The public reporting requirements of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) offer greater transparency about school quality, according to experts and education advocates who also predict that the new law will empower parents and make them more informed partners in the education process of their children.
President Barack Obama signed ESSA into law on December 10, 2015.
“Public reporting is going to be very important, because state systems, like what goes into [calculating] letter grades for schools, are incredibly complex,” said Phillip Lovell, the vice president of policy development and government relations for the Alliance for Excellent Education, a Washington, D.C.-based national advocacy organization that’s dedicated to ensuring all students graduate from high school, ready for success in college and in the workplace. “States are aware of and working on how to communicate information on school performance clearly.”
Brenna McMahon Parton, the director of policy and advocacy for Data Quality Campaign, one of the nation’s leading voices on education data policy and use, said that everyone deserves information, which is why ESSA requires that report cards are easy to understand.
“To date, states haven’t focused on parent needs and, as a result, report cards are difficult to find and use,” said Parton. “As states develop new report cards, they should be sure that parents will have a one-stop-shop that provides information they need about how students and schools in their community are performing.”
ESSA reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), the historic civil rights law passed in 1965 and effectively replaced the Bush-era No Child Left Behind Act.
Transparency and parental engagement are integral parts of the new law.
Under ESSA, all schools receiving Title I funds must inform parents of their right to request information about the professional qualifications of their children’s teachers; parents are also encouraged to support their children’s educational experiences by communicating regularly with teachers.
In a post on “The 74,” a nonprofit news site dedicated to education, Rashidah Morgan of the Sweden-based Education First, said that, “Greater transparency about school quality, will ultimately empower parents to make more knowledgeable choices about schools.”
Also, transparency on spending and academic results help the public understand how schools are performing in their communities, said Chad Aldeman, a principal at Bellwether Education Partners, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit focused on changing the outcomes and education life for the underserved.
“Accountability systems only work, if people understand what they’re being held accountable for and have enough information to know how to respond,” Aldeman said, adding that parents need good information to make informed choices about where to send their children. “To make that a reality, parents need information about both their own child’s performance, as well as how similar students are performing in other schools.”
Finally, clear, transparent school and district report cards help families make critical decisions and equip community members and the public to push for needed improvement in schools, said Dr. Lillian Lowery, the vice president of PreK-12 Policy, Research and Practice at The Education Trust, a nonprofit based in Washington, D.C. that promotes high academic achievement for students at all levels, particularly students of color and those of low-income.
“ESSA requires states to report a lot of important information on how schools are doing at preparing all groups of students, including students from low-income families, students of color, English learners and students with disabilities, for post-high school success,” said Lowery. “To maximize the usefulness of this information, state leaders should work with families and education advocates to ensure that report cards are easy to access and understand.”
Arkansas, California, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and Texas need to make some big improvements to their plans to implement the Every Student Succeeds Act, according to letters released publicly Friday by the U.S. Department of Education.
The most important letter is probably California’s. It’s a huge population center, and its plan, which relies on a dashboard to track school accountability, is either one of the most innovative and holistic in the country or one of squishiest and most confusing, depending on who you talk to.
The feds gave the Golden State a long, long list of things to fix. For one thing, the department says, it’s not at all clear from California’s plan that academic factors (like test scores) will count for more than school quality factors (like discipline data), an ESSA requirement. California wants to handle schools with low test participation by simply noting the problem on the state’s dashboard. The feds aren’t sure that meets the law’s requirements. And California told the department that it plans to finalize its method for identifying the lowest-performing schools in the state in January of 2018. The feds say they need it explained before they can greenlight California’s plan.
California also doesn’t have clear “interim” or short-term goals for English-language proficiency. It’s also unclear how the state will calculate suspension rates, which California wants to use to gauge school quality and student success. The state also needs to better spell out how it will make sure disadvantaged children get access to their fair share of effective teachers.
California has a long history of bucking the department. The state faced off with the Obama administration on student data systems, teacher evaluation, and more. So it will be interesting to see how many of these changes California makes, and whether the state will be approved even it doesn’t significantly revise its plan. A number of states that turned in their plans this spring didn’t make changes the department asked for, and got the stamp of approval anyway…
Read the full article here: May require an Education Week subscription.
SBOE Approves Resolution for Most Vulnerable Students
At December’s public meeting, the State Board unanimously approved a resolution that would change the way we report and monitor the progress of some of our most vulnerable students. Across the country, most jurisdictions use a definition of economically disadvantaged that is based on participation in the free and reduced-price meal program, commonly called FARM. SBOE President and Ward 7 Representative Karen Williams explained, “The problem is that many schools receive what is called community eligibility for FARM, where if a certain percentage of students at a school qualify for FARM, all of its students are labeled as economically disadvantaged. This leads to less precise reporting, since not all students at a community eligible school are actually living in poverty.”
The resolution approved by the State Board would instead link the definition of “economically disadvantaged” to other federal programs, including Temporary Aid to Needy Families (TANF), the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and an individual student’s homeless or foster care status. The SBOE noted that this information is already being collected by the District for reporting the number of students labeled as at-risk, so the burden on schools is minimal.
State Superintendent Hanseul Kang spoke of ensuring the SBOE is informed of the work her agency is doing on a new definition for “economically disadvantaged” students to ensure that the District’s reporting requirements not only provide detailed information about these vulnerable students, but also that the rules do not have unintended consequences reporting & transparency.
Celebrating Ballou Senior High School’s Football Team, DC’s 2017 State Champions
At this month’s public meeting, the State Board honored the achievements of the Martin Luther King Parade Committee, Changamire (“Changa”) Anderson II, and the Ballou Senior High School DC Football Champions. Ward 8 representative Markus Batchelor moved resolutions to honor the Ballou Senior High School Football Team, DC’s 2017 State Champions and the 12th Annual Martin Luther King Peace Walk & Parade Committee for their dedication to the enrichment of our students. Ward 4 representative Lannette Woodruff introduced a resolution honoring the hard work of student athlete Changa Anderson, grandson of former Ward 4 SBOE representative D. Kamili Anderson. Last month, Mr. Anderson represented the United States as a member of the U.S. National Gymnastics Team, competing at the World Trampoline Championships in Bulgaria.
Celebrating student athlete Changa Anderson, grandson of former Ward 4 SBOE representative D. Kamili Anderson
Maya Martin, PAVE Executive Director and Josh Boots, EmpowerK12 Executive Director present to the ESSA Task Force
The SBOE Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) Task Force met on Tuesday, December 5, 2017 to discuss the new version of DC’s school report card. Maya Martin, Executive Director of Parents Amplifying Voices in Education (PAVE), Josh Boots, Executive Director of EmpowerK12, and representatives from the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) provided task force members with an overview of recently held parent feedback sessions on the DC school report card. View the presentation materials here and watch the replay here.
PAVE held meetings with each of its Parent Leaders in Education (PLE) Boards in Wards 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8. At each meeting, parents were asked to rank the top five things they looked for when they chose a school for their student. Parents then examined PCSB’s Performance Management Framework Reports, DC Public School’s Scorecards, and the LEARN DC profiles, and discussed the pros and cons of each. In addition, PAVE canvassed and collected surveys from 51 total parents. 85% of parents who attended sessions said “Student Performance by Subgroup” and “Teacher Quality” were the most important factors needed on a school report card. Re-enrollment, School Funding, and Attendance were also rated highly. Parents want one source where they can get data, and one that helps them interpret quality more easily.
OSSE’s Deputy Chief of Staff Naomi Watson & Special Assistant Justin Tooley presented information from recently held school report card parent sessions. OSSE reported hearing from 430 parents, families, and community members at in-person sessions and from an online survey. The team expects to hear up to 1500 pieces of feedback. The top themes that parents are looking for include teacher data, parent and family engagement, graduation and college-preparedness, diversity, grades and test scores, and discipline and safety.
The OSSE Parent and Community Engagement Toolkit is now available here to learn how to facilitate your own feedback session. Community members can also take an online survey to provide feedback. OSSE will log and analyze all of the public feedback, and then update the report card content based on the analysis collected. OSSE will present a final proposed list to the State Board of Education in January 2018.
The next ESSA Task Force meeting will be held on January 9th.
OSSE Deputy Chief of Staff Naomi Watson and Special Assistant Justin Tooley present feedback from parent sessions on the school report card.
SBOE #DCGradReqs members participate in group work
The #DCGradReqs Task Force will be taking a strategic pause during the month of January 2018 to take advantage of upcoming information that will influence the task force’s work. Stepping back for a month will allow staff and task force members to reflect on constituent feedback received thus far, as well as consider information from the ongoing investigation of the implementation of high school graduation requirements at Ballou High School and other schools across the city. The results of the citywide investigation being led by the Office of the State Superintendent of Education are expected at the end of January. Members will reconvene in February to continue their work.
We encourage community members to engage in the discussions related to graduation requirements through our other forums. Your input is vital to our work as we move forward.
Joyanna Smith, Ombudsman for Public Education, and Faith Gibson Hubbard, Chief Student Advocate, provided an update to the Board on student discipline measures in the District at the December State Board Working Session. Ms. Smith provide statistics that showed that 33% of the cases her office receives that involve students who have been suspended also involve students who have IEP services, are undergoing evaluation, or are waiting to be evaluated. 36% of schools in the District of Columbia have a suspension rate above the District-wide average and 87% of schools with a suspension rate of 20% or higher are in Wards 5, 6, 7, and 8. Additionally, these schools also tend to be at least 95% African American and have an at-risk student population of more than 60%.
Ms. Smith stated that local analysis of the District’s discipline data demonstrates that despite efforts to overcome disparate discipline procedures by developing discipline LEA guidance, enacting the Pre-K Student Discipline Amendment Act of 2015 and piloting restorative justice practices – the District continues to suspend or expel low-income and students of color at disproportionate rates. In D.C., African American students are 6.8 times more likely to be suspended than their white peers, while Latino students are 2.4 times more likely to have received at least one out-of-school suspension than their white peers. For African American students attending D.C. public schools, the level of disproportionality is well above the national average.
Ms. Gibson Hubbard provided some context to the issue of student discipline in the District. Confusion exists in part due the essentially 60 plus schools districts that exist in the District of Columbia. Each of the school districts, or Local Education Agencies (LEA’s) has its own student discipline policy. DCPS has discipline and behavior policies which are subject to the city regulations, code, and government oversight. Public Charter Schools have the autonomy to create their own discipline and behavior policies, with considerations from OSSE’s non-regulatory discipline guidance and the Public Charter School Board disciplinary guidance.
For the past two schools years, the Office of the Student Advocate has conducted, in partnership with the Council for Court Excellence and Howard University School of Law, an analysis of LEA student discipline policies in the District. View the Ombudsman presentation here and view the Student Advocate presentation here.
SBOE Public Affairs Specialist Paul Negron, Ombudsman for Public Education Joyanna Smith, Deputy Mayor for Education Chief of Staff Ahnna Smith, SBOE Executive Director John-Paul Hayworth and SBOE President and Ward 7 Representative Karen Williams at EdFEST17
Rain, sleet and snow did not stop the SBOE from heading to EdFEST17 on Saturday, December 9th! Members from the State Board and the Office of the Ombudsman and Student Advocate joined a number of DC public schools and public charter schools to showcase the city’s public school options (PK3-12) for the upcoming school year at DC Armory.
The common lottery application is now officially open! Parents may start filling out applications here ahead of the February 1st high school and March 1st PK3-8 application deadlines.
EdFEST featured many free services and fun activities for the whole family:
Lottery application information and guidance from the My School DC team. Immunizations for youth and adults, health screenings for kids and teens, and lots more family fun, games and entertainment brought to you by the DC Department of Health and MedStar Georgetown University Hospital
SBOE Ward 8 Representative Markus Batchelor, Mayor Muriel Bowser, SBOE At-Large Representative Ashley Carter and DCPS Chancellor Antwan Wilson at EdFEST17
SBOE Public Affairs Specialist Paul Negron, SBOE President and Ward 7 Representative Karen Williams, Ombudsman Program Associate Khadijah Williams, Assistant Ombudsman Clarence Parks, Ombudsman for Public Education Joyanna Smith, Student Advocate Program Associate Tiffany Wilson, and Student Advocate Dan Davis at EdFEST17
The Office of the Ombudsman for Public Education provides conflict resolution services for parents and students across the city. Serving approximately 500 families per year, the dedicated staff of the office, under the leadership of Ombudsman Joyanna Smith, works on issues including: student discipline, special education, truancy, student enrollment, transportation, academic progress and bullying. The 2017 Ombudsman’s report builds upon the equity analysis provided in last year’s report by introducing a proposed equity framework for the city. This framework builds upon more than three years of collaboration with school-based, local, and national education leaders, and intervention with over 1,500 families in all eight wards.
Office of the Student Advocate’s Annual Report and Workshop Series
Parents speaking with the Ombudsman for Public Education Joyanna Smith during one of three rounds of individualized mini-sessions at the Office of the Student Advocate’s Know Your Rights Special Education Workshop on December 11th
The Office of the Student Advocate recently released its School Year 2016-2017 Annual Report. The report outlines the office’s work, with a focus on family engagement and student discipline, and provides recommendations that address the city’s top public education concerns. You can read the report here.
Most recently, the office relaunched its Special Education “Know Your Rights” Workshop Series in Ward 3 and its Parent Leadership Series in Wards 7 and 8. With the partnership of State Board members, Ruth Wattenberg (Ward 3), Karen Williams (President, Ward 7), and Markus Batchelor (Ward 8), the three kickoff events engaged more than 100 parents, families, community members, and representatives from partner organizations.
Be on the lookout for the second session of their Ward 7 Parent Leadership Series on February 10, 2018! To learn more about upcoming events and training, visit the Student Advocate training events page. If you have questions or concerns about public education in DC, give the office a call at 202-741-4692 or email student.advocate@dc.gov.
SACRAMENTO—State Board of Education President Michael W. Kirst and State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson issued the following joint statement today regarding the U.S. Department of Education’s feedback letter on California’s Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) plan.
The letter is part of the ESSA approval process, which all states are undertaking. California’s letter is similar in length and scope to those received by many other states.
“California appreciates the federal government’s feedback and looks forward to the opportunity to further clarify and strengthen our Every Student Succeeds Act plan. We will be working to address technical points of clarification while noting that there are areas of disagreement over the interpretation of federal statute.”
“California’s ESSA plan is grounded in our state’s 2013 Local Control Funding Formula law, which emphasizes equity, public participation, and continuous improvement. Our resubmitted ESSA plan will retain those principles.”
# # # #
Tom Torlakson — State Superintendent of Public Instruction
Communications Division, Room 5602, 916-319-0818, Fax 916-319-0100
The U.S. Department of Education is cranking out responses to state’s plans for implementing the Every Student Succeeds Act at a fast and furious pace. The latest states to hear back are: Hawaii, Kentucky, Nebraska, New Hampshire, and Wisconsin. (Scroll down to see which other states have gotten feedback and who has been approved.)
All five states, whose feedback letters were released Thursday, have work to do on the nuts-and-bolts of the accountability plans, their ideas for identifying and fixing schools, and more. Here’s a quick look at some highlights of the responses. Click on the state name to read the full letter.
Hawaii: The department wants the Aloha State to identify languages other than English spoken by a significant number of students. States must “make every effort” to offer tests in those languages, according to ESSA. And Hawaii needs to be more specific about what it will take for a school to get out of low-performing status. Right now, Hawaii says those schools need to make “significant improvement,” but it doesn’t say what that means. Hawaii also needs to make sure disadvantaged and minority students have access to their fair share of qualified teachers.
Kentucky: Kentucky needs to make sure that its English-language proficiency indicator stands alone, right now, it’s lumped in with other indicators in the state’s accountability system. The state also needs to make clear that it is targeting schools as “chronically underperforming” because of the performance of historically overlooked groups of students and not for another reason. And Kentucky cannot include writing test scores as part of a school’s overall “academic achievement” score, because those tests aren’t offered in every grade…
Read the full story here: May require an Education Week subscription.
The Hawaii State Department of Education (HIDOE) this morning received encouraging feedback from the U.S. Department of Education (USED) following a review of its State plan for the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). USED officials gave the indication for “ultimate approval of the plan” during a call with HIDOE officials.
“We had a great discussion with federal education officials who determined that Hawaii is well on its way for approval once we make minor adjustments to our consolidated plan,” said Superintendent Dr. Christina Kishimoto. “The State plan is a culmination of a community effort and it’s rewarding to see that the USED recognizes Hawaii’s effort and commitment to providing equitable and accessible education.”
ESSA is a reauthorization of the federal education law known as the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. It replaces the prior reauthorization, most commonly known as No Child Left Behind.
Following the Hawaii State Board of Education approval, the Superintendent and Governor David Ige submitted the signed state’s ESSA plan to USED in September 2017. The Hawaii ESSA plan is designed to support HIDOE’s Strategic Plan objectives, which provides common direction for public schools to empower students in their learning.
“I’m pleased to learn that we are close to getting our ESSA plan approved,” said BOE Chairman Lance Mizumoto. “The plan reflects our collective commitment to providing a well-rounded education for all students.”
HIDOE is making the necessary adjustments where further clarification is being sought on student supports that are already in place. Once the non-substantial changes are made, Superintendent Kishimoto will send the State plan to the USED for final approval.
(FRANKFORT, Ky.) – Kentucky’s plan for implementing the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) has taken a step forward in the process toward approval.
This week the United States Department of Education (USED) provided feedback based on its initial review of the plan submitted in September.
“Overall, I am pleased with where we are in the process and the feedback we have received,” Commissioner of Education Stephen Pruitt said. “Primarily, USED is requesting clarifying or additional information, and several revisions to language, some of which has already changed as a result of the state regulatory process, so that our plan is in clear compliance with the federal law. Certainly that is our intent.”
ESSA provides states flexibility in how they meet the letter of the law. As a result, each state plan is different. To date, many states have received similar types of feedback on their plans as Kentucky.
Kentucky developed its plan over the past year-and-a-half with input from thousands of shareholders including educators, business and community leaders, parents and legislators.
The plan outlines how the state will evaluate public schools and districts, including charter schools, and hold them accountable for equitably educating each child regardless of where he or she lives, the student’s race, ethnicity, family income or whether the student has a disability. Kentucky’s plan, based on a system of continuous improvement for all schools, incorporates a method for identifying the lowest-performing schools and providing support. The plan also includes aggressive goals for closing the achievement gap, increasing graduation rates and ensuring all students leave high school with the knowledge, skills and dispositions they need to be successful in college or the next phase of their career education and training.
A panel of four peer reviewers, the majority of which have had recent practical experience in the classroom, school administration, or state/local education agencies, also evaluated portions of Kentucky’s plan and had some very positive feedback. Specifically, they cited:
the state’s attempt to include every student in accountability
the growth of individual students toward proficiency and beyond
the state’s focus on reducing the achievement gap
the inclusion of social studies and science in accountability
the state’s plan to identify both Title I and non-Title I schools for comprehensive support and improvement
The peer reviewers also noted the state’s unique opportunity and access indicator, which includes multiple measures of school quality and student success. Among the strengths mentioned:
the inclusion of visual and performing arts, physical education, career exploration, cultural studies, and career and technical education including a work ethic certification the intent to focus on high-achieving students in addition to those who are low-performing
the focus on whole-child supports to address a variety of student and family needs
an opportunity for districts and charter schools to highlight their focus or priorities
the state’s plan to report additional measures not included in the accountability system
In the area of school improvement, reviewers praised the Kentucky Department of Education’s rigorous approach to providing supports and technical assistance for schools before state intervention and called the state’s support plan for schools identified for comprehensive or targeted support and improvement “well thought out and impressive.”
The goal of the peer review is to support state- and local-led innovation by providing objective feedback on the technical, educational and overall quality of the state plan and advising USED on the approval of the plan.
While the report highlighted strengths of Kentucky’s plan, both the USED and peer review reports also made suggestions on how Kentucky’s plan could be strengthened.
“We recognize there is always room for improvement,” Pruitt said. “We welcome the feedback and will consider it very carefully before resubmitting our plan. We anticipate that, when all is said and done, Kentucky’s plan will be approved and will set an example for other states. Most importantly, we will have a strong roadmap for school improvement that will close the achievement gap and ensure all Kentucky children have the opportunity to reach their full potential.”
The state has 15 calendar days to respond to the initial feedback and resubmit its consolidated state plan. However, due to the upcoming holidays, the state requested an extension beyond the January 4, 2018, deadline to ensure staff has adequate time to review all feedback and provide details that will clarify the state’s intent, methods and processes. It is anticipated the state will resubmit its plan sometime around the end of January 2018.
A copy of Kentucky’s plan as originally submitted and the initial feedback letter are available on the USED website, as are peer review reports related to Title I, Part A; Title III, Part A and the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act.
EDUCATION WEEK — Minnesota, New York, Virginia, and West Virginia have some work to do on their plans to implement the Every Student Succeeds Act, according to the U.S. Department of Education.
All four states, who were among the 34 that turned in their plans this fall, were flagged for issues with accountability, helping low-performing schools improve, and other areas. So far, ten other states that turned in their plans this fall — Alabama, Alaska, Georgia, Kansas, Maryland, Montana, North Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming—have received feedback from the feds. Puerto Rico has also gotten a response on its plan. (Check out our summaries of their feedback here and here.)
Plus, sixteen states and the District of Columbia, all of which submitted plans in the spring, have gotten the all-clear from U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos. Colorado, which asked for extra time on its application, is the only spring state still waiting for approval.
So what problems did the department find in this latest round of states? Here’s a quick look. Click on the state’s name for a link to the feds’ letter…
Read the full article here: May require an Education Week subscription.
SUMMARY: In accordance with section 5005 of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), the Secretary seeks information from the public regarding actions the Department of Education (Department) can take to improve how it considers the unique needs of rural schools and local educational agencies (LEAs) as it develops and implements its policies and programs. The Secretary intends to use this information in issuing a final report, required under section 5005, describing the actions it will take to increase the consideration and participation of rural schools and LEAs in the development and execution of the Department’s processes, procedures, policies, and regulations. (Preliminary report in pdf format)
DATES: We must receive your comments no later than February 18, 2018.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments through the Federal eRulemaking Portal or via postal mail, commercial delivery, hand delivery, or email. To ensure that we do not receive duplicate copies, please submit your comments only once. In addition, please include the Docket ID (ED-2017-OCO-0139) at the top of your comments.
Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to www.regulations.gov to submit your comments electronically. Information on using Regulations.gov, including instructions for accessing agency documents, submitting comments, and viewing the docket, is available on the site under the “Help” tab.
Postal Mail, Commercial Delivery, Hand Delivery, or Email: The Department encourages commenters to submit their comments through the Federal eRulemaking Portal. However, if you mail or deliver your comments in response to this request, address them to Michael Chamberlain, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW, room 5E260, Washington, DC 20202. If you email your comments, send them to rural@ed.gov.
Privacy Note: The Department’s policy is to make all comments received from members of the public available for public viewing in their entirety on the Federal eRulemaking Portal at www.regulations.gov. Therefore, commenters should be careful to include in their comments only information that they wish to make publicly available.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael Chamberlain, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW, room 5E260, Washington, DC 20202. Telephone: (202) 453-7527 or by email: Michael.chamberlain@ed.gov.
If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf or a text telephone, call the Federal Relay Service, toll free, at 1-800-877-8339.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background: Section 5005 of the ESSA (Pub. Law 114-95), which was enacted on December 10, 2015, requires the Department to:
“review the organization, structure, and process and procedures of the Department of Education for administering its programs and developing policy and regulations, in order to—
(A) assess the methods and manner through which, and the extent to which, the Department of Education takes into account, considers input from, and addresses the unique needs and characteristics of rural schools and rural local educational agencies; and
(B) determine actions that the Department of Education can take to meaningfully increase the consideration and participation of rural schools and rural local educational agencies in the development and execution of the processes, procedures, policies, and regulations of the Department of Education.”
Section 5005 also requires the Department to publish a preliminary report containing the information described above and provide Congress and the public with 60 days to comment on the proposed actions. Thereafter, the Department must issue a final report to the Department’s authorizing committees in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate and carry out each action described in the final report or explain to the authorizing committees the reason for not carrying out any action described in the final report.
Request for Information: Since the passage of the ESSA, the Department has been engaging in the required review and report, including conducting listening sessions on issues facing rural schools and LEAs and ways the Department can address those issues. It gives a brief overview of how the Department is organized and describes how the Department solicited and incorporated input from rural stakeholders as it developed the preliminary report. Additionally, the report explains the processes we currently use to incorporate the rural perspective into our policies and procedures, including processes we have recently implemented in response to stakeholder input, and describes additional proposed actions we can take.
While we invite comment on the entire report, we particularly encourage comment on the proposed actions, as described in the section of the report titled “Additional Actions the Department Can Take to Increase Rural Stakeholder Input.” Specifically, we request feedback on whether:
The actions described in the preliminary report will meaningfully increase the consideration and participation of rural schools and LEAs in the development and execution of the Department’s processes, procedures, policies, and regulations; and
There are other actions the Department can take to achieve this goal.
Accessible Format: Individuals with disabilities can obtain this document in an accessible format (e.g., braille, large print, audiotape, or compact disc) on request to the program contact person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
Electronic Access to This Document: The official version of this document is the document published in the Federal Register. Free internet access to the official edition of the Federal Register and the Code of Federal Regulations is available via the Federal Digital System at: www.gpo.gov/fdsys. At this site, you can view this document, as well as all other documents of this Department published in the Federal Register, in text or Portable Document Format (PDF). To use PDF, you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available free at the site.
You may also access documents of the Department published in the Federal Register by using the article search feature at: www.federalregister.gov. Specifically, through the advanced search feature at this site, you can limit your search to documents published by the Department.
The public reporting requirements of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) offer greater transparency about school quality, according to experts and education advocates who also predict that the new law will empower parents and make them more informed partners in the education process of their children.
President Barack Obama signed ESSA into law on Dec. 10, 2015.
“Public reporting is going to be very important, because state systems, like what goes into [calculating] letter grades for schools, are incredibly complex,” said Phillip Lovell, the vice president of policy development and government relations for the Alliance for Excellent Education, a Washington, D.C.-based national advocacy organization that’s dedicated to ensuring all students graduate from high school, ready for success in college and in the workplace. “States are aware of and working on how to communicate information on school performance clearly.”
Brenna McMahon Parton, the director of policy and advocacy for Data Quality Campaign, one of the nation’s leading voices on education data policy and use, said that everyone deserves information, which is why ESSA requires that report cards are easy to understand.
“To date, states haven’t focused on parent needs and, as a result, report cards are difficult to find and use,” said Parton. “As states develop new report cards, they should be sure that parents will have a one-stop-shop that provides information they need about how students and schools in their community are performing.”
ESSA reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), the historic civil rights law passed in 1965 and effectively replaced the Bush-era No Child Left Behind Act.
Transparency and parental engagement are integral parts of the new law.
Under ESSA, all schools receiving Title I funds must inform parents of their right to request information about the professional qualifications of their children’s teachers; parents are also encouraged to support their children’s educational experiences by communicating regularly with teachers.
In a post on “The 74,” a nonprofit news site dedicated to education, Rashidah Morgan of Education First, said that, “Greater transparency about school quality, will ultimately empower parents to make more knowledgeable choices about schools.”
Also, transparency on spending and academic results help the public understand how schools are performing in their communities, said Chad Aldeman, a principal at Bellwether Education Partners, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit focused on changing the outcomes and education life for the underserved.
“Accountability systems only work, if people understand what they’re being held accountable for and have enough information to know how to respond,” Aldeman said, adding that parents need good information to make informed choices about where to send their children. “To make that a reality, parents need information about both their own child’s performance, as well as how similar students are performing in other schools.”
Finally, clear, transparent school and district report cards help families make critical decisions and equip community members and the public to push for needed improvement in schools, said Dr. Lillian Lowery, the vice president of PreK-12 Policy, Research and Practice at The Education Trust, a nonprofit based in Washington, D.C. that promotes high academic achievement for students at all levels, particularly students of color and those of low-income.
“ESSA requires states to report a lot of important information on how schools are doing at preparing all groups of students, including students from low-income families, students of color, English learners and students with disabilities, for post-high school success,” said Lowery. “To maximize the usefulness of this information, state leaders should work with families and education advocates to ensure that report cards are easy to access and understand.”
Arkansas, California, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and Texas need to make some big improvements to their plans to implement the Every Student Succeeds Act, according to letters released publicly Friday by the U.S. Department of Education.
SUMMARY: In accordance with section 5005 of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), the Secretary seeks information from the public regarding actions the Department of Education (Department) can take to improve how it considers the unique needs of rural schools and local educational agencies (LEAs) as it develops and implements its policies and programs. The Secretary intends to use this information in issuing a final report, required under section 5005, describing the actions it will take to increase the consideration and participation of rural schools and LEAs in the development and execution of the Department’s processes, procedures, policies, and regulations. (
