The summer has just started. Few parents are thinking about the school at this moment, but bureaucrats do. They are paid for doing so. The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) was signed into the law last December, replacing the No Child Left Behind (NLCB). The new law assigns more responsibilities to individual states, shifting more power to them, and away from the federal department of education (USED).
In May, the USED chief, John King, the former NY education commissioner, issued regulations (interpretations) that are trying to assert the grip of the federal department. The Congress will discuss the proposed regulations and vote on adopting them. Like with the NCLB before, it’s in the interest of every parent to be informed how the ESSA will be interpreted on the local level, in each school, and for each student—your child. Take few moments and make yourselves familiar with the proposed regulations and also with recommendations of other parents and educators. Continue reading
