The District of Columbia and Illinois received feedback from U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos on their plans for the Every Student Succeeds Act earlier this week.
The feds’ response to those two states represent the first time the U.S. Department of Education has provided feedback since it announced changes to the ESSA review process. The new process includes a phone call department officials will hold with states before finalizing formal feedback letters to states. This change has raised concerns about the transparency of ESSA review.
A department spokesman confirmed that this new process was used for D.C. and Illinois.Here are some highlights from the department’s new ESSA feedback…
Want to know how high U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos and her team will set the bar in approving Every Student Succeeds Act plans? How DeVos handles her home state may provide the answer.
That last move angered Brian Whiston, Michigan’s state chief, who said the feds were sending mixed messages when it comes to ESSA. DeVos, he said, stressed local control, and told state chiefs in a closed door meeting to hand in their plans even if they weren’t totally complete. But Botel, the acting assistant secretary for elementary and secondary education, seemed to be working from a different playbook, Whiston said last month…
Senator James Lankford (R-OK) discusses the Every Student Succeeds Act, a bill that repeals provisions of No Child Left Behind and expands the state’s role in education (December 8, 2015).
Arizona, North Dakota, and Vermont will have to make changes to their plans for the Every Student Succeeds Act when it comes to accountability, low-performing schools, and more, according to feedback letters released Thursday.
We read the letters so you don’t have to:
Arizona, like a host of other states, will need to change the way that science factors into its accountability system. Science can be included in the systems but it can’t be part of the “academic achievement” portion of state plans. (More here.) The state also must revamp how schools’ test participation will factor into their overall ratings…
U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos Wednesday gave Nevada, New Jersey, and New Mexico the green light on their plans to implement the Every Student Succeeds Act. The three states join just one other, Delaware, whose plan was approved earlier this month.
All four states will begin implementing the law when the 2017-18 school year kicks off.
The states made some changes to win the department’s approval. For instance, Nevada changed the way science tests figure into its accountability system. And the department asked New Jersey for more specifics on how it will identify and turnaround low-performing schools. It also asked New Mexico for further detail on teacher quality…
Every student deserves an education that prepares them for lifelong learning and success, regardless of race, gender, ethnicity, language, disability, family background, or income level. Ensuring equitable access to educational opportunities is why the Department of Public Instruction and key partners have joined together in their commitment to close opportunity gaps and improve student outcomes across the state.
The Innovations in Equity Conference will provide educators the tools and connections they need to act as educational equity leaders in their field. Attend the conference to connect with like-minded peers and learn from one another on various topics around educational equity.
Who Should Attend
Individuals responsible for systemic change resulting in improved achievement
Individuals focused on improved achievement particularly for students of color, students with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs), economically disadvantaged students, and English learners
Institutes of Higher Education (IHE) faculty and students
Presentation Topics
Leading for equity
Using data to make decisions
Focusing on inclusive teaching and learning
Improving literacy and math practices
Accessing supports under ESEA and IDEA to strengthen practices
*Note – Fees are waived and supported by grant funds for the following groups: Title I Focus & Priority Schools, SPDG, pre-service teachers, and IHE faculty
State Superintendent Issues Notice for Public Comment on Academic Standards
The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction will start a review of academic standards in Environmental Education, Social Studies, and the Essential Elements Science. The process begins with the Academic Standards Review Council soliciting public input on each set of standards to determine the need for revisions.
Academic standards are written goals for teaching and learning that tell students, parents, educators, and citizens what students should have learned at a given point in time. Standards in a subject area help ensure that schools offer students the opportunity to acquire the knowledge and skills necessary for success in that subject. In Wisconsin, academic standards serve as a guide for planning curriculum and lessons and are voluntary for all schools.
The public is invited to provide input on whether a revision of standards in Environmental Education, Social Studies, and the Essential Elements Science. Comments will be taken over a 30 day period, after which the Standards Review Council will examine the public comments and submit a recommendation to the State Superintendent. Should a formal rewrite of the standards move forward, the standards themselves will undergo additional public review before adoption.
A key section of Michigan’s plan to implement the Every Student Succeeds Act is so sparse that the U.S. Department of Education isn’t sure it’s ready for formal review, according to a letter the agency published Tuesday.
The department told the state chief, Brian Whiston, the information it provided “was insufficient” to “adequately review” the section of the plan dealing with the state’s accountability system, arguably the heart of ESSA. That could be partly because the state’s application, filed this spring, Michigan offers three possible approaches on accountability. (Michigan has since settled on one of them, a “dashboard”, Whiston said.)
Otherwise the letter, which followed a phone call between state officials and the education department on the plan, is fairly light when it comes to the list of things the state needs to fix. (More on that below).
Acting Assistant Secretary of Elementary and Secondary Education Jason Botel may not hold that title much longer, sources say. Botel, who was named to his post in April, may take on another role within the administration or leave altogether.
Botel, a former charter school principal and state advocate, has been the administration’s point person on implementation of the Every Student Succeeds Act, in the office that oversees key federal K-12 programs.
In that role he’s gotten criticism, including from Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., the chairman of the Senate education committee and an ESSA architect. Alexander and others have said Botel has gone beyond the boundaries of the law, particularly in his feedback to Delaware which questioned the ambitiousness of the state’s goals. Alexander told Education Week that it appeared Botel hadn’t read the law carefully…
