January 26, 2006

Honorable Patti Harrington

Superintendent of Public Instruction

Utah State Office of Education

P.O. Box 144200

250 East 500 South

Salt Lake City, Utah 84114-4200

Dear Superintendent Harrington:

During the week of December 12, 2005, a team from the U. S. Department
of Education's (ED) Student Achievement and School Accountability
Programs (SASA) reviewed the Utah State Office of Education (USOE)
administration of the following programs authorized by the Elementary
and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), as amended by the No Child
Left Behind Act (NCLB):

-   Title I, Part A (Basic);

-   Title I, Part B, Subpart 3 (Even Start);

-   Title I, Part D (Neglected and Delinquent); and

-   Title X, Part C, Subtitle B (McKinney-Vento Homeless Education
    Assistance Improvements Act of 2001).

Enclosed is a report based upon this review.

Because of the increased emphasis that the ESEA, as reauthorized as
NCLB, places on accountability for [all]{.underline} students, and a
focus on States' responsibilities to work with districts and schools to
improve instruction and boost student achievement, ED is committed to
working closely with States to define their responsibilities in
implementing the requirements of NCLB. This monitoring process is
aligned to the changes brought about by NCLB. Monitoring for the Title
I, Part A; Even Start; Neglected or Delinquent; and Homeless Education
programs is conducted in three broad areas - accountability,
instructional support, and fiduciary responsibilities. Prior to, during,
and following the onsite monitoring review, the ED team conducted a
number of activities (described in the enclosed report) to verify
compliance with the critical monitoring indicators in each of the three
broad areas.

The enclosed report contains a listing of the critical monitoring
elements in each of the areas for the four programs monitored, a
description of the scope of the monitoring review, and the findings and
recommendations that the ED team cited as a result of the review.
Beginning with the 2003-2004 monitoring cycle, each State that
participates in an onsite monitoring review and has significant
compliance findings in one or more of

Page 2 -- Honorable Patti Harrington

the programs monitored will have a condition placed on that program's
grant award specifying that the State must submit (and receive approval
of) documentation that [all]{.underline} compliance issues identified in
the monitoring report have been corrected. Following an onsite review,
ED staff will issue a monitoring report within 40 business days of the
team's return. The State educational agency (SEA) then has 30 business
days to respond to all of the compliance issues identified in that
report.

ED staff will review the SEA's response for sufficiency and will
determine which areas are acceptable, and which will require further
documentation of implementation. ED will allow 30 additional business
days for receipt of this further documentation. ED recognizes that some
corrective actions may require longer than the prescribed 30 days, and
in these instances, ED staff will work with the SEA to determine a
reasonable timeline. In all cases, however, evidence of implementation
of actions designed to correct [all]{.underline} compliance issues
identified in the monitoring report must be submitted and approved by ED
prior to removing the condition on the State's grant award(s).

The ED team would like to thank Laurie Lacy and her staff for their hard
work and the assistance they provided prior to and during the review in
gathering materials and providing access to information in a timely
manner. The ED team was impressed with the efforts of your State's staff
to implement the many requirements of the four programs monitored.

We look forward to working further with your staff members on any
follow-up activities, and in assisting them to improve the delivery of
Title I in Utah.

Sincerely,

Jacquelyn C. Jackson, Ed.D.

Director

Student Achievement and

> School Accountability Programs

Enclosure

cc: Laurie Lacy

Kreig Kelley

Shauna South

Travis Cook