AFT on Education Department’s ESSA Accountability Regulations

Statement by American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten on the U.S. Department of Education’s accountability regulations for the Every Student Succeeds Act:

“Last year, Congress and the president listened to parents and educators across the nation. They put aside partisan rancor and the obstruction that Americans have said they hate about Washington and passed by an overwhelming bipartisan vote a new federal education law. The Every Student Succeeds Act preserves and protects public education, provides more local control but with ongoing federal funding for disadvantaged children in public schools, and includes federal guardrails that ensure equity but curbs high-stakes testing and federal overreach. The law’s accountability regulations are intended as the engine to implement it.

“As Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) said after Senate passage, the law ‘is the single biggest step toward local control of public schools in 25 years.’ Even the Wall Street Journal called it ‘the largest devolution of federal control to the states in a quarter-century.’ Just as we asked the current administration to ensure these accountability regulations closely track the letter of the law, so should the new Trump administration. It’s important to get the regulations right because states will use them as guideposts to write their own accountability plans, with input from educators and other stakeholders.

“We are pleased that the department made some commonsense changes from its draft version, like the timeline flexibility to allow states to fully develop accountability systems so they can include new and multiple measures envisioned by the law. We also appreciate that, as the law intended, reporting requirements are included for charter schools. This will help better create transparency and a level playing field for all schools.

“One area that surprises us involves testing. Given that new accountability measures are not yet in place, it’s hard to fathom that the department insists on punishing schools that do not test at least 95 percent of students. Punishing schools when students (or their parents) opt out of testing is a throwback to No Child Left Behind.

“Students, parents and educators need the stability of these regulations now more than ever. We will work closely with states and school districts to ensure that their accountability plans align with the intent of ESSA to help students and educators succeed.”