Public Notice and Comment Period
New Waiver Request – Pursuant to Section 4201 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965
June 16, 2025
The Delaware Department of Education (DDOE) is requesting a Tydings waiver for federal fiscal year (FFY) 2022 of the Title IV, Part B Nita M. Lowey 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) grant program, which is a program authorized under section 4201 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). If the waiver is approved, FFY 2022 funding for the grant program will be extended through October 31, 2025. Delaware is requesting the waiver considering the unexpected adjustments in the educational environment, including loss of enrollment, that schools and the 21st CCLC grantees experienced because of the pandemic. The out-of-school time program shift led to a reduction in programming and planned budgetary expenditures. Approval of the waiver would allow DDOE to extend the grant period for FFY 2022 to: 1) increase the number of students served through the grant; and 2) support program offerings.
If the waiver request is approved, it would allow DDOE and existing 21st CCLC programs to continue serving students. Additionally, DDOE will ensure that the fidelity of the 21st CCLC funded programs operate successfully with continued monitoring and support.
As required under the ESEA section 8401(b((3)(A), prior to submitting a waiver request for any program authorized under ESEA, the State must provide the public and local education agencies (LEAs) with notice and reasonable opportunity to comment and provide input on a proposed waiver request. This communication serves as notice of the DDOE’s intent to submit a Tydings waiver request to the USDE for FFY 2022 of the 21st CCLC grant program, and as an invitation to the public to provide feedback on the proposed waiver request. The public comment period will be open from June 16, 2025, until June 23, 2025. Please submit comments to ruth.uhey@doe.k12.de.us. Comments will receive a response from the DDOE and be attached to the waiver request documentation that will be sent to the USDE.
Students who exited special education services without a high school diploma in the school years 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 because of their age (they turned 21 years old during the 2019-2020 or the 2020-2021 school years) may be eligible for a compensatory education fund for private educational services. This fund will compensate class members 3.5 hours per day for each day of public education of which the student was deprived and is valued at $75 per hour.
Delaware law now states that students who qualify for special education services, but who do not receive a regular high school diploma, may continue to be eligible to receive services until the end of the school year in which the student turns 22 years old.
For more information, visit Compensatory Funding Education Requests.
