Overview of Every Student Succeeds Act

(ESSA)

February, 2016Presented by:Laura Kaloi, Washington Partners, LLC

• i3 $180 M (+60M)

• SEED $100 M• After School$1 B (-161M)• CTE- HS $80 M • LEARN $190 M

• WH Fact Sheet on education budget

President’s Budget –FY 2017 includes:

ESSA: Reauthorizes ESEA and Replaces NCLB

• Signed by President Obama on December 10th

• Last revised 13 years ago• Greatly decreases the role of the

federal government in K-12 education

• Passed with broad bipartisan support

• Passed with support of diverse set of stakeholders

Comparison to Current Law

Every Student Succeeds Act Titles:• Title I: Improving Basic Programs Operated by State

and Local Education Agencies

• Title II: Preparing, Training, and Recruiting High-Quality Teachers, Principals, or Other School Leaders

• Title III: Language Instruction for English Learners and Immigrant Students

• Title IV: 21st Century Schools

• Title V: State Innovation and Local Flexibility

• Title VI: Indian, Native Hawaiian, and Alaska Native Education

• Title VII: Impact Aid

• Title VIII: General Provisions

• Title IX: Education for the Homeless and Other Laws

No Child Left Behind Titles:• Title I: Improving the Academic

Achievement of the Disadvantaged

• Title II: Preparing, Training, and Recruiting High Quality Teachers and Principals

• Title III: Language Instruction for Limited English Proficient and Immigrant Students

• Title IV: 21st Century Schools

• Title V: Promoting Informed Parental Choice and Innovative Programs

• Title VI: Flexibility and Accountability

• Title VII: Indian, Native Hawaiian, and Alaska Native Education

• Title VIII: Impact Aid

• Title IX: General Provisions

Every Student Succeeds Act

Shifts from NCLB and ESEA Waivers• Allows for more fiscal flexibility.• No requirement for states to implement teacher evaluation systems

and/or link results to student test scores.• Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) and Highly Qualified Teacher (HQT)

eliminated.• No focus on “college and career readiness”.• Focus on “all children receive a high-quality education and close student

achievement gaps.”• Expands support for early learning and other factors affecting student

learning.

Every Student Succeeds Act: At a Glance

• Maintains basic architecture of standards-based reform.Annual assessments still required in grades 3-8 in math and reading,

once in high school; Science assessments still required once in the three grade bands;SEAs required to set “challenging academic standards”;Annual accountability determinations required; Interventions for lowest-performing 5% of all schools and high

schools failing to graduate 1/3 or more of students; andData disaggregation by subgroup: poor, minority, disability, ELLs.

• Huge shift that moves more authority regarding design of these systems from federal level to states and districts.

Every Student Succeeds Act: At a Glance• No Title I portability. No vouchers.• Requires State plans to include how they will support districts in meeting

needs of students in middle grades, to improve effective transitions to middle and high school to reduce risk of dropping out.

• Requires State plans to include how they will support districts in reducing bullying, overuse of disciplinary practices etc…

• Allows, but does not require, supplemental services.• Title II (Teacher/Principal recruitment & training) and Title IV (21st Century

Schools) funds are transferable – States decide use of resources.• New literacy program (LEARN Act).• Decrease in Secretarial authority. • States determine the ‘evidence-based’ interventions to implement in lowest

performing schools. Districts determine interventions [and timing] when subgroups lag behind.

Every Student Succeeds Act: At a Glance

STEM Education•Standards and assessment required in math and science.

• States are permitted to use a portion of federal funding provided to support the development of statewide assessments to integrate concepts related to engineering and technology into the states science assessments.

•States are permitted to establish or improve Alternative Certification of STEM Educators.

• State Teacher Quality Block Grants Support STEM Professional Development, although Math Science Partnerships are eliminated.

• Allows states and districts to provide differential pay, or other incentives, to recruit and retain teachers in high need academic subjects (such as STEM fields).

• National Activities Funds Authorized for STEM Master Teacher Corps and STEM Professional Development.

• Creates a New Definition for STEM Specialty Schools.

• Title IV ‘s new “21st Century Schools” Grants Support STEM Activities.

• Districts receiving more than $30,000 in federal funds would be required to spend at least 20 percent of their funding on “well-rounded” educational activities, with a priority on STEM subjects.

ESSA Effective Dates/Transition

• Waivers become null and void on Aug. 1, 2016, states still have to continue supporting their lowest-performing schools (aka what the waivers call "priority schools") and schools with big achievement gaps (aka "focus schools") until new ESSA plans kick in.

• 2016-17 will be transition year. It will be partially under the Obama Administration, and partially under a new Administration.

• Beginning with 2017-2018 school year, states will need to implement new accountability systems.

• Presumably, new programs will be subject to regulation and implemented in 2017-2018.

Action Post-SigningU.S. Department of Education• ED Guidance/Letters:• Non-waiver states• Test participation• Test reduction• Transition

• Notice of Proposed Rulemaking-Title I:Comments due Jan. 21, 2016

• Negotiated Rulemaking: Assessment and Supplement Not Supplant

Nominations due Feb. 25, 2016

• House Hearings RE: ESSA Implementation -- 2/10/16 & 2/24/16

ESSA – Standards

States MUST adopt challenging standards in mathematics, English language arts/reading, science and MAY have standards in any other subject determined by the state. Standards must:• Apply to all public schools and all public school children.• Align with higher education institution entrance requirements

without the need for remediation.• Align with the relevant state career and technical education

standards.• Adopt language proficiency standards for English learners.• Allow for alternate academic standards for students with the most

significant cognitive disabilities, aligned to challenging state standards.

ESSA – AssessmentStates must:• Conduct statewide, annual assessments in ELA and mathematics in grades 3-8 and once in

high school. Must assess not less than 95% of all students and 95% for each subgroup.• Conduct statewide assessment in science once in grades 3-5, 6-9, 9-12. • Develop an alternate assessment based on alternate academic achievement standards (AA-

AAS) for students with the most significant cognitive disabilities. State cap student participation in AA-AAS at 1% of all students by subject, prohibits development of additional alternate assessments.

• Identify and make efforts to develop assessments in languages for English-learners.

States may:• Exclude ELs from one administration of ELA assessment or exclude the assessment results

for accountability purposes for one year.• Allow computer adaptive testing.• Allow LEAs to develop Innovative Assessments under the Innovative Assessment Pilot.• Allow LEAs to use a nationally-recognized high school assessment in lieu of state

assessment.

*On Opt-Out: Nothing in Title I preempts state or local law with respect to a parental decision on assessment participation.

ESSA – Accountability System• Replaces AYP with a State-defined system and requires:• State-designed long-term goals, measuring interim progress of student subgroups on:

• Improved academic achievement on State assessments;• Graduation rates; and• Progress in achieving English language proficiency

• Annual meaningfully differentiation of schools based on subgroup performance• Statewide indicators must include:

• Annual assessment (substantial weight required)• A measure of student growth or other academic indicator for elementary schools• Graduation rate for high schools• Progress of ELs in achieving proficiency • At least one ‘additional’ measure of school quality and student success – must be statewide,

comparable, reliable

NOTE: the first 4 indicators must ‘have a much greater weight than’ the ‘additional’ indicator(s) in the accountability system calculation.

ESSA – Accountability and Intervention

Every Student Succeeds Act• States develop a single system based on standards,

establish goals and interim measures of progress• In 2017-2018: Use indicators to identify,

differentiate and report on all public schools• At least every three years, States identify schools for

‘comprehensive support and improvement’ they are:• The 5% lowest performing in the State • High schools that graduate less than two-thirds

of students• Schools where a subgroup is consistently

underperforming the same as a the lowest 5% of schools. SEA-determines number of years and exit criteria. LEA determines improvement plan. SEA must review after 4 years

• LEAs must oversee intervention in any school when one or more subgroup is underperforming. LEA determines when this intervention begins/ends except if school is then identified as a consistently underperforming school.

Waivers• States set targets; must cut the number of

non-proficient students in half by 2017, or 100% proficient by 2020

• States set targets for subgroups; can be combined into “super-subgroups” for accountability but not reporting

• States develop systems that consider growth, proficiency, and graduation and identify categories

• Intervention in bottom 15% of schools

Title II: Teachers and Principals• State must show that Title I teachers are certified.• State report cards must show qualifications of educators.• States receive money by formula and must subgrant at least 95% to LEAs.• States may reserve not more than 3% of the amount reserved for subgrants to

LEAs to support principal and other school leaders.• States may not use more than 1% of funds for administrative costs.• SEAs and LEAs may use funds for teacher, principal and other school leaders

evaluation and support systems based “in part on student academic achievement.” Must include multiple measures; and Timely feedback

• Allowable uses of funds for induction, mentoring, PD in effective and trauma-informed practices in classroom management, alternative certification, improving equitable access to effective teachers, class size reduction and differential pay systems.

• LEAs must implement activities to address the learning needs of all children.

Title II: Teachers and Principals

• Title II, Part B creates “National Activities” fund for technical assistance, evaluation and competitive programs.

• This includes: Teacher and School Leader Incentive Fund Literacy Education for All, Results for the Nation (LEARN) program American History and Civics Education program Programs of national significance:

• SEED • School Leader Recruitment• STEM Master Teacher Corps • Comprehensive Center on literacy instruction

Title IV: 21st Century SchoolsTitle IV, Part A, Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants

• Consolidates number of programs into new block grant.• Purpose is to improve students’ academic achievement by “increasing the capacity of states, LEAs,

schools, and communities to provide students with access to a well-rounded education, improve school conditions for student learning, and improve the use of technology.”

• Funds distributed by formula to each state. States must subgrant 95% to LEAs.• LEAs must:

Spend not less than 20% of funds on activities to support “well-rounded” education such as school counseling, music and arts programs, STEM programs and accelerated learning programs;

Spend not less than 20% of funds on activities to support “safe and healthy” students such as SEL, violence prevention, school-based mental health services, bullying prevention and Youth PROMISE Plans; and

Use portion of funds to support effective use of technology.

Title IV, Part B, 21st Century Community Learning Centers• Preserves separate funding stream for afterschool, before school and summer learning.• Includes expanded learning time activities that provide afterschool-like enrichment activities.

Title V: Rural Education

Title V, Part B • Gives rural LEAs more opportunity to receive funds and more

flexibility in use of Small, Rural School Achievement (SRSA) and Rural and Low-Income Schools (RLIS) funds

• Updates dual eligibility: LEAs that qualify for both SRSA funds and the RLIS funds would have ability to apply for the program that meets their needs.

• Increases flexibility in LEA use of RLIS funds across ESEA titles- Title I Part A, Title II Part A, Title III, Title IV Part A or B

• Changes locale codes per NCES 2006 guidelines. This may have a larger effect on the number of LEAs that receive SRSA funding, as eligibility for this program is based on rurality and population density.

Title IX: Education for the HomelessHomeless Youth

• The bill authorizes $85M 2017-2020

• A 21% increase over the previously authorized level of $70 million, and a 31% increase over the currently appropriated level of $65 million.

Title I, Part A (State and Local Plans)

• Must describe the plans and services to ensure the identification, enrollment, attendance, and school stability of homeless children and youth.

• All LEAs that receive Title I Part A funds must reserve funds to support homeless students based on total allocation and needs assessment.

• State report cards must include disaggregated information on graduation rates and academic achievement of homeless children and youth, and children and youth in foster care.

Part A- McKinney-Vento• Requires establishment of a statewide Office of the

Coordinator for Education of Homeless Children and Youths THAT must:

Publish an annually updated list of liaisons on SEA website.

Post the number of homeless children and youth on SEA website annually.

Monitor, develop and implement PD for LEAs and local liaisons to improve awareness of federal law, ability to identify homeless youth, and capacity to respond.

Disseminate public notices of rights in to parents, guardians, and unaccompanied youth, in a manner and form understandable to parents, guardians, and youth.

Ensure direct PD on McKinney-Vento, special education, and HUD homeless assistance services is provided.

Evidence-Based

The term ‘evidence-based’, when used with respect to a State, local educational agency, or school activity, means an activity, strategy, or intervention that—

(i) demonstrates a statistically significant effect on improving student outcomes or other relevant outcomes based on—

(I) strong evidence from at least well-designed and well-implemented experimental study;

(II) moderate evidence from at least 1 well-designed and well-implemented quasi-experimental study; or

(III) promising evidence from at least 1 well-designed and well-implemented correlational study with statistical controls for selection bias; or

(ii)(I)demonstrates a rationale based on high-quality research findings or positive evaluation that such activity, strategy, or intervention is likely to improve student outcomes or other relevant outcomes; and includes ongoing efforts to examine the effects of such activity, strategy, or intervention.

ESSA – New Definition

Multi-Tier Systems of Support

The term ‘multi-tier system of supports’ means a comprehensive continuum of evidence-based, systemic practices to support a rapid response to students’ needs, with regular observation to facilitate data-based instructional decision making.

ESSA – New Definition

Questions:essa.questions@ed.gov

www.ed.gov/essa