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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.)

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee held an Oct. 3 on state innovation under ESSA, which included some to-be-expected partisan sparring, in this case regarding how the U.S. Department of Education is handling its review of state ESSA plans.

During the hearing, Republican chairman Lamar Alexander 鈥淭ennessee, Louisiana, and New Mexico have taken the most advantage of the flexibility鈥� offered under ESSA in terms of 鈥渃reating innovative state plans.鈥�

He pointed to Tennessee鈥檚 鈥淩eady Graduate Indicator,鈥� Louisiana鈥檚 鈥渃areer education initiative and a diverse course program,鈥� and New Mexico鈥檚 鈥渞obust student services鈥� as examples. These three states also scored highly on the Collaborative for Student Success and Bellwether Education Partners鈥� review of first-round ESSA plans.

Alexander also said that, despite significant obstacles and a change in power, 鈥渢his has been a smooth process for states.鈥�

But Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a聽Democrat, was quick to say that 鈥淓ven without the accountability rules to explain some of the details about how to enforce it, [ESSA] is not a blank check.鈥�

(麻豆精品: Senate HELP Democrats Continue to Sound Alarm on Weak ESSA Implementation)

Sen. Patty Murray, the committee鈥檚 ranking Democrat, was also critical of the process, particularly regarding 鈥渢he switch from providing feedback on state plans via public letter to doing so in phone calls, where there is no written documentation.鈥� Murray said she also feared that what she called the 鈥渢otally inaccurate notion鈥� that ESSA is 鈥渁ll flexibility and has no role for the federal government鈥� was taking hold.

We have lots more ESSA news for you below.

Georgia ESSA plan no 鈥榙eal鈥� for governor

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that, while Georgia School Superintendent聽Richard Woods wants to take advantage聽of testing flexibility under ESSA, Gov. Nathan Deal 鈥渙pposes a retreat from test scores as a critical determinant of school performance.鈥�

Deal refused to put his signature on聽Georgia鈥檚 ESSA plan, noting that聽it fell 鈥渟hort in setting high expectations for Georgia students and schools.鈥� Woods 鈥渃ountered that some of Deal鈥檚 recommendations would return Georgia to a聽culture of 鈥榤easure, pressure, and punish.鈥� 鈥�

But Deal 鈥渋s not alone in his fears Georgia may be moving to a less ambitious accountability system that gives schools a pass.鈥� The Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education鈥檚 review of the plan 鈥渃autioned the performance of poor children, minorities, immigrants and other under-performing 鈥榮ubgroups鈥� could be downplayed in the state scoring system.鈥�

Education Reform Now calls for greater scrutiny of second-round plans

In a new Education Reform Now series, authors Charles Barone and Dana Laurens that as 鈥渢he U.S. Department of Education (ED) undertakes its second round of state plan reviews under the 鈥楨very Student Succeeds Act鈥� (ESSA), it鈥檚 a good time to reflect on mistakes made in Round 1 and pay close attention to whether ED goes even further afield of its responsibilities under the law in Round 2.鈥�

The authors state that the Education Department鈥檚 鈥渃ontinued failure to enforce ESSA will hurt students, especially those from historically disadvantaged groups whose long-standing inequitable treatment by states and school districts has always been the driving force behind federal education policy.鈥�

To assist their readers 鈥渋n monitoring Round 2 ESSA plan reviews,鈥� the authors have 鈥渃ompiled a list of , 31 verbatim requirements under the law in three areas: standards, assessments, and accountability.

States not so innovative on indicators?

Education Week鈥檚 Daarel Burnette II also has , writing that, while ESSA was meant to 鈥渦nleash a flood of innovation鈥� on things like measuring school quality and student success beyond test scores, most states went with just two indicators: chronic absenteeism, and college and career readiness.

鈥淏ut a lot of legislatures and some advocates (especially from the school climate community) are disappointed with the monolithic plans, and hope that as data becomes more readily available in future years, states will change or reconsider their indicators,鈥� writes Burnette. 鈥淓xpect a lot more talk in the coming months at state school board meetings about how best to collect and report this data,鈥� as 鈥渟tates will have to negotiate with local officials common definitions and the design of their new report cards.鈥�

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