December 22, 2017
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.”
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Tom Torlakson — State Superintendent of Public Instruction
Communications Division, Room 5602, 916-319-0818, Fax 916-319-0100