by Myrna Mandlawitz, AOTA Legislative Consultant
The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), the successor to No Child Left Behind (NCLB), must be fully implemented in school districts across the country in the 2017-18 school year. To assist states and districts in meeting that deadline, the U.S. Department of Education is engaged in developing regulations to clarify complex provisions of the law. States, in turn, are beginning to write their implementation plans and figure out the new state accountability requirements.
The Regulatory Process
The regulatory process began with several weeks of “negotiated rule making,” with a panel of stakeholders – administrators, teachers, parents, representatives of students with disabilities, and civil rights advocates, among others – debating the assessment provisions of the law. Unfortunately, all specialized instructional support personnel (SISP), including OT, were represented only by an alternate to the panel who was a speech-language pathologist. Considering SISP are included in ESSA in a more comprehensive way than under NCLB, AOTA felt SISP deserved a regular seat at the table and greater input overall into the discussions.
As a next step the Department of Education is now soliciting comments on the draft regulations on assessment, as well as on the new accountability provisions. AOTA will provide comments to the Department to ensure the OT perspective is considered. There is some urgency to get these regulations out for comment, since there are a number of steps after comments are submitted before the final regulations are issued. The presidential election increases that urgency, since a new administration can choose not to accept any pending regulations developed by its predecessor.
Earlier this year the Department of Education asked for input on what types of guidance they should provide to states on implementing ESSA. You can read AOTA’s letter suggestion that the the Department of Education address the critical roles of specialized instructional support personnel, including occupational therapy practitioners in ensuring student success. Furthermore we suggested the Dept. of Education highlight the role of OT in early learning, transitions, and multi-tier systems. That letter is attached below.
Title I State Plans
States are already in the process of developing their Title I state plan. Title I is the core of ESSA that includes instruction and assessment of and accountability for the four subgroups of students most affected by the law. Those subgroups – the same as under NCLB – are economically disadvantaged students, students from major racial and ethnic groups, children with disabilities, and English learners. State’s must develop a plan (in accordance with new ESSA requirements) to meet the needs of these subgroups.
So what can you do to affect this process? The law requires that SISP are one of the groups state departments of education must consult in developing their plans, as well as being part of the peer review process. This plan is critically important because it remains in effect for the duration of ESSA, unless the state needs to submit some amendments as situations may change.
AOTA members can find out immediately where their states are in this important process. More important, they should find out if OT is represented or if the state is still determining who will be consulted in the development and review of the plan. If they are not, you can work with AOTA and your state association to promote inclusion of occupational therapy practitioners in the plan development. The easiest way to get this information is to search the state department of education website for “ESSA implementation.” This is an opportunity to be at the table as the state decides how it will implement the law and what role various stakeholders will assume.
In future blog posts we will break down the different Titles and pieces of ESSA and how they relate to the role of occupational therapy in schools.