HOW FAITH-BASED AND NEIGHBORHOOD PARTNERSHIPS CAN START APPLYING ESSA (1822 hits)
Dear Colleagues,
President Obama signed the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)—a bipartisan measure that reauthorizes the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and fixes No Child Left Behind—one week ago. This new law expands on the work this Administration, and states and districts across the country, already have started. It also builds on key progress that we’ve made in education over recent years—including a record high school graduation rate of 82 percent, which we announced earlier this week.
Today, the Department took the first steps toward implementing ESSA, by issuing a Dear Colleague Letter to state education agencies (SEAs) and publishing in the Federal Register a Request for Information (RFI). (https://s3.amazonaws.com/public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2015-32178.pdf). The RFI seeks advice and recommendations concerning topics under Title I of the new law for which regulations may be helpful in assisting states, districts, and schools to implement the new law. This provides stakeholders with an opportunity to identify areas that could particularly benefit from regulations and provide specific feedback on what those regulations should establish and require. We strongly encourage stakeholders to provide detailed and targeted comments in response to this request for information. The public comment period will be open for 30 days.
In an effort to support SEAs as they continue their work, we also have issued a Dear Colleague Letter that provides some initial guidance about some of the most immediate and pressing questions we have been receiving. If you have additional questions about ESSA, please send them to this email address: ESSA.questions@ed.gov.
Thank you,
The Center for Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships
