State Education Department Releases ESSA Framework

Louisiana Education Superintendent John White has released the state's Every Student Succeeds Act draft framework.

In a conference call this morning, White said the framework is made up of ideas gained from public comment and discussions with state education leaders, including the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.

He said the draft framework knits together the following elements:

Performance targets in the state accountability system for schools and districts
Policies and supports from the state for school and district improvement
Financial resources to support school and district plans to meet state targets

Some potential enhancements to current practice in Louisiana are:

Long-term, statewide performance goals for literacy, numeracy, high school graduation rate, average ACT score, and college matriculation rate
Inclusion of a calculation of individual, annual student progress, for all students, no matter their performance levels, in every school's performance score
Dramatic reduction in high school testing through moving from two testing series to one
Focus on identifying learning needs, such as disabilities or giftedness, early in elementary schools
Proposals for expanding access to arts, foreign language, diverse career pathways, and inclusive behavioral interventions
Recruitment of top Louisiana-based and nationwide organizations to support low-performing schools to improve
Creation of "professional pathways" for educators, from their college training as teacher residents through leading roles such as teacher leader, teacher mentor, and school leader

"After dozens of meetings and hundreds of comments, Louisiana's ESSA process is advancing to the next stage through the draft framework," White said. "By showing one example of how policies, supports, and resources fit together, the draft framework is intended to solicit further feedback. If we keep our state's focus on the needs of Louisiana's children, we will the produce the final plan our students deserve."

The draft framework is available on the Department's website, and the public is invited to submit feedback in one of two ways:

Email thoughts and ideas directly to the Department at essalouisiana@la.gov

Attend one of the upcoming public meetings: