Follow-up Letter to States

U .S. Department of Education

March 28, 2011

Dear Chief State School Officer:

You recently received a letter about an important study being sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education. This study, Charting the Progress of Education Reform: An Evaluation of the Recovery Act’s Role, is part of an ongoing effort to gather information that will help us to evaluate and improve educational programs.

Please note that participation in this study is voluntary ONLY for those who accepted no funds under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The Education Department General Administrative Regulations (34 C.F.R. § 76.591) specify that grantees are obligated to participate in department evaluations. All states and the majority of school districts in the country received grants under the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund (SFSF) and ARRA-related supplemental Title I, IDEA, and Educational Technology grants.

We greatly appreciate your cooperation and hope that we can count on you to communicate the importance of responding to the study survey to district leaders in your state. We look forward to learning from your experiences with education reform and to sharing our findings with you along the way.

If you have any questions or concerns about the study, I urge you to call the Evaluation Project Design Director, Bruce Haslam at (877) 939-0460. Or you are welcome to call Meredith Bachman, the Department’s project officer, at (202) 219-2014.

John Easton, Director

Institute of Education Sciences

Ann Whalen, Deputy Director

Implementation and Support Unit

Alexa Posny, Assistant Secretary

Office of Special Education & Education Rehabilitative Services

Thelma Melendez, Assistant Secretary

Office of Elementary & Secondary Education