At its October 2025 meeting, the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) directed the Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE) to request authorization from the U.S. Department of Education to waive the requirement to section 1111(b)(2)(C)(iii) of the ESEA that requires a State implementing the exception for advanced mathematics in middle school to use a student’s performance on:
The end-of-course high school mathematics assessment in the year in which the eighth-grade student takes the assessment for purposes of measuring academic achievement and participation for statewide accountability; and
A more advanced high school mathematics assessment in the year in which the student takes that assessment for purposes of measuring academic achievement and participation for statewide accountability.
As an alternative, BESE, through LDOE, is requesting a waiver of the requirements in ESEA section 1111(b)(2)(C) and the corresponding regulation 34 CFR § 200.5(b) during a two-year transition period over the 2025-2026 and 2026-2027 school years.
Interested personnel and members of the public may submit questions or comments to Ashley Townsend, Assistant Superintendent for Policy and Governmental Affairs, via email at [email protected], placing “ESEA Waiver” in the subject line, by November 21, 2025.