and (2) that data regarding students served by the Northwest Indiana Special Education Cooperative (NISEC) are counted in the school district in which they are served rather than their schools of residence.With regard to your concern about high school graduation, for reporting and determining AYP at the school and district levels, a State must calculate a four-year adjusted cohort graduation rate which is defined in 34 CFR 200.19(b)(1)(i)(A) as the number of students who graduate in four years with a regular high school diploma divided by the number of students who form the adjusted cohort for that graduating class (emphasis added). A State may also calculate one or more extended-year graduation rates to capture students who may take longer than four years to graduate with a regular high school diploma. Both the four-year rate /s/Melody Musgrove, Ed.D.DirectorOffice of Special Education Programscc: State Director of Special Education Page PAGE * MERGEFORMAT 2 Mrs. Patricia Pierce