ESSA and Implications for Louisiana
In late 2015 the U.S. Congress passed the Every Student Succeeds Act, commonly known as ESSA. It was essentially an update of the earlier No Child Left Behind Act, and it made some significant changes in the federal education landscape with implications for every state including Louisiana.
More than anything it returned power to the states over their school and district accountability systems. In the late 1990s CABL played a lead role in the creation of a strong accountability system for Louisiana. Now, because of ESSA, Louisiana is undertaking a review of that system. From CABL’s perspective, ESSA provides an opportunity to strengthen and build upon our current strong foundation, but it also opens the door for those with other agendas to seek to take us backwards.
CABL will continue to advocate for a strong and transparent accountability system based on solid metrics that allow the public to track how our schools and districts are performing.