As state education officials begin implementing the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), there are as many questions as there are answers. On Saturday, the International Literacy Association hosted an expert panel on ESSA at the ILA 2016 Conference & Exhibits in Boston, MA, where key stakeholders shared their impressions of the law, identifying ESSA’s many opportunities and challenges.
Replacing No Child Left Behind (NCLB), ESSA shifts the responsibility for devising school accountability plans back to the states, giving them added flexibility in dealing with underperforming schools, and it also offers new pilot program opportunities.
Of all the issues that have risen since the passage of ESSA, none have proven more contentious than how to implement ESSA’s requirement that Title I funds be used to supplement, not supplant, state and local funding, which needs to be equal to or greater (per pupil) than the average spent in non-Title I schools in the district.
Terra Wallin, program and management analyst for the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education at the U.S. Department of Education, addressed this and other aspects of ESSA during her keynote address for the panel discussion.
“The clear goal is to do better for our children in education,” Wallin said. She said some of the many things ESSA accomplishes include reducing the burden of testing, making preschool more accessible, and allowing for local innovation.
She noted that all students won’t be expected to be 100% proficient at the same time and ESSA “moves away from a one-size-fits-all approach.”
The law also strives to make effective teachers accessible in all schools, regardless of socioeconomic conditions. ESSA would also allow for more transparency, Wallin said, on such topics as funding per student, disciplinary statistics, absenteeism, and more.
The fiscal support within the legislation has been a point of contention since the bill’s signing. The funding ESSA makes available to qualifying schools must “supplement, not supplant” current state and local funding. ESSA money can also be used to foster “safe and healthy students” through counseling and wellness programs, arts and music programs, AP classes, dual enrollment, and more.
The Literacy Education for All, Results for the Nation (LEARN) provisions of the legislation will make available competitive grants for states to develop comprehensive literacy programs and will be distributed equitably over all grade levels.
LEARN will not solve all problems, several panelists said, but it is a start and an opportunity for schools to get involved in conversations about the new law.
In the end, Wallin assured the educators in attendance that this would not be an overnight transition.
“No plans are due from states this summer,” she said. “States will have the next year to get plans in place.”
The panel portion of the session, moderated by Alyson Klein, a writer for Education Week, then discussed specific aspects of ESSA.
During the initial remarks from the panel, Jacque Chevalier, senior education policy advisor, Minority Staff, House Education and Workforce Committee, spoke to the challenges of finding common ground between Democrats and Republicans during the congressional deliberations on ESSA. Chevalier noted the perspective of Representative Robert C. Scott (D-VA) who challenges education advocates to think of the civil rights of students across cultural, linguistic, and socioeconomic lines.
Carrie Heath Phillips, program director, College- and Career-Ready Standards, Council of Chief State School Officers, said she is incredibly pleased ESSA has passed. “There’s a good balance between flexibility for state innovation and protecting students’ rights.” But, she said, she believes the hard work is about to begin in the state planning. “The devil is in the details.”
Nancy Veatch, a 2015–2016 Teaching Ambassador Fellow for the U.S. Department of Education, said she sees ESSA through a variety of lenses. As a teacher and principal of a small rural school in California, she is not only an administrator, but the sixth- and seventh-grade teacher of all subjects in her school.
As her school is in an isolated rural area, one of the most important aspects of ESSA implementation for her concerns the new law’s accountability provisions.
“I need to know ‘How are my students compared to students across the state?’,” she said. “How are my students performing across the country?”
Once she has that information, she can use evidence-based intervention that will work for her students, not a blanket strategy for all students across the country, she said.
“There are many parts of ESSA that are going to have an impact on my professional life, and on yours as well,” she said. “What can you do to make sure you’re at the table?”
She suggested educators take a deep dive into ESSA to learn how they can best use it in their schools and districts and then be vocal with district and state leaders about their ideas.
When the panel opened up for questions from the audience, several people spoke about frustration with state administrators and legislators who didn’t allow school representatives to be at the table to discuss things like funding, standards, or assessment.
Panelists suggested pushing both from the top by filing complaints with congressional representatives and even the Department of Educations and the bottom by petitioning state legislators directly through letters, e-mails, and phone calls.
Ellen Fern, a founder of Advocates for Literacy, offered another strategy for educators who feel as though they aren’t getting legislative support.
“Don’t discount the business community,” Fern said. “The business community can be a powerful force for comprehensive literacy. They need a skilled workforce. Their national leaders are all about (improved accountability and education).”
Klein added another avenue for schools to explore. “And contact the media, contact Education Week. We always want to hear when teachers are being shut out.”
ILA has also provided a guide to ESSA with the Advocacy Toolkit: Every Student Succeeds Act. See it here.
April Hall is editor of Literacy Daily. A journalist for 20 years, she has specialized in education, writing and editing for newspapers, websites, and magazines.