Comments to USDoED on ESSA Regulations Due Today

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ESEA, ESSA, NPRM, ROI, Title 1

 

Missouri Education Watchdog by Anne Gassel

Wasting no time in getting the regulations in place that will flesh out the terms in ESSA, the US Dept of Education is seeking comments from interested parties on proposed regulations to implement programs under Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended (title I) in the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) of 2016.

From the federal notice of proposed rulemaking:

Programs under title I are designed to help disadvantaged children meet high academic standards. The Secretary invites advice and recommendations concerning topics for which regulations may be helpful to assist States, school districts, and schools to implement the new law. In addition, we will convene two regional meetings at which interested parties may provide additional advice and recommendations.

The 1,000+ page bill that had only two days of review by legislators before passage, already has a whole host of regulations associated with it ready to go. The bill was passed on December 10, 2015. The first of two public hearings on the proposed rules was held January 5th in DC and another January 19th in California. It was no coincidence that the bill was passed just before the holidays and that the public comment period was ridiculously short given the complexity of the bill. DC isn’t really interested in hearing from the public.

You may use the eRulemaking portal to provide comments.

Advice and Recommendations

The Secretary invites advice and recommendations from interested parties involved with the implementation and operation of programs under title I concerning topics for which regulations or nonregulatory guidance may be necessary or helpful as States and LEAs transition from NCLB and implement the ESSA. The Secretary specifically invites advice and recommendations from State and local education administrators, parents, teachers and teacher organizations, principals, other school leaders (including charter school leaders), paraprofessionals, members of local boards of education, civil rights and other organizations representing the interests of students (including historically underserved students), representatives of the business community, and other organizations involved with the implementation and operation of title I programs.

Under the ESSA, prior to issuing proposed rules under title I on standards, assessments under section 1111(b)(2), and the requirement under section 1118 that funds be used to supplement, and not supplant, State and local funds, the Department must establish a negotiated rulemaking process […]

Continue Reading — Comments to USDoED on ESSA Regulations Due Today

Senate To Take Up ESSA Next Week

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ESEA, ESSA, John King, SIB

John B. King, Jr., Secretary, Department of Education

 

Missouri Education Watchdog by Anne Gassel

The House did not listen to the grassroots who tried to educate them on the bill they were about to pass. Their education staffers kept focusing on the positive language in the bill and ignoring the aspects that teachers and parents told them would be problematic, often saying, “It doesn’t say that,” which was a strong indication that these staffers have no real experience in public education to understand the terms and how they play out at the implementation point. Given that there was little agreement between the grassroots and the staffers it can be assumed that the 1061 pages of legalistic obfuscation will provide lawyers in all fifty states plenty of opportunity to rake in the fees arguing over what the terms actually mean for many years to come. Those the staffers/Congressmen did listen to include the teachers union representatives, who many teachers feel sold them out with this bill. ESSA does appear sever the link between student test scores and teacher evaluations, at least at the federal level, but there are many other requirements in the bill that the rank and file are not happy about. The other ear was held by big Wall Street investors who see the large potential for profit in the ESSA. The question now will be, do those money movers have similar influence in the Senate?

There is a clear focus on privatization and computer aided teaching in ESSA. Both are already being pushed into schools, so in some ways they are not new, but they will now officially be endorsed by the federal government. More importantly they will be endorsed by our elected officials, not unelected political appointees which makes them much harder to oppose. Whether such education reforms are effective or not is not the concern of this Congress or this bill, though there is evidence that casts doubt on the effectiveness of either mechanism. But why worry about that? Being effective can be such a subjective and lucrative thing[…]

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