Public Input Sought on Every Student Succeeds Act

Iowa Department of Education leaders will hit the road this fall as part of a statewide tour to gather public input as they develop a plan to meet the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).

ESSA, which replaces the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 and will be fully implemented starting in the 2017-18 school year, provides a more reasonable balance between the role of states and the federal government in accountability for the success of all children. Under the reauthorized law, the federal government sets expectations, and states determine how schools will reach them.

Nine public input meetings will be held across Iowa from September through November. Each meeting will open with an overview of ESSA and the Department’s goals for developing the state plan.

The Department is also engaging education stakeholders in following ways:

• Facilitating a state advisory committee representing the K-12 education system and parents. The ESSA Advisory Committee will provide input on pieces of Iowa’s ESSA plan.
• Consulting representatives of education associations, state legislators, the higher education community, other state agencies and the business community.
• Incorporating stakeholders’ voices into Department-led work teams that are drafting components of the state plan.
  

State plans must address academic standards, assessments, school and district accountability and special help for struggling schools. Iowa’s state plan will be submitted to the U.S. Department of Education no later than July 2017.

All public input meetings will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. Meeting dates and locations are available on the Department’s website.