Equity in ESSA, A Primer on the New No Child Left Behind

In December 2015, President Obama signed the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) into law.  ESSA is a revision of No Child Left Behind. Each state will convene state leadership, advocates, philanthropists, educators, parents and policy makers to draft a plan for implementation of ESSA.  ESSA has the potential to dramatically advance education equity.  According to Education Trust, states' implementation plan must address: 

• Consistent, state-adopted standards for all students that are aligned with the demands of postsecondary education and work
• Statewide annual assessments aligned with statewide standards
• Clear requirements that statewide accountability systems must expect more progress for the groups of students who have been behind, base school ratings on the progress of all groups of students, and expect action when any group of students is consistently underperforming
• Richer public reporting on academic outcomes and opportunities to learn for all groups of students, including, for the first time, school-level per-pupil spending and access to rigorous coursework
• Resources to support teachers and leaders, and a demand that states and districts1 report on and address inequities in the rates at which low-income students and students of color are assigned to ineffective, out-of-field, or inexperienced teachers
• Continued targeting of federal funding to the highest poverty schools and districts.

Groups are currently working on ESSA implementation for Maryland. In the spring, Maryland will submit their draft to the federal government; this will impact K-12 education in Maryland for years to come.  What has been included?  Is equity for all students addressed?  How will schools and school systems be evaluated? 

Join us on the 11th to gain a national perspective of ESSA development and implementation for other states, understand ESSA equity opportunities and challenges for Maryland and learn the status of Maryland's ESSA implementation development thus far.  

• Kelly McManus, Director of Legislative Affairs from Education Trust
• Jane Sundius, Senior Fellow at Attendance Works