Policy

ED Outlines Procedures for State ESSA Plan Amendments

The U.S. Department of Education is instructing chief state school officers on how to make changes to their ESSA plans for the 2019-2020 school year.

• By Sara Friedman
• 11/26/18

With almost half of all states getting new governors, the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Secondary and Elementary Education is giving chief state school officers some guidance on how to make changes to their Every Student Succeeds Act plans.  In a recent letter signed by Frank Brogan, assistant secretary of elementary and secondary education, a process is outlined for states to make amendments to their plans.

Prior to making any changes to state plans, states are required to get proposed amendments approved by the U.S. Department of Education. When submitting an amendment, states must submit the following:

1. A redlined version of the approved consolidated state plan that reflects all proposed changes;
2. A cover letter describing the proposed changes;
3. The signature of the chief state school officer or authorized representative; and
4. A description of how the state provided the public a reasonable opportunity to comment on the plan

All amendments must be submitted for the 2019-2020 school year no later than March 1, 2019.  While the Department of Education will continue to accept amendments after the deadline, they may not be approved in time for the state to make "accountability determinations" before the start of the 2019-2020 school year.

The full letter can be found here.