State Approves Second IE2 Contract

ATLANTA – Today, the State Board of Education (SBOE) approved the state’s second Investing in Educational Excellence (IE²) contract with a local school system. The five year contract with Forsyth County Public Schools grants the school district greater flexibility in exchange for increased accountability. The contract was made possible by Governor Sonny Perdue’s IE² legislation, which was passed and signed into law last year. IE² allows for balanced local control, allowing officials closest to the students to make important decisions concerning their schools. Forsyth joins Gwinnett County Public Schools in signing an IE² contract. Together, the counties educate 12 percent of the state’s students.

“I commend Superintendent Evans and the Forsyth County Board of Education for using creative and innovative solutions to improve student achievement,” said Governor Perdue. “These counties are moving to a true partnership with the state that is focused on performance. I believe that both Forsyth and Gwinnett will use their flexibility to deliver superior results.”

Under IE² local school districts work with the Georgia Department of Education and the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement to create a strategic plan that clearly identifies the flexibility sought from Georgia education laws, the accountability goals in addition to federal NCLB requirements the district is willing to accept at the school level in exchange for the flexibility, and the consequences that will be imposed upon the district for schools that do not reach their accountability goals.

The Governor’s Office of Student Achievement will monitor Forsyth County’s progress towards meeting annual goals and will report these findings to the SBOE each fall. In addition, Forsyth will provide interventions and sanctions throughout the contract period to those schools that do not meet their annual IE² accountability goals. Those schools that do not meet their IE² accountability goals by the end of the contract period will be converted to charter schools.

###