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Background
On Dec. 10, 2015, President Barack Obama signed S. 1177, a bipartisan bill to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, into law as P.L. 114-95. Now known as the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), the legislation replaced No Child Left Behind (NCLB).
NCLB was extensively criticized for setting unrealistic goals and placing too much authority over education policy in the hands of the federal government. In contrast, ESSA returns authority to state and local education leaders. Important ESSA provisions include the creation of state-designed accountability systems (and the elimination of the Adequate Yearly Progress metric), greater authority over how testing is used in evaluation of students and “guardrail” policies to ensure the lowest-performing schools and groups of students are not ignored.
On September 26, 2018, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) approved Florida's consolidated state ESSA plan, hereby, granting approval to all 50 states, plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. The Department has also recently approved Louisiana as the first state for the Innovative Assessment Demonstration Authority (IADA) program. IADA allows states to pilot innovative assessments on a smaller scale. The Department may approve up to seven states, or a consortium of states, for the pilot program each year.
Additional Resources
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A Complete List of ESSA State Plans and Status
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Press Releases for Recent Approvals
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US Secretary of Education Approves Florida's Consolidated State ESSA Plan ( September 26, 2018)
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US Secretary of Education Approves Oklahoma Consolidated State ESSA Plan (July 2, 2018)
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US Secretary of Education Approves Consolidated State ESSA Plans of Nebraska and North Carolina (Jun 5, 2018)
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US Department of Education Approves Consolidated State ESSA Plans of Alaska and Iowa (May 16, 2018)
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US Department of Education Approves Consolidated State ESSA Plans of Alabama, Colorado and Kentucky (May 7, 2018)
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US Department of Education Approves Consolidated State ESSA Plans of South Carolina and Virginia (May 3, 2018)
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NCSL Resources
- NCSL Joint Letter to Council of Chief State School Officers regarding disappointment that the U.S. Department of Education (ED) removed elements of Stakeholder Engagement from the template for ESSA plans they have asked states to submit. (March 21, 2017)
- NCSL Letter to U.S. House and U.S. Senate Supporting Resolution to Rescind Regulations Putting New Federal Requirements on Teacher Preparation Programs. (Feb. 16, 2017)
- Archived ESSA Stakeholder Engagement Webinar Series (Fall 2016)
- NCSL Weighs In on Proposed Rules regarding Supplement, Not Supplant Funding Provisions of the Every Student Succeeds Act. (Nov. 7, 2016)
- Education Primer: This Primer presents basic provisions of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). (Oct. 26, 2016)
- Joint Coalition Statement on Final Teacher Preparation Program Regulations. (Oct. 20, 2016)
- Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs): ESSA
- Summary of S. 1177, the Every Student Succeeds Act
- Early childhood education provisions: one-pager
- School support structures: one-pager
- NCSL/National Governors Association Plan for ESEA Reauthorization
- NCSL Formal Comments to U.S. Department of Education on Rulemaking Process for Title I of ESSA
- Letter from State and Local ESSA Implementation Network to Acting Secretary of Education John King
- NCSL Publication: "Dual Language Learners: State Options Under the Every Student Succeeds Act" by Matthew Weyer
- Letter from NCSL & ESSA State & Local Implementation Network to Secretary John King Urging Federal Restraint in Rulemaking
- NCSL Summary of Accountability & State Plan notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM)
- NCSL Formal Comments to U.S. Department of Education on Accountability and State Plan NPRM
Other Resources