New federal policy supplants No Child Left Behind

Montana Gov. Steve Bullock supports the new federal education initiative called the Every Student Succeeds Act and says it is a much-needed policy update that will allow Montana schools flexibility to support innovation in schools and student achievement

“With the passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act, Montana educators will no longer be restricted by the failed requirements of the No Child Left Behind laws, freeing them to better incorporate their creative and innovative talents into the classroom,” Bullock said in a statement released on Dec. 10.

“We know that Montana’s public schools and our students are much different than [those in] New York, California or Virginia. The ESSA recognizes our ability to determine the best way to support and educate the students of our state, rather than a one-size-fits-all approach written in Washington, D.C. Equally important are the provisions the new act provides to continue supporting preschool education helping to ensure access to free, quality early education to our Montana kids.”

The Every Student Succeeds Act has been endorsed by a vast array of stakeholders, including education advocacy groups, the Chamber of Commerce, the National Governors Association, and unions representing teachers.

Outgoing U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan pointed out that before the law required states to test students annually and report the results, “Our nation didn’t talk about how black children were doing versus white children. How Latino children were doing. It didn’t talk about achievement gaps. It hid behind averages.” 

According to Duncan, No Child Left Behind came in and told schools: No more hiding. You now have to break down your student test scores — to give an honest picture of whether you’re serving all kids. According to the standards used, many schools were failing.

But some of the mandates of No Child Left Behind — for example, that all kids should be proficient by the year 2014 and that all schools can be fixed using the same small box of tools — were eventually seen to be unrealistic. 

Rick Hess studies education at the American Enterprise Institute and says that when you’re trying to help people run really complicated human organizations like schools, “you probably shouldn’t try to do it via memos and red tape from 3,000 miles away in Washington.” 

The result is the passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act. 

Specifically, according to Bullock and the Department of Education, the act:

— RETURNS POWER TO THE STATES: Gives Montana the ability to create an accountability system that meets local needs and measures success by more than just student test scores.

— PROVIDES FLEXIBILITY: Gives states and local districts the authority to identify struggling schools and determine what strategies districts can implement to improve. The act also allows additional flexibility to states to direct resources to at-risk students.

—IS COLLEGE AND CAREER READY: Allows states to set high standards that align with post-secondary and workforce expectations for our public school graduates.

— INCLUDES PRESCHOOL: Includes language authorizing Preschool Development Grants for states that wish to create or expand high-quality preschool and better align K-12 with pre-K.

— INCLUDES INDIAN EDUCATION: Includes support for language immersion programs.