By Joe Farkus, NDG Contributing Writer
The State of Texas is aiming to turn over its state plan for meeting Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) standards and requirements by the Sept. 18 deadline set by the Department of Education (DOE). ESSA – a program signed into law by President Barack Obama in 2015 after Congress failed to seek reauthorization of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) – was designed to give more control over the implementation of education policy to states while maintaining many of the standards and requirements introduced by NCLB.
Under the program, states must submit plans to improve student performance, develop consequences for poor-performing schools, and increase college-preparedness. Despite the Trump administration’s actions in March rolling back requirements for training new teachers and other rules outlined under ESSA, Education Secretary Betsy Devos has encouraged states to “continue their work” in developing state plans.
The Texas Education Agency (TEA) released its draft ESSA plan on July 31 after more than 18 months of taking part in statewide stakeholder meetings and meeting with teachers, school board members, and parents. The draft plan is a product of those meetings.
“Since taking office last year, I have focused on developing systems within our agency that support ESSA implementation through an establish TEA Strategic Plan,” said TEA Commissioner Mike Morath in an official statement on Aug. 9.
Morath went on to point to TEA’s four strategic priorities: recruiting and retaining teachers and principals, building a foundation of reading and math, connecting high school to career and college, and improving low-performing schools. The new policy framework proposed in the draft plan focuses on restructuring the certification framework, crafting new interventions for low-performing campuses, and creating a robust network of support for vulnerable student populations.
Other states have already submitted their plans to DOE, with states like Maine and Vermont already receiving federal approval while Delaware, Nevada, and New Mexico have been instructed by the Trump administration to make changes to their existing plans in order to be approved. If approved by DOE, all state plans for new accountability systems will be fully implemented by August 2018.
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