Discussing the Scope and Impact of ESSA

Late last year, President Obama signed the Every Student Succeeds Act to replace the No Child Left Behind law.  By this fall, the states must submit implementation plans for approval in order to get federal funding under this newly enacted education policy.  In a well written article exposing both the potential upsides and downsides of ESSA, the reporter explains that, under ESSA, charter schools, for example, will continue to receive a hefty allotment of federal tax dollars in perpetuity.  According to Education Week, the Department of Education’s Charter Schools Program has received over $3 billion from the federal government to help launch new charter schools around the country.  That outlay got an $80 million increase over last year and is slated for $333 million more in 2016.  With that said, ESSA specifically calls for “committees of practitioners” – made up of educators, parents, and other community members – to be involved in school policy making. Now is an opportune time to begin that involvement by discussing the scope and impact of ESSA with Ohio’s citizens.