Congress’ recent repeal of the Obama administration’s accountability rules under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) will not affect New Jersey’s plan to implement the law, according to the state Department of Education. ESSA is the federal law governing elementary and secondary education.
On March 9, the U.S. Senate approved the repeal; the House of Representatives passed a similar measure last month. President Trump is expected to sign the repeal legislation.
Repeal of the regulations does not change the law itself, which remains in effect.
“This repeal does not affect New Jersey’s proposed ESSA State Plan polices,” stated the NJDOE’s “ESSA Team” in an email message to leaders of the state’s educational organizations. “New Jersey’s state plan proposals were based on the requirements established in the ESSA statute, which have not changed as a result of this [repeal].
“That law describes how states must identify schools in need of support and report on school performance, among other things, and has provided New Jersey sufficient guidance to develop a proposed state plan that complies with the law.”
The message continued, “In addition, the repeal of the regulations does not impact the date (April 3) the NJDOE intends to submit its final state plan to the U.S. Department of Education. States have received an assurance from Secretary DeVos that this submission deadline will not change.”