ESSA is a bill signed into law by President Obama on December 10, 2015 that replaced No Child Left behind (NCLB).

To “provide all children significant opportunity to receive a fair, equitable, and high-quality education, and to close educational achievement gaps.”

https://www.congress.gov/114/bills/s1177/BILLS-114s1177enr.xml

The ESSA affects all children in the school system, including children with the “most significant cognitive disabilities.”

Children with the “most significant cognitive disabilities” are given equal chances to succeed together with their peers. It is up to the State to define “most significant cognitive disability.”

All of  the provisions of ESSA should be in place and have been since the 2017-2018 school year.

States must select “challenging academic standards” to apply to all students.

States cannot be forced to pick a certain set of standards including Common Core.

The factors are:

• Apply to all public schools and all public school children
• Prepare students for college
• Support state career and technical education standards
• Adopt language standards for English learners
• Allow for other standards for students with the most significant cognitive disabilities

A regular diploma is the typical high school diploma awarded to students and meets the state’s academic standards.

It does not include a GED, certificate of attendance, or any alternative award.

It can also include a “higher diploma.” A higher diploma is awarded to students who go above and beyond what is needed for a regular diploma.

The state may adopt alternate standards that:

• Meet the challenging state academic standards
• Encourage access to the general setting, consistent with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
• Reflect the highest possible standards likely for such students
• Provide the individualized education program (IEP) consistent with IDEA
• Ensure that a student with an alternate education plan is on track for college or employment

As defined by the ESSA, it is:

• Based on standards,
• Consistent with the state standards for the regular diploma,
• Received within the time period the student is to receive a public education consistent with the IDEA, and
• Not a general diploma, certificate of completion, or certificate of attendance

Yes. Schools will have to have a plan in place for reducing

• Bullying and harassment,
• Removing students from class for discipline reasons, and
• Behavioral intervention.

Special education teachers no longer need to be highly qualified.

The teachers do need:

• Full training as a special education teacher (this can include certification through alternative routes),
• To have passed the State special education teacher licensing examination and hold a license to teach special education in the state,
• An active special education license that has not be revoked for any reason, and
• To hold at least a bachelor’s degree

An emergency status deals with states’ lack of teachers. It is not defined by the act. However, it lets people become teachers without getting the training usually required.

When asked for by the parents, the agency that provides funding must timely provide information regarding professional background of the student’s classroom teachers.

The agency must tell the parents if the teacher:

• Has met the education and licensing standards for the grade level and subject area the teacher is teaching,
• Is teaching under emergency status, and
• Is teaching in the subject in which he/she is trained

The agency must also provide information if the child is given services by paraprofessionals, and if so, their education.

States must test reading and math in grades 3-8 and one time in high school. Science must also be tested once between the grades 3-5, 6-9, and 10-12.

Yes, districts can choose to use the SAT and ACT to replace the state tests in high school.

States are still required to offer alternate testing for those who need it.

States are also required to offer the proper accommodations when testing.

ESSA requires a 1% participation cap for each subject. This breaks down to about 10% of students in special education can take an alternate test.

The schools can apply for a federal waiver if it needs to exceed the 1% cap.

States must make sure parents are informed and understand the decision to take an alternate test.

States must make sure the parents know how the alternate test may affect the child finishing standards for a regular diploma.

States must make sure that a decision to take an alternate test does not stop a child from trying to finish a regular high school diploma.

States must promote student inclusion in the regular setting.

It is important that parents know:

• The subject matter assessed,
• The purpose for the testing,
• The requirement for the testing,
• Where the information for the testing is available,
• The amount of time the students will spend taking the test,
• The schedule for the test, and
• The time and format for getting the results after testing is over.

School report cards reflect individual test scores. Schools provide parents with their child’s specific test report. Schools also can report on how each student tests in relationship to the other students in the school.

State report cards reflect all the schools in the State. These reports look at the progress of all the schools in the state.

Yes, the tests will produce individual data about success that let parents, teachers, principals, and other school leaders understand and address specific schooling needs of students.

The results must be provided as soon as possible to the parents after the test is given.

The results should be shown in a clear format and language the parents can understand.

Yes, a state must produce a report that is clear and understandable and in a language that parents can understand.

It must also be widely available to the public.

The state is required to include a clear and concise account of the state’s accountability system. This includes:

• Minimum number of students in the subgroups
• Long term goals for all students
• Number and names of all public schools in the state identified for support and improvement
• Measures of school quality, climate, and safety
• Professional credentials of teachers in the state
• Results of the state academic tests in reading and mathematics in grades 4 and 8

The State must include:

• Numbers of students placed in:
  • In-school suspension
  • Out-of-school suspension
  • Expulsion
• Number of students arrested for school-related incidents
• Number of students referred to police
• Truancy issues
• Rates of violence
  • Including bullying and harassment

The State needs to publish:

• The percentage of inexperienced teachers, principals, or other school leaders
• Teachers with emergency credentials
• Teachers who are not teaching the subject/field in which they are licensed for

A subgroup can be:

• Each major ethnic and racial group,
• Economically disadvantaged students versus non economically disadvantaged students,
• Children with disabilities versus children without disabilities,
• English achievement status,
• Gender, and
• Migrant status

Yes, the ESSA now recognizes being homeless, being in foster care, and being a child with a parent as a member of the Armed forces as new subgroups.

The state should report on:

• The progress reports of each student
• Data for the new subgroups (homeless status, status as a child in foster care, and status as a student with a parent who is a member of the Armed Forces)
• Data on the performance
• High School graduation rates
• Data on meeting the state’s long-term goals
• Percentage of students tested and not tested
• Percentage of students with the most significant cognitive disabilities who take alternate tests

A state will create its own plan now and send that plan to the Department of Education for review and approval.

The state is required to make yearly findings.

The act does not allow the federal government to interfere.

States must look at:

• Yearly testing
• A measure of student progress or other academic measure for elementary schools
• Graduation rates for high schools
• Progress of English Language Learners (ELLs) in achieving skill
• At least one ‘additional’ measure of school quality and student success

Additional measures can include:

• Student and educator engagement
• Student access to advanced coursework
• College readiness
• School environment and safety
• Any other indicator the state chooses that meets the policy

Yes, the first four factors have a much greater weight than the ‘additional’ factors.

ESSA still requires states to place a large importance on yearly testing to hold schools accountable.

This review started in the 2017-2018 school year.

Every three years states need to identify these schools by looking at:

• The 5% lowest performing in the state,
• Graduation rates less than 67%, and
• Subgroups of students that are often underachieving