Press Releases

At a hearing on the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), members of the Committee on Education and the Workforce questioned Acting Secretary of Education John B. King Jr. about how the Department of Education plans to implement the law in a manner consistent with the letter and intent of the law. Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC), chair of the Higher Education and Workforce Training Subcommittee, discussed how ESSA restores to local education leaders authority for improving failing schools and prohibits the federal government from prescribing one-size-fits-all schemes. Dr. Foxx then asked the acting secretary how the department will ensure state and local leaders are able to improve underperforming schools without federal interference.
 

 
Under No Child Left Behind, [schools] the federal government identified as “underperforming” or “failing” were forced to adopt a prescriptive and burdensome school improvement plan. Reforms within those schools were dictated by the federal government. If a school failed to improve over several years, increasingly harsh corrective action was required. …
 

Now, under the Every Student Succeeds Act, schools and school districts are able to develop school improvement plans approved and monitored by their state leaders. This new flexibility allows state and local leaders not only to collaborate, but also to be held accountable and take responsibility when it comes to improving student learning and achievement.
 

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