The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) was passed by Congress in the fall of 2015. It was a rare piece of major federal legislation that was truly a bipartisan effort- co-authored by a Republican and a Democrat. This law replaced No Child Left Behind and governs the federal role in public education primarily for elementary and secondary education. Currently, Florida is the ONLY state that does not have a compliance plan in place putting $1.1 billion in federal funding at risk.

Teachers, parents and civil rights groups fought long and hard on behalf of students to change the toxic education environment created under No Child Left Behind. The test and punish method of schooling was widely rejected and ESSA removed much of the federal control over how states must use standardized testing. Now, teachers and parents are being denied hard won changes by state bureaucrats attempting to maintain the status quo.

The federal law has several new requirements that states must follow. These requirements include things that Florida currently does not do including tracking additional subgroups of students, reporting proficiency scores of English-language learners and giving state assessments in certain students’ native languages. States were required to submit their ESSA plans to include the new requirements to the Department of Education for approval over a year ago. Florida’s Commissioner of Education Pam Stewart has made numerous attempts over the past 13 months to skirt the new regulations resulting in our state being the only one in the nation with no plan.

According to Education Week Magazine:

ESSA emphasizes the importance of engaging educators and parents and other states developed their plans after collecting meaningful, public input. Many states’ stakeholder groups and working groups have been assembled, taking part in the initial development of state plans and continued work on achieving state education goals. Florida faces the beginning of a school year with no ESSA working group and no plan.

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That’s not to say that Florida politicians will sit on their hands this session. Many bills have already been filed that will affect everything from recess to reading. Here’s a brief look at a few of the most important bills:

SB 1360 by Senator Gaetz calls for alternatives to the FSA test. “Gaetz’s plan would allow parents and students to choose from a variety of national name-brand assessments that measure students’ knowledge on given subjects. The options he puts on the table include various ACT exams for students in third grade through high school, and also for high-schoolers: the pre-SAT, SAT, Advanced Placement tests and industry certification exams, among others. It’s unclear yet how well Gaetz’s bill will be received. At least one Democrat is on board, and other lawmakers from both parties have said they’re interested in the concept.”

HB 883 by Representative Plasencia would mandate school recess, an effort pushed by a grassroots movement across the state. “Under the bills, filed for consideration during Florida’s 2016 legislative session, elementary schools would be required to give students at least 20 minutes of recess each day. Child development experts say such a break could serve to renew a student’s focus after periods of classroom instruction.”

HJR 767/SJR 942 by Rep. Mayfield and Sen. Garcia would return the job of Commissioner of Education to an elected position. The Commissioner used to be elected but was changed in 1998 during the Constitutional Review Commission. However, many would like the job to have more accountability to the people of the state rather than indirectly appointed by the governor. Read former Senator Paula Dockery’s opinion piece here.

7021 by Representative Adkins addresses reading coaches and the need for early intervention for reading problems. “Rep. Janet Adkins, the Fernandina Beach Republican who chairs the House K-12 Subcommittee, will be pushing a bill that would require schools to identify struggling readers before third grade and intervene with more effective teaching methods.” However, there are issues with the wording of the bill. Language dealing with safety net systems for elementary versus secondary schools need to be addressed.

HB 7029 and HB 669 address School Choice. One proposal would allow open enrollment for any student from any county to attend any under capacity school in the state. Opponents say that taxpayers pay property taxes (and often additional taxes) to support local schools. They say taxpayers did not vote to pay for students from other counties. Many urban counties feel they would be receivor counties as commuters would drive in from surrounding counties with their children. The bills lessen local governance of (often troubled) charter schools.

Additional bills would give districts flexibility in class size and would substitute computer coding for foreign languages in high schools. Another major iniative would expand personal learning accounts for children with disabilities.

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The bill, known as the Every Student Succeeds Act, replaces No Child Left Behind, the 2002 signature domestic initiative of President George W. Bush that amplified Washington’s role in local classrooms. That law created a national system that judged schools based on math and reading test scores and required schools to raise scores every year or face escalating penalties.

Every Student Succeeds erases that system and instead lets each state develop its own methods for judging school quality. The bill allows states to count other factors, such as whether a school offers challenging courses or the degree of parent involvement. States still will be required to test students annually in math and reading in grades three through eight and once in high school, and to publicly report the scores according to race, income, ethnicity, disability and whether students are English­language learners.

But states will decide what to do about the most troubled schools, those where test scores are in the lowest 5 percent, achievement gaps between groups of students are greatest, or where fewer than two­thirds of students graduate on time. And states will decide how to weigh test scores and whether or how to evaluate teachers. They would set their own goals and timelines for academic progress, though their plans must be approved by the federal Department of Education. Washington Post

National teachers unions and a bipartisan group of politicians are praising the bill and the relief it provides from the punitive measures found in No Child Left Behind. However, civil rights groups and other policy experts worry that a return to less federal oversight will allow subgroups of children to fall further behind as many states have significant achievement gaps for children of color. Most are hoping the new law will bring a significant reduction in the emphasis on standardized testing. But- those of us in Florida are unlikely to see many changes.

“The federal government won’t be dictating certain components of teacher evaluations and there will be fewer federal regulations,” said Mark Pudlow of the Florida Education Association, the state’s largest teacher union.

“But that doesn’t mean the state won’t continue to micromanage neighborhood schools. Florida started off on this path before No Child Left Behind was even implemented as a federal law, and we don’t think the current education leadership in Tallahassee is inclined to turn control back to local districts and school boards.”

State Sen. John Legg, who chairs the Florida Senate’s Education Committee, suggested that the flexibility allowed under the new provisions looks a lot like what’s already in place in Florida. Tampa Bay Times

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In 2007, Congress was supposed to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Schools Act (No Child Left Behind). Eight years later, it looks like they will finally get around to it. Yesterday, the Senate Education Committee, joined by more than a dozen House members, met to conference over the Every Student Succeeds Act. Today, they passed it out of committee. The committee consolidated the House and Senate versions into a bill that they hope will pass both chambers…this year.

The bill was truly a bipartisan effort and both sides won key provisions in their collaborative effort. Republicans pushed for more local (state) control over education policy while Democrats ensured strong federal guidelines to protect all children. Both sides agreed to pull back much of the Secretary of Education’s power. Here’s what you need to know about the new bill:

Testing: In a nutshell, the Every Child Succeeds Act is not as prescriptive as No Child Left Behind. It leaves decision making to the states for the makeup of their overall accountability systems and how to intervene with struggling schools. However, states will still be required to annually test all students in grades 3-8 and once in high school. They must identify and take action in schools in the bottom 5% (based on test scores) and in “drop out factories” where less than 2/3 of the students earn a diploma.  In addition, the bill recognizes the push back against testing and requires the identification and elimination of unnecessary tests.

A pilot program for a few states to create and try out innovative, new forms of assessments was added. According to Education Week, the bill “allows for the use of local tests at the high school level, with state permission. So a district could in theory use the SAT or ACT as its high school test, instead of the traditional state exam. Or it could come up with its own test for high schoolers.”

Opting Out: The Every Student Succeeds Act allows states to write their own testing opt-out laws but they will be required to have 95% participation in annual testing. However, states themselves will determine what happens to low participation schools within their own accountability systems.

Teaching: The bill removes the federal mandates on teacher evaluations. However, states may have their own laws that address evaluation systems and requirements. The bill also provides funding for teacher recruitment, professional development and new teacher training. The National Education Association, the country’s largest teachers union, has encouraged members to reach out and push for passage of the bill.

School Choice: The bill establishes a pilot program where local districts could have flexibility to combine federal, state and local funding to help disadvantaged children. Funding for new charter school models and grants for evidence-based magnet programs made it into the bill, as well.

Programs: Many federal education programs are combined in the compromise bill. According to Education Week: “There’s more consolidation of federal education in the compromise…including block granting of physical education, mathematics and science partnerships, and Advanced Placement.” It also adds a research and innovation program and a community schools program with wrap around services for low income students.

Common Core: The “framework” specifically states, “The federal government may not mandate or incentivize states to adopt or maintain any particular set of standards, including Common Core.”

In addition, this effort will only “reauthorize” the Elementary and Secondary Schools Act for four more years instead of five. As Education Week noted, “That gives lawmakers a chance to revisit the policy under the next president, should they choose to do so.” After a relatively quick meeting, the committee passed the bill today. Now, it’s on to a vote in the Senate and the House…likely at the beginning of December. We will update you as soon as we know more. 

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A Kentucky superintendent is phasing standardized testing out in favor of project based learning assessments.

Currently, there has been a growing backlash against standardized testing in K-12 education. Parents have long complained that their students are being overtested resulting in a loss of instruction time. Federal and state policies like No Child Left Behind have driven the hyper-testing phenomenon as bureaucrats are hungry for data on student, school, district and state performance. Professional educators consistently propose policies that employ a variety of assessment measures to inform their practice and help students achieve (and prove) mastery.

A superintendent in Kentucky is attempting to lead her state to a better way of assessing students– project-based learning.

Danville Independent is leading the state in a concept called project-based learning, a model that requires students not only to learn content but to prove that they can apply it so they are prepared for college or a career.

It’s a different kind of accountability system for schools, and Superintendent Carmen Coleman is not stopping there. With Kentucky Education Commissioner Terry Holliday’s backing, Coleman is preparing to ask state and federal officials for permission to eliminate two standardized tests that she considers meaningless.

“They have to take them, but we do not put any emphasis on them,” Coleman said.

“Our schools in so many ways have become about test prep. We’ve got to have kids graduating who can do more than respond to multiple-choice questions.”

Her goal is to eliminate Kentucky Performance Rating for Educational Progress and end-of-course tests for high school students. Those tests would be replaced with tests that reflect project-based learning.

Others are following the trend. George Washington University announced last week that they are dropping their testing requirement for most freshmen admissions. They are joining a growing list of colleges and universities that no longer demand SAT/ACT scores for admission decisions.

The announcement from the private university in the nation’s capital underscores a growing belief in some college admission circles that standardized tests are a barrier to recruiting disadvantaged students. While that view is sharply debated, many say it is possible to assemble a strong class without forcing applicants to submit a score from tests that critics say are culturally biased and often fail to reflect academic potential.

GWU administrators say they always seek well-rounded applicants by looking beyond test scores. But they have worried lately that anxiety about scores was leading some students to cross the school off their list.

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Last week, the House passed its own version and there are stark differences between the two. However, leaders from both chambers appear to be very confident they will come to terms during the conference process and will design a bill President Obama will sign.

The Senate and the House differ on the role of the federal government in education but both versions move some power back to states. This from the New York Times:

While both bills retain the annual reading and math tests required under current law, states would be given latitude to decide how those assessment tests are used to measure school and teacher performance.

The Senate version would require states to continue to use the tests as a significant accountability factor; the House measure does not. Both versions would prohibit the federal government from requiring any specific set of academic standards, like the Common Core provisions deplored by many conservatives who see them as powerful evidence of federal intrusion.

A central point of contention, sure to stoke negotiations between the House and Senate this fall, involves a provision in the House bill that would permit low-income students to transfer federal dollars between districts.

An attempt to add that to the Senate bill failed, and the Obama administration strongly opposes such a provision for fear it might drain needed funds from districts in need.

Members from the Senate and House will meet to produce a final bill. Once voted on by both chambers, the bill will be sent to President Obama’s desk. This will likely occur in the fallbut we are encouraging legislators to finish the job. (Read more on our Advocacy Dashboard)

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This week, the Senate will debate the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act– the expired law of the land that controls education policy. Also known as “No Child Left Behind”, the current law has been in effect for over 12 years and is often called “No Child Left Untested” for its over emphasis on testing.

The new bill rolls back testing requirements and allows for more local control. The bill is truly bipartisan with leaders from both sides of the aisle working to improve conditions for students and teachers. During debate, members will try to amend the bill in both positive and negative ways. It is up to us to remind them to do the right thing for children.

Click below to email Senators Nelson and Rubio.

Use the talking points provided.

Tell them to give kids independence from testing. Tell them to pass an Elementary and Secondary Education Act that puts teaching and learning ahead of testing.

The new bill should:

Give students more time for a well-rounded education by reducing the emphasis on high stakes testing. States must have flexibility to develop assessments that help students succeed.

Ensure that equity in education for all children exists through the use of a dashboard of indicators that identify and close opportunity and resource gaps.

Promote meaningful family engagement policies and programs to ensure that all students are on track for college and careers.

Prevent the test and punish culture of No Child Left Behind through harmful amendments that include Adequate Yearly Progress-type requirements.

Fully fund Title I to level the playing field and ensure equity in education for children most in need without adding portability measures.

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