On March 9, the Senate followed the House by voting to overturn regulations issued by the Obama Administration to implement the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). Using the Congressional Review Act, Senators voted to repeal the regulations relating to accountability and state plans, which had been issued last November, by a vote of 50-49.
With the submission of state plans looming, this repeal left uncertainty among education leaders as to next steps in ESSA implementation. To fill the void, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos released a scaled-down state plan template on March 13. Other materials, including a set of frequently asked questions, a letter to Chief State School Officers and a crosswalk to the previous state plan template, are included in the guidance package as well.
The documents state that “The revised template includes only those descriptions and information that the Secretary has determined are absolutely necessary for the Department’s full consideration of each State’s consolidated plan.” However, many education stakeholders have expressed concern about elements no longer included in the plan requirements, particularly the elimination of requirements to describe stakeholder involvement.
The deadlines for state plan submission—either April 3 or September 18, remain the same. However, states that choose the April 3 deadline may have until May 3 to allow the state’s governor time to review the plan submitted under the new template, as required by the statute. States may also choose to submit their plan using an alternative template, developed in conjunction with the Council of Chief State School Officers.
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