Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/637605
ISEA Communiqué • isea.org February 2016 11 ESSA KEY PROVISIONS • State-designed accountability systems must include at least one "dashboard" indicator of school success or student support. These could be access to advanced coursework, fine arts, and regular physical education; school climate and safety; discipline policies; bullying prevention; and/or the availability of counselors or nurses. • Elementary, middle, and high schools to use multiple measures of student success, not just scores on statewide standardized tests. • More access to early childhood education. • Creates a full-service community schools program to address health, nutrition, and other needs that can undermine student learning. • Takes steps toward increasing transparency and accountability in charter schools—for example, requiring input from parents and community members. • Continues "maintenance of effort" requirements to ensure that federal funds are not used to reduce state and local investments in education. • Does NOT include Title I "portability"— which would have diluted the impact of Title I, harm students attending Title I schools, and do nothing to address the real issue of adequate funding for students most in need. ESSA NEED TO KNOW: THE EVERY STUDENT SUCCEEDS ACT REPLACED NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND ON DEC. 10, 2015. THE LAW GIVES STATES FLEXIBILITY AND AUTHORITY IN DESIGNING AN EDUCATION PROGRAM NOT KNOWN FOR A GENERATION. THE NEW LAW IS 1,059 PAGES THICK. IT CONTAINS NEW PROVISIONS, STRIKES OLD ONES AND MAKES REFERENCES TO OTHER KEY PARTS OF FEDERAL STATUTE. WITH THE HELP OF THE POLICY WONKS AT THE NEA, WE'RE HIGHLIGHTING SOME KEY PARTS OF THE NEW LAW IN THIS, AND FUTURE, ISSUES OF THE ISEA COMMUNIQUE. YOUR IOWA STATE EDUCATION ASSOCIATION IS WORKING WITH A MULTI-STATE DELEGATION OF EDUCATION PROFESSIONALS THROUGH THE NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION TO MAKE SURE IOWA'S EDUCATORS AND PUBLIC SCHOOL STUDENTS ARE AT THE CENTER OF THE DISCUSSION AS THE NEW SYSTEM IS DEVELOPED. The ESSA on STUDENT OPPORTUNITY: The Every Student Succeeds Act requires state systems to include at least one indicator of school success or student support. This is major improvement over No Child Left Behind which hyper-focused on test scores.