by Andrew Ujifusa | Apr 11, 2017 | Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Education Week, Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), Illinois, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, President Barack Obama, Tennessee, Vermont
One of the most closely watched issues in states’ Every Students Succeeds Act plans will be how they plan to assign ratings to schools. Thanks to several states that turned in their plans by the April 3 deadline, we have an early idea of where states on headed on this.
One important decision is whether to issue schools single, summative ratings (like an A-F school rating), or use a “dashboard” approach that displays how a school is doing on different indicators, but doesn’t give the school an ultimate rating.
You might remember that how to handle school ratings was one of the most contentious issues in the development of the now-discarded Obama ESSA accountability rules. The Obama Education Department initially wanted to require states to assign a single, summative rating to all schools. But Republicans in Congress and others objected, arguing that this was not a requirement in ESSA itself and was an unfair, onerous requirement…
Read the full article here. May require an Education Week subscription.
by Andrew Ujifusa | Apr 11, 2017 | Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Education Week, ESSA, Illinois, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Jersey, President Barack Obama, Tennessee, Vermont
We’re not in NCLB land any more, Toto.
Under the Every Student Succeeds Act, which replaced the previous version of the nation’s main K-12 law, states have a lot of leeway in deciding what their long-term academic goals will be. That means that, unlike with the No Child Left Behind Act, there’s no requirement that all states ensure that 100 percent of students are proficient on state English/language arts and math exams by a certain school year. In the ESSA plans submitted to the U.S. Department of Education that we’ve seen so far, states have laid out a variety of long-term as well as interim goals, and a vastly different set of timelines with key dates ranging from next year all the way to 2039.
Read on to see what some of these long-term goals are in eight states and the District of Columbia. We’ve included some information about goals for graduation rates as well, but we’ve put aside English-language proficiency goals for now. Want to jump to a particular state or the District of Columbia? Just click on one of the links below:
One important note about Massachusetts: The state did not set out any academic goals in its ESSA plan. Read on or click on Massachusetts above for more info about that…
Read the full article here. May require an Education Week subscription.
by Alyson Klein | Apr 10, 2017 | Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Education Week, Every Student Succeeds Act, Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), Illinois, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Jersey, Tennessee, Vermont
One of the parts of the Every Student Succeeds Act that excited educators the most was the chance to look beyond test scores in gauging school performance, to factors like absenteeism, access to advanced coursework, and even grit.
So what kinds of factors are states using? We looked at the handful of plans that states have submitted to the feds and shared with us.
There are some common themes, at least among this first batch. For instance, chronic absenteeism is super popular. In fact, five states Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Massachusetts, Tennessee are all using it in some fashion. (We will be updating this post periodically as more plans come in.)…
Read the full article here. May require an Education Week subscription.
by NNPA ESSA | Apr 5, 2017 | Arizona, Connecticut, Delaware, ESSA, Every Student Succeeds Act, Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Vermont, Washington
A number of states have released drafts of their ESSA plans. Here’s a compiled list of the most recent versions states have released so far.
Arizona: First Draft (9/7/16) Second Draft (11/9/16) Final Plan (1/15/17)
Colorado: First Draft (2/10/17)
Connecticut: Released plan (4/3/17)
Delaware: First Draft (11/1/16)
District of Columbia: Released Plan (4/3/17)
Hawaii: First Draft (12/28/16) Released Plan (4/3/17)
Idaho: First Draft (11/2/16)
Iowa: First Draft (01/6/17)
Illinois: First Draft (9/7/16) Second Draft (11/18/16) Released Plan (4/3/17)
Kentucky: Partial Plan Released (11/1/16)
Louisiana: First Draft (9/28/16)
Massachusetts: Released Plan (4/3/17)
Maryland: First Draft (12/5/16)
Michigan: First Draft (2/14/17)
Montana: First Draft (11/19/16) Second Draft (12/15/16)
Nevada: Released Plan (4/3/17)
New Jersey: First Draft (2/15/17)
North Carolina: First Draft (9/30/16)
North Dakota: First Draft (1/13/17)
Ohio: Second Draft (2/2/17)
Oklahoma: First Draft (11/21/16)
Tennessee: First Draft (12/19/16) Released Plan (4/3/17)
Vermont: Released Plan (4/3/17)
Washington: First Draft (9/30/16) Second Draft (11/16/16)
Source: Understanding ESSA
by NNPA ESSA | Mar 26, 2017 | ESSA, Every Student Succeeds Act, Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), Vermont
Action at the federal level created minor complications for the state in complying with the law that replaced No Child Left Behind, but Vermont stands to benefit under the new education act, say state officials.
States have been developing plans to comply with the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015 by an April deadline. But early this month Congress threw out the rules that were guiding the process for creating state plans, because lawmakers felt they didn’t give states enough flexibility.
That led to U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos asking the states in mid-March to submit their information using new templates.
DeVos said the streamlined ESSA templates ask only for descriptions, information, assurances and materials that are “absolutely necessary” for the Department of Education to consider the plans.
“I wanted to ensure that regulations comply with the requirements of the law, provide the State and local flexibility that Congress intended, and do not impose unnecessary burdens,” she wrote to education officials in all the states.
Letter on Every Student Succeeds Act State Templates
While the series of decisions created drama in Washington, they ultimately won’t harm Vermont’s schools or slow down Vermont’s application for ESSA funds, say education officials.
In fact, with the new latitude in ESSA and the administration’s more hands-off approach, Vermont stands to do well under the new law, said Amy Fowler, a deputy secretary at AOE.
According to the agency, ESSA outlines expectations for states concerning school accountability and distribution of federal funding for student supports, with a goal of ensuring equitable outcomes for historically marginalized groups. These include students of color and low-income students.
Under ESSA, as under No Child Left Behind, states must explain how they intend to measure the performance of their schools and students. When NCLB was first implemented, Vermont had to label a number of schools as failing because the state sets high expectations and standards. Fowler said life under ESSA will be different because there is more flexibility and the focus isn’t only on reading and math achievement.
Vermont has been preparing to file its ESSA plan April 3. The Education Agency has already given a copy to Gov. Phil Scott.
The new template for submitting the plan isn’t that different, but there are fewer things the agency needs to put into it, according to Fowler.
“So far everything we wrote we found a place for in the template and we don’t have any blank spaces, so we are pretty excited about that,” she said recently, adding that it will be in a different order from what the public saw in draft form, but it is all the same content.
The governor, education secretary, State Board of Education and school districts are committed to closing the achievement gap for underprivileged youth, and those goals will not be harmed by Washington, Fowler said.
“We are super lucky to live in Vermont where we are committed to supporting vulnerable youth,” she said.
Source:
by Andrew Ujifusa | Feb 14, 2017 | Connecticut, Education Week, ESSA, Every Student Succeeds Act, Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), Florida, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wyoming
By Alyson Klein and Andrew Ujifusa
WASHINGTON — Betsy DeVos, Donald Trump’s pick to lead the U.S. Department of Education, sought to use her confirmation hearing to beat back the notion that she would undermine public education as head of the department, as Democrats pressed her on everything from her views on the civil rights of gay and lesbian students, to states’ responsibilities for students in special education, and guns in schools.
“If confirmed, I will be a strong advocate for great public schools,” DeVos said. “But, if a school is troubled, or unsafe, or not a good fit for a child—perhaps they have a special need that is going unmet—we should support a parent’s right to enroll their child in a high-quality alternative.” She also noted that her mother, Elsa Prince, was a public school teacher.
But those assurances didn’t seem to quell the anxieties of Democrats on the committee, including Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, the ranking member. “I have major concerns with how you have spent your career and fortune fighting to privatize public education and gut investments in public schools,” she said.
In the early stages of a tense hearing that lasted three and a half hours, Murray asked DeVos if she would be willing to commit not to “cut a penny from public education” or use her perch at the department to privatize public schools. DeVos said she would seek to give parents and children the best educational options possible, which Murray essentially took as a no.
DeVos didn’t delve into the specifics on many of the big questions on the table, like whether she would rein in the department’s office of civil rights, or how she would handle key details of the federal student lending program. And at times she seemed unclear on key policy details, including during a pair of exchanges with Democratic senators on whether federal special education laws should apply to all schools. (More here.)…
Read the full story here. May require an Education Week subscription.
by Alyson Klein | Feb 14, 2017 | Alaska, California, Connecticut, Education Week, Every Student Succeeds Act, k-12, Massachusetts, Michigan, Vermont
It’s finally happening: Betsy DeVos, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the U.S. Department of Education, is set to testify before the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee at her confirmation hearing Tuesday.
In the past, confirmation hearings for an education secretary have typically been bipartisan love fests. But that’s not going to be the case this time around.
DeVos’ background as a voucher supporter who has never worked in a government, in a school district, or attended or sent her kids to public school has generated big backlash from educators and civil rights groups. In fact, 38 groups who don’t always see eye-to-eye on K-12 issues—including Democrats for Education Reform and the teachers’ unions—sent a letter Tuesday to Senate education committee leaders expressing big concerns about DeVos’ background and support for vouchers…
Read the full article here. May require an Education Week subscription.
by Alyson Klein | Feb 14, 2017 | Arizona, Delaware, District of Columbia, Education Week, ESSA, Every Student Succeeds Act, Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Tennessee, Trump Administration, US Department of Education, Vermont
Seventeen states and the District of Columbia have told the U.S. Department of Education that they are aiming to file their plans for implementing the Every Student Succeeds Act by early April, in time for the first deadline set by the Obama administration.
Those states are Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Tennessee, and Vermont, plus the District of Columbia.
States have spent the past year reaching out to educators and advocates to decide how to handle everything from teacher effectiveness to school ratings to that brand new indicator of student success and school quality…
Read the full article here. May require an Education Week subscription.
