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A Peek at What Looks Like Extensive ESEA Reauthorization Language

By Andrew Ujifusa — November 20, 2015 1 min read
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We’ve been waiting several days for formal language to emerge on the deal to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. It looks like we have it—or at least a late-stage draft of it.

Check out, below, extensive language with details on the Every Student Succeeds Act, the name of the ESEA agreement approved by conferees Thursday to replace No Child Left Behind Act :

One important caveat: We don’t know if this is the language of the final deal that the House is slated to vote on in early December. But the language is clearly at a relatively late draft stage if it isn’t yet completed.

It’s 391 pages, so if you plan on reading the entire thing, find a cozy seat.

Many education policy wonks have already zeroed in on the section that deals with accountability. There’s a debate brewing about the extent to which states will be able to use non-academic factors, such as school climate and student engagement, in their accountability systems if the language in the Every Student Succeeds Act becomes law. (To see what’s triggering this debate, check out the language starting at “Description of System” on page 45 and continuing onto page 47.)

But as we’ve noted in the last few days, there are several other issues in the agreement that will draw attention. For example, there’s a new weighted student-funding formula for low-income and otherwise disadvantaged students that’s seen as a more workable alternative to Title I portability, which was a school-choice provision in the GOP-only bill that passed the House earlier this year but didn’t make it into the final ESEA agreement. So dig in!