President Obama signs the Every Student Succeeds Act during a White House ceremony on Friday.
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The Washoe County School District (WCSD) is praising the passage of Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), which was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate and signed by President Barack Obama this morning. Wednesday’s Senate vote was 85-12 – and after that vote, Obama wasted no time taking action. Hofmeister also says the new law will strengthen Oklahoma’s control over teacher evaluations, assessments, and accountability.
“Whereas No Child Left Behind prescribed a top-down, one-size-fits-all approach to struggling schools, this law offers the flexibility to find the best local solutions-while also ensuring that students are making progress”, Education Secretary Arne Duncan said Tuesday at an event in Washington. “But this is a big step forward”.
Alexander and Murray praised each other continuously on the floor of the Senate prior to the vote on the conference bill, extolling the virtues of “bipartisanship” and “compromise”.
“The Every Student Succeeds Act affirms that every student has the right to an equal education as stated in Brown v. Board of Education, and honors the civil rights legacy of the original ESEA”, said Virginia Congressman Bobby Scott (D-VA).
“Classrooms will no longer be micromanaged by the U.S. Department of Education”.
While some school districts and the state are happy with this new legislation, some parents are happy, too, with this new focus when it comes to schools.
There was strong bipartisan support for the bill, which had been endorsed by the nation’s governors, teachers’ unions, chief school officers and administrators.
“For the first time ever, our federal education law will recognize the importance of early learning with the grant program that we have put in place. Now we won’t have to submit a waiver to do good things for kids”, he said. The goal of the legislation was to have 100 percent of students reaching proficiency by the 2013-2014 school year.
The bill overhauls President George W. Bush’s 2002 law No Child Left Behind.
The law will still require states to administer reading math exams in the third through eighth grades of elementary schools in the USA and once in high school, but otherwise diminishes the federal government’s role in setting educational standards. “It shouldn’t be coming down to one test because not everyone is a test taker”, said Rushefski.
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The law, which was the result of a bicameral, bipartisan agreement in Congress, will provide states and local school districts with more authority over school performance and accountability and reduce the federal government’s role in students’ education.
