Published: July 17, 2018, Updated: July 17, 2018 at 06:37 PM
What to do?
President Donald Trump’s administration has in many ways held up Florida’s education system as a model for the nation. It’s hired many former Florida education officials to top jobs in its own education department.
Yet Florida’s proposed plan to meet federal Every Student Succeeds Act standards is now the only one that remains unapproved by Secretary Betsy DeVos.
Iowa Department of Education Director Ryan Wise today announced that the third draft of Iowa’s state plan for meeting the federal Every Student Succeeds Act is available for public review and comment. Iowa’s plan will be finalized and submitted to the U.S. Department of Education in September. ESSA is a reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965; the update replaces the No Child Left Behind Act. “Iowa has several collaborative education improvement efforts underway, each with a goal of preparing students for success in high school and beyond, and the Every Student Succeeds Act is an opportunity to connect and build on those efforts,” Wise said. The third draft is a final opportunity for Iowans to review the plan; a snapshot can be found here.
PDE Announces ESSA Consolidated State Plan Draft Now Available for Public Comment
Harrisburg, PA – State Education Secretary Pedro A. Rivera today announced the commonwealth’s proposed Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) Consolidated State Plan is on the Pennsylvania Department of Education’s (PDE) website and is available for public comment. The plan builds on an 18-month collaboration between PDE and a diverse group of stakeholders from around the state.
“The Wolf Administration, through its Schools That Teach initiative, has been focused on ensuring that all students, regardless of their age, socioeconomic status, or zip code, have access to high-quality educators and schools,” said Secretary Rivera. “Pennsylvania’s ESSA Consolidated State Plan accelerates state-level priorities in these same areas, and helps the state transition from the prescriptive policies and unintended consequences of NCLB to a more student-centered approach.”
To develop the ESSA Consolidated State Plan, PDE:
Assembled four work groups – comprised of teachers, charter school and district level administrators, advocates, civil rights leaders, former policymakers from both parties, and others – to study key aspects of the law and develop framework recommendations;
Commissioned an independent study to examine work group recommendations in the context of academic literature and other evidence;
Testified before the House and Senate Education committees and worked with lawmakers to address plan components;
Held six dedicated town halls in every region of the commonwealth to gather additional stakeholder feedback;
Participated in approximately 30 statewide conferences, professional association meetings, and other forums to reach more than 2,000 Pennsylvanians and present on the state’s ESSA planning and early implementation; and
Consulted with national nonpartisan policy and technical experts (American Institutes for Research, Council of Chief State School Officers, Education Commission of the States) to solicit additional insight, feedback, and suggestions for specific plan components.
Rivera noted that the plan also presents new opportunities for the commonwealth to develop, recruit, and retain a talented and diverse pool of educators, bolsters college and career readiness and effective transition strategies throughout the pre-K to postsecondary continuum, and focuses on student and school equity.
Additionally, the development of the Future Ready PA Index, a new, public-facing school report card that expands the indicators used to measure performance, extends the comprehensive approach to ensuring student and school success. The Index will place additional emphasis on academic growth, evaluation of school climate through a robust chronic absenteeism measure, attention to both four-year and extended-year graduation rates, and assessments of postsecondary readiness.
“The plan represents a collaborative, evidence-based approach to help every student, in every Pennsylvania public school, access a high-quality, well-rounded education,” said Secretary Rivera. “That collaboration continues as we invite stakeholders and members of the public to provide feedback on Pennsylvania’s Consolidated State Plan.”
Rivera added that public comment will close on September 2, and the Department will submit its Consolidated State Plan to the U.S. Department of Education on September 18. Initial implementation of the plan will begin in the 2017-18 school year, with full rollout by 2018-19.
For more information about Pennsylvania’s education policies and programs, or to read the ESSA Consolidated State Plan, visit the Department of Education’s website at www.education.pa.gov or follow PDE on Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Due to overwhelming interest, the West Virginia Department of Education (WVDE) announced the addition of four more regional stakeholder meetings to discuss the state’s Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) plan. Meetings have already been held in Lewis County and Kanawha County, with an additional meeting scheduled for Monday, July 10th at 5:30 p.m. at Spring Mills High School in Berkeley County. The meetings will include a brief informational session and an open question and answer session. All stakeholder meetings are open to the public. The added events will take place at the following dates and times:
July 17, 5:30 p.m. John Marshall High School 1300 Wheeling Ave Glen Dale, WV 25404 July 20, 5:30 p.m. East Fairmont High School 1993 Airport Road Fairmont, WV 26554 July 26, 5:30 p.m. Cabell Midland 2300 US 60 Ona, WV 25545 July 27, 5:30 p.m. Eastern Greenbrier Middle School 403 Knight Drive Ronceverte, WV 24970
ESSA was signed into law in December 2015, replacing the No Child Left Behind Act. The federal legislation represents a shift from broad federal oversight to greater flexibility of primary and secondary education at the state and local levels. ESSA requires all states to develop plans that address standards, assessments, accountability and support for struggling schools. The WVDE will post the full state plan online in early August for a 30-day public comment period prior to the submission of the final plan on September 18, 2017.
Despite a decision by Congress this spring to repeal key provisions connected to the Every Student Succeeds Act, the Florida Department of Education has no intention of scrapping its efforts to date in creating an ESSA state implementation plan.
Education commissioner Pam Stewart recently informed superintendents that the state would continue its work toward the Sept. 18 due date, and have its proposed plan online for public comment over the summer. Toward that end, she has asked a group of district leaders including Mike Grego of Pinellas County to help hash out details of several key issues that needed more attention.
Those included requirements on percentage of students tested, assessment exemptions for English language learners and the use of subgroups to differentiate accountability. Florida takes approaches that do not necessarily correlate with the federal guidelines.
“Florida is ahead of most of the nation in our policies that feed into the ESSA State Plan,” Stewart said in a memo to superintendents. “We will seek the opportunity where necessary to request waivers and continue current practice where we believe as a group it is best for Florida.”
Stewart has remained steadfast in asserting Florida’s need to do what’s best for itself, and noting that the federal government cannot force states to take action beyond the scope of law, since 2016.
Visit the Department of Education’s ESSA website for more information about its progress and plans.
The ESSA State Plan and related materials are now available on the PDE web site at 
