Beginning with adoption of the Improving America's Schools Act (IASA) in 1994 ( P.L. 103-382 ), and continuing through enactment of the Education Flexibility Partnership Act of 1999 ( P.L. 106-25 ) and the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB, P.L. 107-110 ), the authorization of special forms of flexibility for grantees has been a major focus of most federal K-12 education assistance legislation. In particular, the NCLB extended some flexibility authorities that had been established earlier, and initiated new ones. This report provides an overview of these authorizations for state and local flexibility in administering federal K-12 education programs. It will be updated infrequently to incorporate major new developments in the implementation of these authorities or new information on their use and impact. "Flexibility" is defined for purposes of this report as authority under which federal program requirements, particularly restrictions on the use of federal aid, may be waived by, or on behalf of, state or local aid recipients meeting certain eligibility criteria. In some cases, this flexibility is granted in return for meeting specified accountability requirements related to program outcomes. Such flexibility includes provisions for consolidation of multiple programs, or for transfer of funds among programs, so that federal assistance may be used for a broader range of activities or purposes than ordinarily would be allowed, as well as the authority to waive specified types of program requirements. In general, these flexibility authorities apply to federal aid programs authorized by the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), the largest source of federal aid to K-12 education. In contrast, almost none of these authorities involve the second largest source of federal aid, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). For this reason, as well as the existence of a number of issues regarding requirements and flexibility that are specific to that program, the IDEA will not be discussed further in this report, and discussions of federal involvement in K-12 education in this report should be understood to apply to the ESEA and to exclude the IDEA. ESEA programs are authorized through FY2008, and the 110 th Congress is considering whether to amend and extend the ESEA. This report will be updated regularly to reflect major legislative developments and available information. This report begins with a review of the general nature of federal K-12 education program requirements, including their sources, purposes, and the concerns expressed by some grantees about them. This is followed by a description of the current special flexibility authorities under which many of these requirements may be waived or otherwise made inapplicable, along with an analysis of issues specific to individual authorities. This section is divided between authorities initially adopted before the NCLB and authorities initiated in that legislation. The report concludes with an analysis of selected cross-cutting issues regarding these special flexibility authorities overall. We begin this report with a brief review of the general types of program requirements applicable to ESEA and related federal K-12 programs. Many of these requirements may be waived, in part or in whole, for some or all states and LEAs under the special flexibility authorities discussed later. We refer to these as "accountability requirements" because they are intended to provide accountability by assuring that federal funds are used in ways that are consistent with the purposes of the federal statutes authorizing the programs. Typically, federal programs of aid to elementary and secondary education exhibit a mix of relatively specific and explicit requirements in such areas as eligibility of pupils to be served, allocation of funds, or (increasingly) outcomes, along with substantial flexibility in many other important respects, such as instructional methods or grade levels to be served. Federal K-12 education programs generally focus upon one or more of the following: (a) student populations with special educational needs, such as disadvantaged or limited English proficient (LEP) pupils; (b) a specific aspect of instructional services, such as educational technology or recruitment and professional development of teachers; (c) development, demonstration, and dissemination of innovative instructional approaches, such as charter schools or demonstrations of comprehensive school reform; or (d) a specific subject area, such as instruction in math or science. Most of the larger federal programs, such as ESEA Title I-A, fall into category (a), while several programs of small to moderate size are in categories (b)-(d). Almost all federal K-12 education programs, in all of categories (a)-(d), are sometimes referred to as "categorical" programs, because their focus is targeted or limited in one or more important respects. In contrast, one ESEA program—the Innovative Programs authority of ESEA Title V-A—provides support for such a broad range of activities that it is generally considered to be a "block grant" at the other end of the intergovernmental assistance spectrum. There are three general sources of federal requirements or related guidance to state and local recipients of federal aid. An important distinction (at least in theory) can be made between "requirements" and "non-regulatory policy guidance." "Requirements" must be met by grantees, as a matter of law. While they are always derived ultimately from the authorizing statute for a program, or other federal statutes or judicial actions, they may appear in the form of regulations, in addition to statutory text. Program regulations, which are published initially in the Federal Register , then later integrated into annual updates of the Code of Federal Regulations , supplement statutory language primarily with respect to a limited number of major issues or topics which are complex, where U.S. Department of Education (ED) officials place high priority on grantees taking certain specific actions, and where statutory text is deemed by ED to provide insufficient guidance. One example would be ESEA Title I-A requirements regarding curriculum content and pupil performance standards and assessments. In a few cases, authorizing statutes explicitly provide that ED is to publish regulations addressing certain issues, although ED may issue regulations with respect to any aid program which it administers. In contrast, "non-regulatory policy guidance" is also published by ED for many programs. Such "non-regulatory policy guidance" may be published in the form of extensive questions and answers regarding several aspects of a program, or more specific "Dear Colleague" policy letters from the U.S. Secretary of Education to chief state school officers or other state and local officials. As this designation implies, grantees are not legally required to follow this "guidance," which is generally intended to answer relatively specific questions regarding topics such as uses of funds or selection of pupils to be served. Nevertheless, the typical perception and use of "non-regulatory" guidance may be more complex than this stated intent would imply. Grantees may assume that they will face fewer effective challenges to their use of federal aid if they follow such "non-regulatory" guidance, and may often treat such guidance as if it were equivalent to regulations, even if they are not explicitly "required" to do so. A somewhat analogous form of "non-regulatory guidance" may be found in the "competitive priorities" established by ED for competitive or discretionary (i.e., not formula) grant programs. In these grant competitions, ED typically sets certain priorities for applications which would receive preferential consideration in the awarding of grants. For example, a priority might be established for applicants which would use funds to provide services in schools with high percentages of pupils from low-income families. While applicants are not required to meet these priorities, it is obvious that they will have a much greater likelihood of receiving support if they do so. These priorities are not "regulations"; they are typically published only in the announcement of the grant competition in the Federal Register . Over the past several years, especially since adoption of the IASA in 1994, there has been a trend toward the publication of regulations which are less voluminous and address fewer aspects of many federal elementary and secondary education programs than in the past. For several programs, ED has published no regulations at all, implying that guidance in the statute is sufficient and requires no supplementation by regulations, although in most cases some form of "non-regulatory policy guidance" is provided. For ESEA programs where some regulations are still published, such as ESEA Title I-A, the regulations are generally somewhat briefer, and often address fewer issues, than was the case prior to the early 1990s. For example, proposed program regulations for ESEA Title I-A after enactment of the IASA in 1994 followed a rather "minimalist" approach in that they addressed relatively few program issues, primarily standards, assessments, and accountability; schoolwide programs; participation of children who attend private schools; and allocation of funds within states and LEAs. More recently, following enactment of the NCLB of 2001, ED embraced a similar strategy. With respect to ESEA Title I-A, for example, it has thus far published regulations on a relatively limited number of topics. The Department has stated: The Secretary intends to regulate only if absolutely necessary; for example, if the statute requires regulations or if regulations are necessary to provide flexibility or clarification for State and local educational agencies. Rather than regulating extensively, the Secretary intends to issue nonregulatory guidance addressing particular legal and policy issues under the Title I programs. This guidance will inform schools, parents, school districts, States, and other affected parties about the flexibility that exists under the statute, including different approaches they may take to carry out the statute's requirements. Federal K-12 education assistance program requirements include a broad range of activities, services, or outcomes that SEAs, LEAs, and other aid grantees are expected to provide, perform, or achieve with, or in return for, federal grants, in order to show evidence that program goals are being met—that is, to establish accountability for appropriate use of federal aid funds. Federal elementary and secondary education program requirements are usually intended to provide one or more of three basic types of accountability for use of funds consistent with the purposes of statutes that authorize the programs.