Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Secretary of Education Announces Release of Updated ESSA Consolidated State Plan Template

  • 03/13/17

Washington, D.C. — In a letter delivered today to chief state school officers, U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos provided clarity on the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) implementation and released the updated template for the consolidated state plans.

Secretary DeVos issued the following statement:

"The updated state template will ensure states are able to better serve students with the freedom and flexibility they deserve, and which Congress requires. My philosophy is simple: I trust parents, I trust teachers, and I trust local school leaders to do what's right for the children they serve. ESSA was passed with broad bipartisan support to move power away from Washington, D.C., and into the hands of those who are closest to serving our nation's students.

"States, along with local educators and parents, are on the frontlines of ensuring every child has access to a quality education. The plans each state develops under the streamlined ESSA template will promote innovation, flexibility and accountability to ensure every child has a chance to learn and succeed."

The updated template ensures greater flexibility for state and local education leaders to do what they know is best for children, while also maintaining important protections for economically disadvantaged students, students with disabilities, and English learners. Crucially, ESSA maintains the transparency and accountability provisions for all students and student subgroups established in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA). The law requires states to help ensure that all students have access to excellent teachers and positive, safe learning environments with necessary supports to prepare them for success in college, a career and life. The streamlined template retains these important components.

Releasing a streamlined consolidated state plan template at this time ensures continued accountability for results and provides states a clear path forward on a timeline that works best for them. Secretary DeVos discussed the streamlined template during her remarks to the Council of the Great City Schools this afternoon. The U.S. Department of Education will continue to engage with chief state school officers and governors as state plans proceed through the peer review and secretarial review process.

To read the entire letter, go to www2.ed.gov/policy/elsec/guid/secletter/170313.html.

Featured

  • University of Illinois Moves Forward with College Sports’ Largest Digital Scoreboard

    The University of Illinois in Champaign, Ill., recently announced a series of upgrades to Gies Memorial Stadium that will include the largest scoreboard in college sports, according to a news release.

  • Round Rock ISD Completes New Early College High School

    Round Rock ISD near Austin, Texas, recently announced that construction is complete on a new, 46,500-square-foot campus for Early College High School, according to a news release. The new facility will allow the school’s students and staff to move from portables into a permanent building and increase its enrollment to 500.

  • Illinois District Boosts Security at High-School Stadium

    Richmond-Burton Community High School in Richmond, Ill., recently announced that it has completed the redesigned entrance to its high school stadium with a new focus on school security and community engagement, according to a news release. The district partnered with Wold Architects and Engineers on the project as part of District #157’s year-long facilities master plan.

  • Photo credit: Elkus Manfredi Architects

    University of Virginia Selects Design-Build Team for New Residential Complex

    The University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Va., recently announced that it has selected a design-build team for a new upper-class residential development on campus, according to a news release. Capstone Development Partners—in partnership with Elkus Manfredi Architects and the Hoar Construction/Hourigan construction team—will move forward with the three-building, 310,000-square-foot housing facility.