Policy

Strategic Waivers School System (SWSS) Partnership Contracts

An Strategic Waiver School System (SWSS) is a local school district that operates under the terms of an SWSS contract between the State Board of Education and the local Board of Education. The system receives flexibility in the form of waivers of certain state laws, rules and guidelines in exchange for greater accountability for increased student performance.

SWSS contracts are intended to provide local school districts with the flexibility they need to increase student achievement. This district flexibility option was created by House Bill 1209, which provided for "Increased Flexibility for Local School Systems" when it was passed in 2008.

Under House Bill 1209 school systems that choose this option were known as IE2, or Investing in Educational Excellence, Systems. Please note that House Bill 502, that went into effect on July 1, 2015, provided that districts under the previous IE2 flexibility option will henceforth be known as Strategic Waivers School Systems (SWSS).

The links below under the heading SWSS Application Documents are the place to start for those districts that have submitted their Letter of Intent to become an SWSS system.