The Every Student Succeeds Act formally replaced the No Child Left Behind Act in December 2015 when President Barack Obama signed it into law. Since that time, we have been posting information as it became available. On this page you will find archived items starting in June 2016 and dating back to 2015. Although they are a bit dated, much of the information remains relevant and provides good background for anyone looking at this history of ESSA. Please report broken links here. Return to the main ESSA page.
2016
Every Student Succeeds Act Web Site (provided by Collaborative for Student Success) – (June 23)
ESSA’s Well-Rounded Education
Education Commission of the States (June)
Georgia Joins With Stakeholders to Develop ESSA Plan – July 22
More Resources …
School Leadership Interventions Under ESSA: Evidence Review
Rand Corporation (December 15) and…
Elevating School Leadership in ESSA Plans
Council of Chief State School Officers (December 15) – Related story.
High Stakes for Higher Schoolers – State Accountability in the Age of ESSA
Thomas B. Fordham Institute (November 15) Related report: High Stakes for High Achievers – State Accountability in the Age of ESSA (August)
ESSA, Equity and Exploring Specific Student Populations (series of reports)
Education Commission of the States (November 3)
Understanding ESSA: 3 tips for educators to help shape education policy
Huffington Post (November 1)
Web Site: Every Student Succeeds Act
Educators for Higher Standards (October 18)
A New Era for the Arts in Education
Education Commission of the States (October 6)
#AskExcelinEd
Foundation for Excellence in Education (September 14)
The Every Student Succeeds Act
Ed Trust (Posted September 12)
re:VISION – The ESSA: Opportunities and Responsibilities
The Hunt Institute (September 2)
Collaborative Stakeholder Engagement with Introduction
Education Commission of the States (September 1)
ESSA: Quick Guides on Top Issues with Introduction
Education Commission of the States (September 1)
Georgia Accountability Fact Sheet
U.S. Chamber of Commerce (August 24)
ESSA: Quick Guides on Key Issues
Education Commission of the States (August 9)
Georgia DOE’s ESSA web page (August 1)
Every Student Succeeds Act Web Site (provided by Collaborative for Student Success) – (June 23)
ESSA’s Well-Rounded Education
Education Commission of the States (June)
Georgia Joins With Stakeholders to Develop ESSA Plan – July 22
Policy Brief – ESSA and Evidence: Why It Matters
Chiefs for Change
ESSA incentivizes states to use evidence-based programs and interventions in districts and schools. Doing so will lead to stronger student outcomes at reasonable cost; not doing so throws dollars after uncertain or even negative outcomes for students and schools. (July 21)
Let’s Get the Conversation Started: Strategies, Tools, Examples and Resources to Help States Engage With Stakeholders to Develop and Implement Their ESSA Plans
Council of Chief State School Officers / Education First
The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) is an opportunity for states to not only connect with current education advocates, but to seek out those who feel disconnected or who have not been historically engaged in a public education dialogue. Education First worked with the Council of Chief State School Officers and 15 national advocacy and civil rights groups to create this stakeholder engagement guide. Introduction. (June 29)
Collaborative Stakeholder Engagement
Education Commission of the States
This report offers a framework for going beyond simply engaging stakeholders for input to collaborating with them to create shared goals and improved results. Introduction. (June 28)
ESSA’s Well Rounded Education
Education Commission of the States
This report reviews the components of ESSA’s prevalent “well-rounded education” concept and potential ways that states can support educational access for every student under this new law. Introduction. (June 27)
The Arts Education Partnership, ESSA and a Well Rounded Education
Education Commission of the States
One of AEP’s current priorities is developing resources that support the implementation of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), which opens several important opportunities for including the arts in U.S. classrooms. (May 13)
Expanding Equity: Leveraging the ESSA to Provide Direct Student Services
Chiefs for Change
This report is a kind of how-to-guide for states and districts interested in taking advantage of the chance to set aside 3 percent of statewide Title I funds for “direct student services.” Related story. (May 2)
Sen. Lamar Alexander on the nation’s new education law and how it could shape Tennessee (and other states) schools
Chalkbeat Tennessee
U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee has one underlying message to share about the federal education law he co-authored and co-sponsored last year in Congress: Leave decisions about schools up to local stakeholders. (April 28)
Pathways to New Accountability Through the Every Student Succeeds Act
Learning Policy Institute
The passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) provides states with flexibility and the responsibility to design and implement new systems of accountability, support, and intervention. With the new law comes an opportunity. Introduction. (April 27)
Draft ESSA regulations: A mixed bag for educational excellence
Thomas B. Fordham Institute
The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) requires a “negotiated rulemaking” process whenever the Department of Education issues regulations under parts of the law pertaining to assessments, academic standards, and several other topics. (April 14)
The Every Student Succeeds Act: An ESSA Overview
Education Week
(Subscription may be required.) The Every Student Succeeds Act takes full effect in the 2017-18 school year. This review provides key elements of the law. (March 31)
Inside the Every Student Succeeds Act
Education Week
The year-end passage and signing of the Act represents more than just a rare bipartisan agreement on the part of the nation’s chronically polarized policymakers. For the first time in more than a decade—and a half-century after enactment of the country’s main K-12 law—Congress has redefined the federal role in elementary and secondary education. (January 2016)
2015
Alexander: Federal Role On K-12 Will Be “Very Different” Under ESSA
Education Week
Attention U.S. Department of Education officials gearing up to implement the Every Student Succeeds Act: Get ready to raise your right hand and swear under oath. (You too, school district and state officials.) (December 2015)
Why the New Education Law is Good for Children Left Behind
New York Times
The Every Student Succeeds Act shifts, for the first time since the Reagan years, the balance of power in education away from Washington and back to the states. That’s a welcome about-face. (December 2015)
Senate approves overhaul of No Child Left Behind Bill
New York Times
The Senate on Wednesday approved a sweeping revision of the contentious No Child Left Behind law, sending to President Obama’s desk a proposal that ends an era of federal control in education policy after 14 years. (December 2015)
ESSA reauthorization continues a long federal retreat from American classrooms
Brookings
Although many groups have lauded the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) because it abolishes the hated “No Child Left Behind” (NCLB), ESSA is less a “repeal” than another step in the federal retreat from the classroom and a testament to the continuing education exceptionalism in American politics. (December 2015)