National Urban League President Marc H. Morial Statement on Every Student Succeeds Act Final Regulations #ESSA

National Urban League president and CEO Marc H. Morial released the following statement on the U.S. Department of Education’s final regulations to implement provisions of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) regarding school accountability, data reporting, and state plans.

Morial said, “For the past year, the National Urban League has been working with the U.S. Department of Education to ensure that it issues a strong final rule that provides meaningful guidance to states and local districts on how to implement ESSA with fidelity.  After reviewing the final regulations released today, we commend and appreciate that the Department took into consideration and adopted the comments and concerns of the civil rights community.  We strongly believe this newly issued guidance advances us toward achieving educational equity.  As the next administration moves to set its policies, this rule will ensure that equity and excellence stay front and center in the implementation of the Every Students Succeeds Act.”

Among other things, the new guidance will require that:

·All communities have a voice by defining a clear role for parents, families, civil rights groups and community leaders in the development and implementation of state and local plans, and the school improvement process;

·All indicators in a state accountability system must be disaggregated by individual student subgroups including each major racial and ethnic group and that “super-subgroups cannot be used in place of individual subgroups, to prevent masking of student performance;

·Schools review resource inequities when they are identified for improvement; and

·States provide timely, transparent analysis of student performance for parents and communities in an easy to read, accessible format and assign a summative rating to provide a clear picture of where a school stands.

To see the final regulation in full, click here.