Secretary DeVos Approves North Dakota’s ESSA Plan

Secretary DeVos Approves North Dakota’s ESSA Plan

WASHINGTON – U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos today announced the approval of Louisiana’s consolidated state plan under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). — Letter to Louisiana from Secretary DeVos regarding State Plan.


August 15, 2017
Honorable John White
Superintendent of Education
Louisiana Department of Education
P.O. Box 94064
Baton Rouge, LA 70804Dear Superintendent White:I am pleased to approve Louisiana’s consolidated State plan under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), to implement the requirements of covered programs under the ESEA and of the amended McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (McKinney-Vento Act). I congratulate you on this significant accomplishment.

My decision regarding Louisiana’s consolidated State plan is based on input from U.S. Department of Education (Department) staff who reviewed and carefully considered the plan submitted by Louisiana. Consistent with ESSA, the Department conducted a peer review of the sections in your consolidated State plan related to Title I, Part A and Title III, Part A of the ESEA and Subtitle B of Title VII of the McKinney-Vento Act. The Department only reviewed information provided in Louisiana’s consolidated State plan that was responsive to the Revised State Plan Template for the Consolidated State Plan that was issued on March 13, 2017. I have concluded that Louisiana’s consolidated State plan satisfies those requirements. Accordingly, Louisiana’s consolidated State plan that was submitted on August 8, 2017, warrants full approval.

Louisiana’s consolidated State plan remains in effect for the duration of the State’s participation in the programs covered by the plan. Each State is responsible for administering all programs included in its consolidated State plan consistent with all applicable statutory and regulatory requirements even if those requirements are not addressed in Louisiana’s plan. Louisiana must periodically review and revise the plan as necessary to reflect changes in the State’s strategies and covered programs. If Louisiana makes significant changes to its consolidated State plan at any time, such as changes to its accountability system or long-term goals, Louisiana must submit information about those changes to the Department for review and approval. The Department will provide information on the process for amending a State plan at a later date.

Please be aware that approval of Louisiana’s consolidated State plan is not a determination that all the information and data included in the State plan comply with Federal civil rights requirements, including Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act, and requirements under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. It is Louisiana’s responsibility to comply with these civil rights requirements.

Please note that this letter, with Louisiana’s approved consolidated State plan, will be posted on the Department’s website.

It has been a pleasure working with your staff on this review. Please accept my congratulations for Louisiana’s approved consolidated State plan. Thank you for the important work that you and your staff are doing to support the transition to the ESSA and most importantly to lead Louisiana’s students to achieve at high levels. The Department looks forward to working with you to ensure that all children have the opportunity to reach their full potential.

Sincerely,

/s/

Betsy DeVoscc: Honorable John Bel Edwards, Governor of Louisiana

Secretary DeVos Praises Expansion of Educational Opportunities for Illinois Students and Families

Secretary DeVos Praises Expansion of Educational Opportunities for Illinois Students and Families

SEPTEMBER 1, 2017

Washington — U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos today released the following statement:

“Real change and innovation in education will not come from Washington—it will come from states where parents and students demand more education options and have their voices heard. I commend Gov. Rauner and Superintendent Smith for their leadership in making Illinois the 18th state to adopt a tax credit scholarship program. By expanding choices for families and focusing funding on individual students, this program will help thousands of Illinois children succeed.”

WV ESSA Plan Receives Stakeholder Feedback Ahead of Scheduled Submission

WV ESSA Plan Receives Stakeholder Feedback Ahead of Scheduled Submission

August 26, 2017, Charleston Gazette Mail

West Virginia’s proposed federal Every Student Succeeds Act compliance plan, which includes a planned new public school accountability system plus plans for how to improve schools that score low in that system, is seeing significant changes and public praise and criticism ahead of its scheduled submission to the U.S. Education Department next month.

Among the changes so far, the state Department of Education is now planning to take into account schools’ five-year high school graduation rates, atop their four-year rates.

The department is also abandoning its proposal to initially assign each of its four planned labels for school performance measures to a quarter of elementary, middle and high schools. This would have been done by comparing Mountain State schools’ performance only to other in-state schools on each performance measure and, for each measure, assigning the lowest label to the bottom-scoring 25 percent, the next lowest to the next 25 percent, and so on.

The plan is online for public comment through 4 p.m. Wednesday at wvde.state.wv.us/essa. Michele Blatt, the state education department’s assistant superintendent over the Division of Support and Accountability, said the state Board of Education is scheduled to vote on the plan Sept. 7 or Sept. 8. The federal education department must then review it.

Read the full story here…

Secretary DeVos Approves District of Columbia, Illinois, Oregon and Tennessee’s ESSA Plans

Secretary DeVos Approves District of Columbia, Illinois, Oregon and Tennessee’s ESSA Plans

AUGUST 30, 2017

Contact: (202) 401-1576, press@ed.gov
WASHINGTON — U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos today announced the approval of the District of Columbia, Illinois, Oregon and Tennessee consolidated state plans under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).

“As more and more state plans come under the Department’s review, I am heartened to see how states have embraced the spirit of flexibility under ESSA to improve education for individual students,” said Secretary DeVos.

Allowing states more flexibility in how they deliver education to students is at the core of ESSA. Each state crafted a plan that it feels will best offer educational opportunities to meet the needs of the state and its students. The following are some of the unique elements from each state’s approved plan as highlighted by each state:

District of Columbia

Creates the School Transparency and Reporting (STAR) framework, a universal framework for every public school in DC that will provide an easy-to-understand annual rating to each school based on 1-5 stars.

Measures the quality of Pre-Kindergarten through use of the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS), which assesses the quality of teacher-child interactions in early childhood classrooms.

“DC’s plan is guided by our commitment to providing equitable access to high quality education for all students and flexibility for our schools to meet the unique needs of all students,” said DC State Superintendent for Education Hanseul Kang. “This plan is the right one for DC, and I am proud that it was informed by rigorous engagement with partners and community members, including the DC State Board of Education, local education agencies, parents, educators, and advocates.”

Illinois

Creates a College/Career Ready Indicator for high schools that measures the readiness of students for college based on several indicators, including GPA, performance on postsecondary readiness exams and attendance, in addition to considering community service hours, summer employment, participation in ROTC, and/or earning industry credentials.
Uses survey responses from students to help assign schools a “school climate” score, giving students a chance to provide meaningful feedback and ensuring the student perspective will be a part of the school’s overall summative rating.

“Illinois is committed to supporting the whole child in transforming learning opportunities for all students in our state,” said Illinois State Superintendent of Education Tony Smith, Ph.D. “We want every child to feel well known and well cared for in our schools and to receive the individual support they need for academic excellence and postsecondary success. The Illinois ESSA Plan gives us the opportunity to foster collaboration and partnerships to build educators’ and leaders’ capacity for improved student outcomes. We appreciate the partnership with the U.S. Department of Education throughout the ESSA process, and we look forward to our continued efforts on behalf of each and every child.”

Oregon

Prioritizes four commitments in its plan: advancing equity; creating a well-rounded education; strengthening district systems; and fostering ongoing stakeholder engagement.
Implements a new “Freshmen on track” measure to confirm that students have completed at least 6 credits within the first semester of freshmen year, recognizing the importance of credit attainment in early high school in order to graduate on time.

“Today is a tremendous milestone for Oregon. Oregon’s State Plan is founded on equity and represents the voices and communities we serve,” Oregon Deputy Superintendent Salam Noor said. “We want to put every one of our learners on a path to success from birth through high school, and beyond. And whether our students choose to attend college or go straight into the workforce, it’s critical that their school experience is full of opportunity, and ensures they are college and career ready.”

Tennessee

Supports teacher and principal residencies to create more high-quality pipeline opportunities for prospective candidates to move into those roles; also establishes new grant initiatives that focus on increasing innovation and diversity in the educator workforce.

Focuses on college readiness through the Tennessee Promise initiative.

“Our ESSA plan is built on what we’ve started in Tennessee and centered on the belief that every student should be ready for postsecondary when they graduate high school,” said Tennessee Education Commissioner Candice McQueen. “Tennessee’s education community helped us to create a strong plan that will help us take our work to the next level, and we look forward to continuing these partnerships now as we move forward.”

Secretary DeVos Approves Maine and Vermont’s ESSA Plans

Secretary DeVos Approves Maine and Vermont’s ESSA Plans

AUGUST 31, 2017

Contact:   Press Office, (202) 401-1576, press@ed.gov

WASHINGTON – U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos today announced the approval of Maine and Vermont’s consolidated state plans under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).

“Both Maine and Vermont’s plans were found to comply with the law, so I am happy to approve them,” said Secretary DeVos. “I want to thank the chief state school officers, governors and all other stakeholders who helped craft these plans that will help their students succeed.”

Allowing states more flexibility in how they deliver education to students is at the core of ESSA. Each state crafted a plan that it feels will best offer educational opportunities to meet the needs of the state and its students. The following are some of the unique elements from each state’s approved plan as highlighted by each state:

Maine

  • Creates a three-tiered system of support for schools based on performance, with the highest level of support offering coaching and mentoring to teach effective strategies for school turnaround, in addition to increased funding for staff professional development.
  • Plans to reduce the number of non-proficient students in half by 2030.

“Maine’s ESSA plan is moving away from compliance and regulation toward a model that supports and assists schools and educators, especially in areas where students are at a disadvantage,” said Robert G. Hasson, Maine Commissioner of Education.

Vermont

  • Creates an innovative measure of postsecondary outcomes by measuring the percentage of former high school students enrolled in college or trade school, employed in the workforce and/or enlisted in the military approximately 16 months after their high school experience ends.
  • Includes physical education in its accountability system to encourage schools to attend to the whole child and to help promote a lifestyle of healthy living.

“The Vermont State Plan reflects Vermont’s simultaneous goals of supporting our most vulnerable students while focusing on solutions that are practical and effective to meet our educational needs,” said Rebecca Holcombe, Vermont Secretary of Education. “We have worked hard to create a plan that values student success for all, both in the classroom and in preparing our students to be engaged and contributing citizens once they leave our schools.”

Readout of Secretary DeVos’ Meeting with Florida Education Leaders

Readout of Secretary DeVos’ Meeting with Florida Education Leaders

AUGUST 30, 2017

Contact:   Press Office, (202) 401-1576, press@ed.gov

WHAT:
Meeting between the U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, Reverend Dr. RB Holmes and K-12 and HBCU Leaders

WHEN:
Wednesday, August 30, 2017, 11:45 – 3:00 p.m.

WHERE:
Bethel Family Life Center
406 N Bronough Street Tallahassee, FL 32301

Today, U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos met with a broad spectrum of education leaders in Florida. The meeting was divided into two 45-minute sessions. The first session was titled “Saving, Sustaining and Strengthening Public Education and Schools of Choice” and the second was titled “Saving, Sustaining and Strengthening HBCUs and Higher Education.”

In each session, the group discussed:

  • Policies and Procedures
  • Challenges and Concerns

Secretary DeVos offered the following comments on the meeting:

“As we confront the many challenges facing our education system today, it is paramount that we hear from those on the front lines: local leaders who confront these issues head on each and every day. Today’s discussions were great examples of how local leaders – whether they are administrators, educators, elected officials or religious leaders – can come together to share best practices and work together to find innovative solutions that help our students and communities succeed.

“I want to thank Rev. Dr. RB Holmes for convening this summit, and also, more importantly, for his long track record of working on behalf of often-disadvantaged students who without his tireless efforts would not have the opportunities they enjoy today.”

ATTENDEES INCLUDED:
Reverend Dr. RB Holmes, Pastor, Bethel Missionary Baptist Church

Education Roundtable Participants Invited to Attend:

  • Dr. Timothy Moore, Director of Research, Florida A&M University
  • Rodner Wright, Provost, Florida A&M University
  • Dr. Castelle Bryant, Past President, Florida A&M University
  • Dr. Henry Lewis Lewis, Past President, Florida A&M University
  • Ms. JoLinda L. Herring, Esq. – Florida Memorial University, Board of Trustees
  • Dr. Freddie Grooms-McLendon – Edward Waters University, Chairman, Board of Trustees
  • The Honorable Senator Bill Montford – Florida Senator
  • The Honorable Congressman Al Lawson – United States Representative
  • Chancellor Hershel Lyons – FL State Dept. of Education K-12 Chancellor
  • Commissioner Pam Stewart – Commissioner of Education
  • Chancellor Rod Duckworth – Career and Adult Education
  • Superintendent Alex “Lex” Carswell, Jr. – Columbia County
  • Superintendent Dr. Patricia Willis – Duval County
  • Superintendent Traci Moses – Franklin County
  • Superintendent Marianne Arbulu – Jefferson County
  • Ms. Beverly Owens – Leon County Schools Office of Federal Programs & Charter School
  • Mrs. Diane Townsend – Principal, Tallavana Christian School
  • Dr. Roslyn Wilson – Principal, Bethel Christian Academy
  • Dr. Julius McAllister – Trustee, Edward Waters University; Pastor, Bethel AME Church
  • Dr. Joseph Wright – Florida Baptist General State Conventionm Pastor, Jerusalem Baptist Church
  • Bishop A.J. Richardson – Bethune-Cookman University, Board of Trustees,
  • 14th Episcopal District, African Methodist Episcopal Church
  • Pastor Lee Johnson – Pastor, Trinity Presbyterian Church
  • Dr. Richard Mashburn – Associate Minister, Bethel Missionary Baptist Church
  • Dr. Isaac Manning – Moderator, 1st Bethlehem Baptist Association
  • Dr. Ronald Holmes – Holmes Education Post
  • Dr. Marvin Henderson – Retired Deputy Superintendent, Leon County Schools
  • Ms. Georgia “Joy” Bowen – President, Leon County School Board
  • Mrs. Caroly D. Cummings, Esq.
  • Mr. James Coleman – Vice-Chair, Board of Trustees, Bethel Missionary Baptist Church
  • Dr. Elaine Bryant – Chair, Board of Trustees, Bethel Missionary Baptist Church
  • Mr. James Mathews – Chairman of Finance, Bethel Missionary Baptist Church
  • Dr. Barbara Barnes – Retired Provost, Florida A&M University
  • Mr. Malcom Barnes – Retired Professor, Florida A&M University
  • Dr. Malinda J. James – Educational Consultant
  • Reverend Dr. RB Holmes, Jr. – Pastor, Bethel Missionary Baptist Church
  • Dr. Gloria Holmes – Administrator, Bethel Christian Academy
  • Dr. Shawnta Friday-Stroud – Dean of the School of Business and Industry, Florida A&M University
  • Superintendent Rocky Hanna – Leon County Schools
  • Dr. Patricia Green-Powell – Interim Dean and Professor, College of Education, Florida A&M University
  • Dr. Charles Weatherford – Title III Programs, Interim Executive Director
  • Mr. Christopher Petley – Project Manager, Office of District Communications
  • Dr. Linda T. Fortenberry – Director of Christian Education, Bethel Missionary Baptist Church
  • Ms. Taralisha Sanders, Office Manager, The Capital Outlook
Analysis: Strong Incentives for Academic Progress in New York’s Early ESSA Plan, But Goals Could Be More Ambitious

Analysis: Strong Incentives for Academic Progress in New York’s Early ESSA Plan, But Goals Could Be More Ambitious

Alliance for Excellence in Education

Originally published August 28, 2017

While students are gearing up for the new school year, education leaders across the country have been hunkering down all summer to finish up their state education plans as part of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). Sixteen states and the District of Columbia submitted their state plans to the U.S. Department of Education back in April, while the remaining 34 states will submit next month.

Among those states in the throes of ESSA planning, New York stands out for the size and diversity of its student population: The state has more than 2.6 million public school students, half of whom are students of color. New York also has been a national leader in engaging educators, parents and communities in improving education. In recent years, the state has done laudable work to refine its state standards and annual assessments improving education for all students—and notably, New York has excelled in involving stakeholders in that process. Recently, as state leaders have been developing their ESSA plan, they have put real effort into gathering input from communities—from Buffalo to Brooklyn—on what they want for their public schools.

With this strong educational groundwork laid, New York released its draft ESSA plan on July 31, about six weeks before the final plan is due to the U.S. Department of Education. This six-week window offers an opportunity for both the public and experts to offer feedback and guidance on ways New York—and states everywhere—can design the best plan to support student success.

With this in mind, Bellwether Education Partners and the Collaborative for Student Success brought together a panel of independent peer reviewers—myself included—to conduct an interim evaluation of New York’s draft ESSA plan. This panel is an extension of Check State Plans, a larger effort to provide an independent review of all states’ ESSA plans. In the spirit of supporting states as they strengthen their education systems, Bellwether and the Collaborative will conduct a full review of the 34 state plans that are submitted in September, including a final review of New York’s plan.

Our goal for the interim review is to identify both strengths and areas for improvement in New York’s plan and offer constructive recommendations for ways the state could refine its planned approach for supporting public schools and students before submitting to the U.S. Department of Education. Our panel has found both bright spots and areas of recommendation for New York’s draft ESSA plan.

On the positive side, the plan reflects New York’s prioritization of student progress and supports for schools.

Incentivizing Academic Progress. We are encouraged that New York’s performance index—which gives schools credit for student performance at four different levels—places a strong incentive on students meeting grade-level standards. However, the state’s approach to monitoring student growth compares students to their peers rather than an overall standard of mastery and thus doesn’t do enough to ensure that students are on track for graduation.

Supporting Schools. New York’s plan outlines a system that provides differentiated supports to schools based on their needs, as well as a process to support school improvement efforts by requiring schools to complete a comprehensive, diagnostic needs assessment. While this approach is commendable, it could benefit from more detail on how parents, educators and other stakeholders will be engaged in the school improvement process.

Our review panel has also identified four opportunities for New York to provide greater clarity and detail about how the state will reach its goals of supporting all schools and students.

Ensuring that All Students Receive a High-quality Education. The plan could be stronger in detailing how historically underserved students (i.e., students of color, low-income students, English learners, students with disabilities, and Native students), referred to in ESSA as “subgroups,” will be supported — both in terms of how they fit into the state accountability index and how schools with consistently underperforming subgroups will be identified for support. Additionally, the state plans to use n-sizes that would omit many students. We recommend New York reconsider these choices.

Setting Ambitious Goals. Related to supporting all students, New York has set a goal of reducing achievement and graduation rate gaps by 20 percent within five years. On the face of it, this goal seems ambitious, but the plan lacks  data to confirm that this is the case—or that the goal is attainable. We recommend incorporating more evidence to back up this goal and clarifying whether this and other goals are to be acted on or are part of the state’s longer-term vision.

Identifying Schools in Need of Support. We appreciate that New York’s accountability system has a simple list of indicators, but its process for using those indicators to determine which schools are low-performing is very complicated. Moreover, the plan neglects to mention what will happen to schools that don’t fall into the very low-performing category. We encourage the state to consider simplifying its accountability calculations and provide more information on how the accountability system will impact the 95 percent of schools that are not among the lowest performing.

Moving Schools to Improved Status. Because several of New York’s accountability indicators aren’t tied to objective goals, low-performing schools may not know what they would need to accomplish to show sufficient progress. Our panel recommends that the state create more rigorous criteria for how these schools can demonstrate sustained improvement over time.

We applaud New York’s leadership in engaging all of its stakeholders to improve its public education system, and we believe that this spirit of collaboration and shared commitment to progress can drive New York officials to continue to refine its draft ESSA plan before submitting the final plan in mid-September.

Other states are sure to look to New York’s draft as they design their own plans, and we hope that they will look for ways to model the way in which New York monitors the academic progress of students across the performance spectrum while continuing to emphasize the importance of meeting grade-level standards. We also hope that our independent review will inspire New York officials to take a second look at key parts of their plan—and at best practices from other states, such as those identified in the Alliance for Excellent Education equity analysis—to ensure that their plan truly will support the best outcomes for every student in their state.

Phillip Lovell is vice president of policy development and government relations at the Alliance for Excellent Education

source: 

ESSA Architect John Kline to Betsy DeVos: Don’t Let States Skirt Law’s Testing Rules

ESSA Architect John Kline to Betsy DeVos: Don’t Let States Skirt Law’s Testing Rules

Former Rep. John Kline, R-Minn., an Every Student Succeeds Act architect, was one of the most prominent voices clamoring for more local control over K-12 when the law was wending its way through Congress.

But now Kline is worried that at least two states, ”Arizona and New Hampshire, ”have passed laws that skirt key “guardrails” in the law aimed holding schools accountable and protecting students’ civil rights.

Congress, Kline writes in a commentary for Education Week, made the conscious decision to stick with statewide tests so that parents could compare results from one school district to the next. But new laws in both states seem to fly in the face of that rule, which is a key part of the balance lawmakers were going for in writing ESSA…

Read the full article here. May require an Education Week subscription.