News from the Oregon Dept. of Education on ESSA

To: Superintendents, Principals, and District Staff

Re: Every Student Succeeds Act Update and Resources

 

Good afternoon,

 

We know that many of you have questions about the new Every Student Succeeds Act and what it means for schools, educators, and students here in Oregon.

 

Over the coming months, we will be engaging with educators and communities across the state around the development of our ESSA State Plan.  Educator, student, and community voice is critical to this effort to ensure our final plan reflects Oregon’s values and aspirations for education. We look forward to working with all of you in the coming months around the development and review of our State Plan.

 

The following highlights and resources are provided to share an update on the new law, the current work underway, and the implementation plan and timeline. 

 

Highlights of the Law

• Maintains annual assessments

• States will still have to test students in reading and math in grades 3-8 and once in high school
• States will still test in science once in elementary school, once in middle school, and once in high school
• With state permission, districts may use a nationally-recognized assessment at the high school level in place of the state assessment. These assessments must meet a number of criteria including being aligned to state content standards
• Upholds requirement for 95% participation by all students and subgroups
• Allows up to 7 states to apply to pilot local tests for a limited time with permission from the U.S. Department of Education

• Affords greater flexibility to design accountability system

• States will set their own targets and decide on their own path to improvement
• Replaces adequate yearly progress (AYP) with a state-defined index system with certain federally-required components (academic indicators and school quality or student success indicators)
• At least once every 3 years states must identify and intervene in schools, including: the lowest-performing 5% of Title I schools; high schools where the graduation rate is 67% or less; and schools with underperforming student groups

• Ends federal mandate for educator evaluations and Highly Qualified Teachers

• It’s important to note that state law (Senate Bill 290) is still in effect
• Ends “Highly Qualified Teachers” requirement, but maintains state licensure and certification requirements

 

Oregon ESSA Timeline

• 2015-2016 School Year

• January 2016

• ODE leadership group and workgroups established
• ODE staff complete analysis of the law

• February-May 2016

• Convene stakeholder workgroups
• Conduct statewide outreach for diverse stakeholder input

• May-July 2016

• Draft the consolidated state plan and solicit public input

• August 2016

• Complete a preliminary draft of consolidated state plan

 

• 2016-2017 School Year (Transition Year)

• Develop policy, guidance, OARs based on final regulations from USED
• Revise state plan, as needed
• Draft legislative proposals for the 2017 legislative session (if needed)

 

• 2017-2018 School Year (Implementation Year)

• Implement new accountability system and all components of state plan
• Provide professional development, technical assistance, and monitoring to ensure effective implementation across programs

 

Where to Learn More

• For a PowerPoint overview of changes to the law and the implementation timeline, click here.
• For a PowerPoint comparing NCLB and ESSA, click here.
• For a handout on the State Plan Development timeline, click here.
• For a two pager on the key elements of ESSA, click here.
• For additional resources, go to: http://www.ed.gov/essa.