Recently, the House of Representatives voted to overturn several of the Obama Administration’s regulations on education. The first rule addresses state accountability under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). The regulation was finalized by the Department of Education under President Obama in November, but enforcement of the rule was suspended when the new Administration took over in January. It was intended to clarify use of multiple measures, including new indicators of school quality and student success, in state accountability systems, as well as the design and delivery of state and district annual report cards.
The move has raised uncertainties about how states should proceed in completing and submitting their ESSA plans. The new Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, who was narrowly confirmed to lead the department last week, attempted to assuage concerns in a recent letter to state school chiefs. She pledged to keep the Obama Administration’s state plan submission deadlines (either April 3 or September 18, 2017), though she indicated that the department will create a revised plan template that includes only the information that is “absolutely necessary” for states to submit. This could prove problematic for states that have largely finished their plans, as the new template will not be available until mid-March.
The House also moved to block a rule affecting teacher preparation programs that was finalized in October. It requires states to report on the quality of both traditional teacher preparation as well as alternative routes to teaching programs, and to link program quality to eligibility for the Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education grants. Both measures are part of a larger effort by the White House and congressional Republicans to roll back many of the regulations implemented by the previous Administration.
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