Honorable Clifford B. Janey

Superintendent of Public Schools

District of Columbia Public Schools

825 North Capitol Street, NE

Washington, DC 20002

Dear Superintendent Janey:

During the weeks of February 27-March 10, 2006, a team from the U. S.
Department of Education's (ED) Student Achievement and School
Accountability (SASA) Programs reviewed the District of Columbia Public
Schools' 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

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 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 Clifford B. Janey

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 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 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 Mr. Victor Vythuis and his 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 staff
to implement the many requirements of the four programs monitored by the
ED team.

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 \[State\].

Sincerely,

Jacquelyn C. Jackson, Ed.D.

Director

Student Achievement and

> School Accountability Programs

Enclosure

cc: State Title I Director Part A

State Even Start Coordinator

State Neglected and Delinquent Director