ESSA Implementation begins - Update from Michelle Doyle

Per Michelle Doyle's Blog that many of us follow:

Dear Fellow Educators,

Just before the Holidays, I wrote to you concerning the passage of ESSA, the Every Student Succeeds Act. ESSA is the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) and replaces the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). In that email I noted that a major change for the private school community and the provision of equitable services was the timing of determining the proportional share of funds that would serve eligible private school students and teachers under Title I and Title IIA.

Since that time, the U.S. Department of Education (the Department) has published a "Dear Colleague" letter about the transition from NCLB and waivers to ESSA. (This memo is a pdf below for your convenience.)

Here are a few of the important pieces of this memo:

• Waivers granted through ESEA Flexibility will remain effective through August 1, 2016. These waivers will not be extended; instead the new law will take their place. If a state was in the process of applying for a waiver and did not have one, the Department will not process that application. The Department will continue to provide technical assistant to states as requested.

• Under waivers, states were required to submit the names of their priority and focus schools to the Department. To ensure a smooth transition to ESSA, states may now freeze the current list of priority and focus schools, continuing to implement their approved interventions through the 2016−17 school year. Or, states may exit their priority and focus schools that meet the approved exit criteria and identify new priority and focus schools based on more recent data. Approved interventions will be administered through the 2016−17 school year.

• Educator evaluation and support systems are not required under ESSA and so while the Department will continue to provide technical assistance past August 1, 2016, the requirements under NCLB and waivers will no longer be in effect.

While these topics do not have a direct effect on the provision of equitable services to private schools, it is always helpful to have background of how the law is being implemented, the topics of most importance in the mind of the Department, and changes in the landscape of education in your state.

Sincerely,

Michelle Doyle
Michelle Doyle Educational Consulting, LLC