Schneider’s ESSA Digest, Part I (Pages 1 – 47)
I am in the process of carefully reading the 1,061-page Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), the December 10, 2015, reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), and writing a series of posts that will form a digest of those 1,061 pages.
It will take me some time. This is my first entry, which covers the first 47 pages.
Sometimes I refer to pages beyond the first 47, and sometimes, I alter the format of quoted excerpts for ease of reading. Sometimes I comment, and sometimes I just summarize.
Let’s just dive in.
The outset of ESSA concerns transitioning from No Child Left Behind (NCLB) (or its waivers) to ESSA.
Pages 6-7 note that previous multi-year programs that are “no longer authorized” and that are not “substantively similar” to those authorized in ESSA will receive their final payout on or before September 30, 2016. However, “substantively similar” programs will continue to receive funds “in accordance with the terms of such prior award.” Multi-year programs that continue to be authorized in ESSA will continue “in accordance with the terms of such prior award.”
On page 7, the Secretary is required to “take such steps as are necessary to provide for the orderly transition” from NCLB and its waivers. But ESSA is clear that the NCLB waivers are dead, that they “shall be null and void and have no legal effect on or after August 1, 2016” (page 7).
Pages 8 and 9 note that ESSA went into effect the day that it became law (December 10, 2015)– unless otherwise noted. It immediately notes that ESSA goes into effect for any noncompetitive programs (i.e., funds awarded by formula) effective July 01, 2016– unless otherwise noted. As for competitive programs, the blanket ESSA Schneider’s ESSA Digest, Part I (Pages 1 – 47) | deutsch29: