蜜桃影视

This update on the Every Student Succeeds Act and the education plans now being refined by state legislatures is produced in partnership with ESSA Essentials, a new series from the Collaborative for Student Success. It鈥檚 an offshoot of their聽聽newsletter, which you can聽! (See our recent ESSA updates聽from previous weeks right here.)

Former Delaware governor Jack Markell聽聽in Real Clear Education that the winners of the 2018 elections will have an opportunity to significantly impact education policy, especially when it comes to shaping how their own state implements its ESSA accountability plan.

Markell notes that, while education may not be the highest-rated policy concern among the populace at the moment, it is playing a prominent role in elections across the nation. He cites 鈥渟tatewide teacher strikes from West Virginia to Arizona,鈥� which have 鈥渃alled attention to cuts in school spending, rallied public support, and even Kentucky鈥檚鈥� House majority leader.

This shouldn鈥檛 be surprising, he argues. Education 鈥渓ies at the core of what voters really want 鈥� solutions for the issues that impact their day-to-day lives.鈥� Markell explains that if voters 鈥渃are about good jobs, safe communities and bright futures for their kids 鈥� great schools with high standards can help us achieve all three.鈥�

And now, with 36 governors set to take office in 2019, it will 鈥渂e critical that they implement their states鈥� ESSA plans with fidelity by ensuring states administer high-quality assessments, enact ambitious yet realistic plans for school improvement, and support teachers with professional development and proper funding.鈥�

States that implement high standards and invest in schools, teachers, and students 鈥渨ill reap the rewards,鈥� he says, because in an 鈥渋ncreasingly global, skills-based job market, the states that out-educate today will out-compete tomorrow.鈥�

See below for more ESSA news.

1. Florida still in limbo 鈥�

Rosa Castro Feinberg, former Miami-Dade school board member and current co-chair of LULAC (League of Latin American Citizens) Florida鈥檚 Government and Media Relations Committee, asks a good question in : 鈥淲hy is Florida the only state that鈥檚 not in compliance with federal education standards?鈥� The answer is pretty clear to her: The state鈥檚 ESSA plan 鈥渆xcludes critical protections for English learners, students with disabilities, students of color, and low-income students.鈥� These concerns are consistent with federal feedback and red flags raised by civil rights and other advocates, she notes. What to do? Castro Feinberg recommends that Floridians 鈥淧ick up the phone, call the [state education] commissioner鈥檚 office, call the governor鈥檚 office and ask them to revise the state ESSA plan鈥� and ask state-level candidates and lawmakers 鈥渢o align state accountability laws with the federal law and to require revision of the state ESSA plan.鈥�

2. Using ESSA to arm schools, educators?

Erica L. Green聽聽in The New York Times聽that the U.S. Department of Education has been 鈥渃onsidering whether to allow states to use federal funding to purchase guns for educators.鈥� Green reports that the federal department is 鈥渆yeing鈥� ESSA鈥檚 Student Support and Academic Enrichment grants because they make 鈥渘o mention of prohibiting weapons purchases.鈥� However, Green also notes that the ESSA funding is actually 鈥渋ntended for academic and enrichment opportunities in the country鈥檚 poorest schools and calls for school districts to use the money toward three goals: providing a well-rounded education, improving school conditions for learning and improving the use of technology for digital literacy.鈥� Politico鈥檚 Caitlin Emma and Michael Stratford that this conversation originated as a result of requests from Oklahoma and Texas to the U.S. Department of Education to use funds 鈥渢o train and arm 鈥榮chool marshals.鈥欌��

https://twitter.com/EvieBlad/status/1032465341497204736

3. Is ESSA鈥檚 鈥渇ifth indicator鈥� complicating efforts to gauge student success?

Taylor Swaak聽聽here in 蜜桃影视 that while academic achievement has 鈥渢ypically been the gold standard for tracking student gains and school progress,鈥� policymakers hoped ESSA鈥檚 鈥渇ifth聽indicator鈥� provision would 鈥渟pur a more innovative approach,鈥� with education experts widely considering its inclusion in the law 鈥渢o be a positive step toward a more holistic view of student success.鈥� But an 鈥渋n-depth review by 蜜桃影视 of plans from 49 states and Washington, D.C., revealed that many fifth indicators are flooded with numerous, complex measures that, according to some critics, risk diluting educators鈥� focus and muddying improvement goals.鈥� And 鈥渨hile the vast majority of plans use the fifth indicator to track chronic absenteeism, a smattering of other measures 鈥� from college and career readiness to science achievement 鈥� remain largely focused on academics.鈥�

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