On July 18, 2016, the National Governors Association (NGA) sent recommendations to the U.S. Department of Education regarding the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on accountability and state plans under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).
In the recommendations, governors identified key areas where improvements are necessary in order to ensure the promise of flexibility in ESSA becomes a reality in states and classrooms.
To read NGA Executive Director and CEO Scott Pattison’s letter to Education Secretary John King, click here.
To view the recommendations, click here.
Politico’s Morning Education covered the recommendations in its July 19 edition:
“GOVERNORS WEIGH IN ON ESSA REGS: The National Governors Association is responding to the Education Department’s draft rule for holding schools accountable under the Every Student Succeeds Act, suggesting changes to areas that some governors see as ‘overreach’ because they limit states’ flexibility. For example, NGA isn’t happy that federal officials want to require states to come up with summative ratings—essentially, a concrete score or evaluation for schools, rather than just providing a wide-ranging ‘dashboard’ of data on schools.”
Gov. Bentley, Gov. Ige Respond to ESSA Regulations
Alabama Governor Robert Bentley:
“Congress passed the Every Student Succeeds Act to restore the responsibilities of education back to the states,” Just as Alabamians know what is best for Alabama, so must each state be allowed to determine what standards, what methods to improve struggling schools, and what levels of accountability best fit the needs of each local community. The Alabama ESSA Implementation Committee has been working diligently on the state plan and I am proud of the work they have accomplished thus far. The US Department of Education’s proposed regulations limit states in flexibility and ownership, and now is the time to respond to this overreach.”
For more information about Governor Bentley’s statewide efforts to implement ESSA, click here.
Hawaii Governor David Ige:
“ESSA provides an opportunity for Hawaii to partner with educators to consider bold educational reforms that will propel our economy and improve the well-being of our state. Federal regulations must promote the innovation championed by ESSA. NGA’s recommendations will ensure that the collaborative approach to ESSA already underway in Hawaii will continue and ultimately succeed.”
For more information about the Governor Ige’s Education Summit on ESSA and ESSA Team, click here.
