Image source: Gifted Education Online Resources
What is actually contained in the Every Student Succeeds Act, the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act?
I wanted to know.
So I spent three days straight reading EVERY SINGLE WORD the 1061 page bill which is set to go to the Senate for a vote tomorrow. I ask all congressmen to read the bill, especially the more concerning portions outlined below.
Know what you are voting on is not an end to common core or a return to local control. It is an expansion of “the secretary’s” duties and Federal control. The new ESEA is an expansion of K-12 education mandates. It sets up “college and career ready” preschoolers and encourages SLDS tracking by numerous governmental agencies into the post secondary education years.
ESSA outlines data collection, competency based pay for teachers, pipeline services from birth to age 20, new federally monitored “promise” neighborhoods, an expansion of data driven computer adaptive testing, and in-school mental health services which will not be protected by HIPPA privacy protection laws. It is an erosion of local control and the continuation of a data driven model which corporate interests will benefit from.
Do me a favor, count how many times you read the words “the secretary.”
READ THE BILL here
P.46
‘‘(7) FAILURE TO MEET REQUIREMENTS.—If a 21 State fails to meet any of the requirements of this section, the Secretary may withhold funds for State administration under this part until the Secretary determines that the State has fulfilled those requirements.
P120
‘‘(viii) Information submitted by the State educational agency and each local educational agency in the State, in accordance with data collection conducted pursu- ant to section 203(c)(1) of the Department of Education Organization Act (20 U.S.C. 3413(c)(1)), on—
‘‘(I) measures of school quality, climate, and safety, including rates of in-school suspensions, out-of-school suspensions, expulsions, school-related arrests, referrals to law enforcement, chronic absenteeism (including both excused and unexcused absences), incidences of violence, including bullying and harassment; and
P.85 .Data Tracking of any indicators
‘‘(II) For purposes of subclause (I),the State may include measures of— ‘‘(III) student engagement;‘‘(IV) educator engagement;‘‘(V) student access to and completion of advanced coursework;‘‘(VI) postsecondary readiness;‘‘(VII) school climate and safety; and‘‘(VIII) ANY OTHER INDICATOR the State chooses that meets the requirements of this clause
Does the Government also intend to regulate private schools? See pages 186-187, 833-840
11 SEC. 1011. PARTICIPATION OF CHILDREN ENROLLED IN
12 PRIVATE SCHOOLS.
13 Section 1117, as redesignated by section 1000(3), is
14 amended—
15 (1) in subsection (a)—
16 (A) by striking paragraph (1) and insert-
17 ing the following:
18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To the extent consistent
19 with the number of eligible children identified under
20 section 1115(c) in the school district served by a
21 local educational agency who are enrolled in private
22 elementary schools and secondary schools, a local
23 educational agency shall—
24 ‘‘(A) after timely and meaningful consulta-
25 tion with appropriate private school officials,
1 provide such children, on an equitable basis and
2 individually or in combination, as requested by
3 the officials to best meet the needs of such chil-
4 dren, special educational services, instructional
5 services (including evaluations to determine the
6 progress being made in meeting such students’
7 academic needs), counseling, mentoring, one-on-
8 one tutoring, or other benefits under this part
9 (such as dual or concurrent enrollment, edu-
10 cational radio and television, computer equip-
11 ment and materials, other technology, and mo-
12 bile educational services and equipment) that
13 address their needs; and
14 ‘‘(B) ensure that teachers and families of
15 the children participate, on an equitable basis,
16 in services and activities developed pursuant to
17 section 1116.’’;
18 (B) by striking paragraph (3) and insert-
19 ing the following:
20 ‘‘(3) EQUITY.—
21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Educational services
22 and other benefits for such private school chil-
23 dren shall be equitable in comparison to serv-
24 ices and other benefits for public school chil
1 dren participating under this part, and shall be
2 provided in a timely manner.
3 ‘‘(B) OMBUDSMAN.—To help ensure such
4 equity for such private school children, teach-
5 ers, and other educational personnel, the State
6 educational agency involved shall designate an
7 ombudsman to monitor and enforce the require-
8 ments of this part.’’;
Palau?
P.198
(b) ASSISTANCE TO OUTLYING AREAS.—5 ‘‘(1) FUNDS RESERVED.—From the amount made available for any fiscal year under subsection7 (a)(1), the Secretary shall—8 ‘‘(A) first reserve $1,000,000 for the Republic of Palau, until Palau enters into an agreement for extension of United States educational assistance under the Compact of FreeAssociation, and subject to such terms and conditions as the Secretary may establish, except that Public Law 95–134, permitting the consolidation of grants, shall not apply;
States are gathering data and reporting to “the Secretary”
P232
‘(ix) gather data, solicit regular feedback from teachers, principals, other school leaders, and parents, and assess the results of each year of the program of demonstration authority under this section, and respond by making needed changes to the innovative assessment system; and
‘‘(x) report data from the innovative assessment system annually to the Secretary, including—
19 ‘‘(i) a description of the local educational agencies within the State educational agency that will participate, including what criteria the State has for approving any additional local educational agencies to participate during the demonstration authority period;
p289
-
‘‘(h) NONCOMPLIANCE.—The Secretary may, after
- 15 providing notice and an opportunity for a hearing (includ-
- 16 ing the opportunity to provide supporting evidence as pro-
- 17 vided for in subsection (i)), terminate a local flexibility
- 18 demonstration agreement under this section if there is evi-
- 19 dence that the local educational agency has failed to com-
- 20 ply with the terms of the agreement and the requirements
- 21 under subsections (d) and (e).
P337
Incentivized teaching
to improve within-district equity in the distribution of teachers, consistent with sec- tion 1111(g)(1)(B), such as initiatives that pro- vide—
‘‘(i) expert help in screening can- didates and enabling early hiring;
‘‘(ii) differential and incentive pay for teachers, principals, or other school leaders in high-need academic subject areas and specialty areas, which may include per- formance-based pay systems;
‘‘(iii) teacher, paraprofessional, prin- cipal, or other school leader advancement and professional growth, and an emphasis on leadership opportunities, multiple career paths, and pay differentiation
P348 Human capital
- (2) to study and review performance-based
- 9 compensation systems or human capital manage-
- 10 ment systems for teachers, principals, or other
- 11 school leaders to evaluate the effectiveness, fairness,
- 12 quality, consistency, and reliability of the systems
3) HUMAN CAPITAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM.— The term ‘human capital management system’ means a system—
‘‘(A) by which a local educational agency makes and implements human capital decisions, such as decisions on preparation, recruitment, hiring, placement, retention, dismissal, compensation, professional development, tenure, and promotion; and
‘‘(B) that includes a performance-based compensation system.
‘‘(4) PERFORMANCE-BASED COMPENSATION SYSTEM.—The term ‘performance-based compensation system’ means a system of compensation for teachers, principals, or other school leaders”
Are our students Human Capital or are they children?
Teachers and Administrators See pages p350-359!
p351
1 ‘‘SEC. 2212. TEACHER AND SCHOOL LEADER INCENTIVE 2 FUND GRANTS. 3 ‘‘(a) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—From the amounts reserved by the Secretary under section 2201(1), the Secretary shall award grants, on a competitive basis, to eligible entities to enable the eligible entities to develop, implement, improve, or expand performance-based compensation systems or human capital management systems, in schools served by the eligible entity.
P404
‘‘(B) use evidence-based screening assessments for early identification of such students beginning not later than kindergarten;
P 453
23 ‘‘(6) SCHOOL-BASED MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES PROVIDER.—The term ‘school-based mental 25 health services provider’ includes a State-licensed or State-certified school counselor, school psychologist, school social worker, or other State licensed or certified mental health professional qualified underState law to provide mental health services to children and adolescents
see also p 479
Pages 599-618 are in my opinion the scariest section of the bill. They prescribe expanded learning time, pipeline services, full-service community schools, neighborhoods of promise and ‘‘(B) A needs assessment that identifies the academic, physical, nonacademic, health, mental health, and other needs of students, families, and community residents. This is federal intrusion into the home, the neighborhood and the health records of students.
Also see p 617.
Pgs 599-608
Expanded learning time
‘‘(ii) ensuring appropriate diagnostic assessments and referrals for children with disabilities and children aged 3 through 9 experiencing developmental delays, consistent with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.), where applicable.
‘‘(B) Supporting, enhancing, operating, or expanding rigorous, comprehensive, effective educational improvements, which may include high-quality academic programs, expanded learning time, and programs and activities to prepare students for postsecondary education admissions and success.
P617
Needs assessment for pipeline services
‘‘(B) A needs assessment that identifies
the academic, physical, nonacademic, health, mental health, and other needs of students, families, and community residents
13 ‘‘(22) EXPANDED LEARNING TIME.—The term
14 ‘expanded learning time’ means using a longer
15 school day, week, or year schedule to significantly
16 increase the total number of school hours, in order
17 to include additional time for—‘‘(A) activities and instruction for enrichment as part of a well-rounded education; and ‘‘(B) instructional and support staff to collaborate, plan, and engage in professional development (including professional development on family and community engagement) within and
across grades and subjects. P 783
Cohorts?
Starting on Page 784 line 12
Data must be collected annually by State educational agencies for submission to the National Center for Education Statistics under section 153 of the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002 (20 U.S.C. 9543),
p. 793
PROGRAMS NOT PROVIDING CREDIT.—Except as provided in subparagraph (A)(ii)(I)(bb), a student who is retained in grade or who is enrolled in a program leading to a general equivalency diploma, or other alternative educational program that does not issue or provide credit toward the issuance of a regular high school diploma, shall not be considered transferred out and shall remain in the adjusted cohort.
page 914
SEC. 9206. POSTHUMOUS PARDON.14 (a) FINDINGS.
—Congress finds the following:15 (1) John Arthur ‘‘Jack’’ Johnson was a flamboyant, defiant, and controversial figure in the history of the United States who challenged racial biases.19 (2) Jack Johnson was born in Galveston, Texas, in 1878 to parents who were former slaves.21 (3) Jack Johnson became a professional boxer and traveled throughout the United States, fighting White and African-American heavyweights.24 (4) After being denied (on purely racial grounds) the opportunity to fight…
It goes on until page 918
Why is a posthumous pardon of a boxer in an education bill?
Why do we need 1061 pages of bill released two days before the House vote to repeal No Child Left Behind? Let teachers teach. Let local LEA’s govern their own schools. Let parents be the primary entity in charge of their child’s education. The family is the central unit of our society. Not the school. Not the federal government.
This is just the tip of the iceburg.
Dig in and read ESSA for yourself.
Tell me what you think after 50 pages.
Call the U.S. Senate switchboard today at (202) 224-3121.
Contact your Senators and ask them to
Vote NO on ESSA.
Read and watch more:
Letter to Congress and Compiled Notes from Alyson Williams and 50 Citizen Readers on ESEA “Every Student Succeeds Act
State Senator Blasts ESEA: Use His Letter to Reach Your Own Legislators
#ESEA – The New Common Core- Psychological Profiling of American Students
NCLB 2002 VS. ESSA 2015
Open Message to California Senators – Save us from the New ESEA
Weekend News: ESSA’s ‘Untold’ Ties to HEA
More Than the Tattooed Mormon
