Official ESSA Resources

The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) was passed by Congress and signed into law on December 10, 2015. It is a reauthorization of the long-standing federal education law the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) originally enacted in 1965. ESSA replaced the previous reauthorization of ESEA, the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). Its enactment modifies existing requirements or establishes new ones for states, districts, and schools receiving the federal funding authorized in the law.

The U.S. Department of Education (ED) is responsible for overseeing the implementation of this law. This includes reviewing and approving state plans for the law’s programs and any consolidated State plans submitted to address multiple programs. There are currently two deadlines for the submission of these plans; April 3, 2017 and September 18, 2017. On March 13, the U.S. Department of Education released a revised template for the ESSA consolidated state plans (Word) through the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs.

Additional information on the law’s statutory provisions and relevant federal regulations can be found on the U.S. Department of Education’s ESSA Resources website. This includes a link to the law itself, which can also be accessed through the U.S. Code website under Title 20, Chapter 70. This resource site also includes web links to the final regulations related to Academic Assessments under Title I, Part A, and the Innovative Assessment Demonstration Authority under Title I, Part B. These regulations can also be accessed through the Federal Register through the following alternate links; Academic Assessments under Title I, Part A, and the Innovative Assessment Demonstration Authority under Title I, Part B.