In just one month the 2017-18 school year will end, and districts will begin to grapple with implementing changes required by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). As the end of the budget year approaches, now is the time to leverage remaining unallocated funds to address ESSA requirements in order to stay in compliance for the upcoming 2018-19 school year.
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The “Anti-Lunch Shaming Act of 2017” was recently introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives. The purpose of the bill is to prohibit school practices that single out students with unpaid meal debts. To become law, the bill would have to pass both the House and the Senate and be signed by the President.

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The most recent reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), goes into full implementation on July 1, 2017. After July 1^st all ESEA notices need to align with ESSA requirements.However, some ESSA notices are required or needed prior to the July 1^st date. One category of notices needed is the Private Schools Consultation notices.

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On Tuesday, February 28^th, the U.S. Senate introduced Joint Resolution 25,
which if approved, would result in the ESSA regulations for accountability and state plans being rescinded. Earlier, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a “Resolution of Disapproval” for these regulations.

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Shortly after his inauguration, President Trump put a hold on a number of regulations that hadn’t gone into full effect as yet, including the ESSA accountability regulations. The hold will last for 60 days and give the Trump administration until March 21, 2017 to rescind, change or allow the regulations to go into effect.

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Just prior to the transition to the Trump administration, the U.S. Department of Education (USED) issued two guidance documents to help States as they develop their accountability systems under Title I. The Trump administration put a pause on the accountability regulations, but if those regulations are not changed or rescinded, and if these new guidance documents are not overturned, they provide some significant information for States and Districts.

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Recently I wrote about the potential for the US Congress to use the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to rescind regulations recently released by the U.S. Department of Education (USED). I mentioned the regulations on ESSA Accountability provisions as one that could be targeted under the CRA.

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In May 2016 the U.S. Department of Education (USED) posted for comment proposed regulations for Accountability and State Plans under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). Those proposed regulations generated over 20,000 comments. Since USED is required to respond to comments, it took them a significant amount of time to finalize these regulations.

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On December 28, 2016 the U.S. Department of Education (USED) released three new sets of guidance “to assist the public in understanding how the Department interprets and enforces federal civil rights laws protecting the rights of students with disabilities” (see here). This may be the last effort of an ongoing focus by the current administration to highlight aspects of the Civil Rights of students with disabilities.

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As deadlines approach for submission of State Plans under ESSA, the activities necessary to develop those plans are increasing. State Education Agencies (SEAs) are leaning into the details of their plans in preparation for submission to the U.S. Department of Education (USED) for review and using recently issued guidance for support.

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