Washington, D.C. — Today, the U.S. Senate moved to rescind the common-sense guidelines to implement the accountability provisions of the bipartisan Every Student Succeeds Act, or ESSA. Catherine Brown, Vice President of Education Policy at the Center for American Progress, released the following statement:
Leaving states, districts, and schools without guidelines in how to follow the law is a dangerous move that will cause needless delay and confusion, putting millions of vulnerable public school children at risk. This unnecessary action takes a sledgehammer to the bipartisan process that resulted in ESSA.
These guidelines provide straightforward interpretation into how states, districts, and schools are to implement new ways to measure, report, and improve public school performance, affecting the efforts of 3 million teachers and 50 million students.
Policymakers and educators want the clarity that these guidelines provide. They were among some of the unprecedented 21,000 people providing public comments on the draft guidelines, and states, school districts, teachers unions, and civil rights groups voiced appreciation for the final guidelines. Rescinding them unwisely ignores this input.
Without these guidelines, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos—who thus far has failed to demonstrate any thorough understanding of the importance of accountability—will have an incredible amount of discretion and power to determine if and how states are following the law.
Related resources:
For more information on this topic or to speak with an expert, contact Allison Preiss at [email protected] or 202.478.6331.