Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)
Signed into law December 2015 by President Obama the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) reauthorizes the fifty (50) year old Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965 by replacing key requirements of the outdated No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001. Beginning in 2016, the U.S. Department of Education took the first steps to implement ESSA.
ESSA, a federal education law, creates a long-term stable commitment to equal opportunity for all students. The new ESSA law provides states additional flexibility and encourages states and schools to innovate and build upon past success while at the same time, being accountable for students. This increased flexibility gives states and school districts an opportunity to tailor strategies and interventions to meet the needs of students and schools.
ESSA included provisions that will help to ensure success for students and schools; below are just a few. The law:
- Advances equity by upholding critical protections for America’s disadvantaged and high-need students.
- Requires that all students be taught to high academic standards that will prepare them to succeed in college and careers.
- Ensure educators, families, students and communities receive annual statewide assessment information that is vital to measuring a students’ progress toward high standards.
- Helps support innovative approaches including evidence based strategies developed by local educators and school leaders.
- Maintains an expectation of accountability and action to effect positive change in Maine’s most challenged schools.
Click this link to see data on our school, all the schools in the AOS and the State of Maine.