Magnet Schools Assistance Program rule (2012)
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The Magnet Schools Assistance Program rule is a significant rule issued by the U.S. Department of Education effective December 13, 2012, that amended regulations regarding the Magnet Schools Assistance Program (MSAP), which provides financial assistance to local educational agencies for the operation of magnet schools. The regulations were amended in an effort to provide flexibility to school districts for designing MSAP programs.[1]
Timeline
The following timeline details key rulemaking activity:
- December 13, 2012: The final rule took effect.[1]
- November 13, 2012: The Department of Education adopted the interim final rule as final.[1]
- May 17, 2010: The Department of Education closed the comment period.[2]
- April 26, 2010: The Department of Education reopened the comment period in response to requests to extend the comment period.[2]
- April 5, 2010: The Department of Education closed the comment period.[3]
- March 4, 2010: The Department of Education published an interim final rule and opened the comment period.[3]
Background
The Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 authorizes the Magnet Schools Assistance Program (MSAP) which provides financial assistance to local educational agencies in an effort to "establish and operate magnet schools, with special curricula, to attract a diverse group of students and desegregate public schools," according to the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education. Local educational agencies were required to participate in an approved desegregation plan in order to qualify for federal funding.[3][4]
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on June 28, 2007, in the case Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District No. 1 that certain desegregation plans were unconstitutional. The court argued that the Seattle, Washington, and Louisville, Kentucky plans did not promote racial balance because they used a binary racial classification pursuant to the provisions outlined in the United States Code. In response to the Supreme Court's decision, the Department of Education issued an interim final rule to amend the program regulations in an effort to provide flexibility to local educational agencies in designing MSAP programs. The provisions of the rule also removed the regulations permitting the use of binary racial classifications in MSAP program designs.[1][5]
Summary of the rule
The following is a summary of the rule from the rule's entry in the Federal Register:
| “ | This document adopts as final a March 2010 interim final rule by which the Secretary amended the regulations governing the Magnet Schools Assistance Program (MSAP) to provide greater flexibility to school districts designing MSAP programs for the FY 2010 competition. The amendments removed provisions in the regulations that require districts to use binary racial classifications and prohibit the creation of magnet schools that result in minority group enrollments in magnet and feeder schools exceeding the district-wide average of minority group students. We sought comments on the amendments because we adopted them through an interim final rule. We have reviewed the comments we received and retain the amendments without change for competitions going forward.[1][6] | ” |
Summary of provisions
The following is a summary of the provisions from the rule's entry in the Federal Register:[1][7]
| “ | The current regulations in 34 CFR 280.4(b) define the term minority group isolation, in reference to a school, to mean “a condition in which minority group children constitute more than 50 percent of the enrollment of the school.” 34 CFR 280.4(b). We are removing the definition of minority group isolation through these interim final regulations because the definition requires the use of only two racial classifications of students—“minority group” and “nonminority group” students. In the absence of a definition of minority group isolation, the Department will determine on a case-by-case basis whether a district's voluntary plan meets the statutory purpose of reducing, eliminating, or preventing minority group isolation in its magnet or feeder schools, considering the unique circumstances in each district and school. For example, the Department may consider whether there is a substantial proportion of students from any minority group enrolled in a school, looking at the student enrollment numbers of the district and the targeted schools disaggregated by race.
The current regulations in 34 CFR 280.2(b)(2) and 280.20(g) provide for the use of a district-wide percentage of minority students as an absolute limitation on student enrollment in magnet or feeder schools. Specifically, section 280.2(b)(2) provides for the Secretary to approve a voluntary plan as adequate under Title VI if the establishment of the magnet school will not result in an increase of minority enrollment, at the magnet school or at any feeder school, above the district-wide percentage of minority group students in the LEA's schools at the grade levels served by the magnet school. Similarly, section 280.20(g), related to the information that an applicant must include in its application, provides, in part, that an applicant seeking approval of a voluntary plan as adequate under Title VI that cannot provide the information required for review of its application may submit other information to demonstrate that the creation or operation of its proposed magnet school * * * would not result in an increase of minority student isolation at one of the applicant's schools above the districtwide percentage for minority students at the same grade levels as those served in the magnet school.
The Department is removing the language requiring use of the district-wide percentage limitations in both of these sections. Section 280.2(b)(2) is removed in its entirety, and section 280.20(g) is revised to remove the language regarding district-wide percentage for minority students. This amended provision reads as follows:
An applicant that does not have an approved desegregation plan, and demonstrates that it cannot provide some portion of the information requested under paragraphs (f)(4) and (5) of this section, may provide other information (in lieu of that portion of the information not provided in response to paragraphs (f)(4) and (5) of this section) to demonstrate that the creation or operation of its proposed magnet school would reduce, eliminate, or prevent minority group isolation in the applicant's schools.
The Department will determine on a case-by-case basis whether the voluntary plans are adequate under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and whether the proposed magnet schools will reduce, eliminate or prevent minority group isolation within the period of the grant award, for the purposes of sections 280.2(b) and 280.20(g). This will include an examination of the factual basis for any proposed increases in minority enrollment at district schools rather than the use of the absolute district-wide percentage limitation found in the current regulations. For example, the Department may consider whether a plan to reduce, eliminate or prevent minority group isolation at a magnet school or at a feeder school would significantly increase minority group isolation at any magnet or feeder school in the project at the grade levels served by the magnet school. In cases in which a school district is subject to a desegregation order that prohibits magnet or feeder schools from exceeding the district-wide average of minority group students, the district would, of course, continue to be bound by that order.[6] |
” |
Significant impact
- See also: Significant regulatory action
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) deemed this rule economically significant pursuant to Executive Order 12866. An agency rule can be deemed a significant rule if it has had or might have a large impact on the economy, environment, public health, or state or local governments. The term was defined by E.O. 12866, which was issued in 1993 by President Bill Clinton.[1]
Text of the rule
The full text of the rule is available below:[1]
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Federal Register, "Magnet Schools Assistance Program," November 13, 2012
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Federal Register, "Magnet Schools Assistance Program," April 26, 2010
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Federal Register, "Magnet Schools Assistance Program," March 4, 2010
- ↑ Office of Elementary & Secondary Education, "Magnet Schools Assistance Program (MSAP)," accessed May 12, 2023
- ↑ Oyez, "Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District No. 1," accessed May 12, 2023
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
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