ESSA INFORMATION

A New Education Law

Recent Updates

• FAQs: Transitioning to the ESSA
• Key ESSA resources, including guidance and regulatory information
• Elementary and Secondary Education Act, as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act (PDF, 1.2MB)

The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) was signed by President Obama on December 10, 2015, and represents good news for our nation’s schools. This bipartisan measure reauthorizes the 50-year-old Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), the nation’s national education law and longstanding commitment to equal opportunity for all students.

The previous version of the law, the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act, was enacted in 2002. NCLB represented a significant step forward for our nation’s children in many respects, particularly as it shined a light on where students were making progress and where they needed additional support, regardless of race, income, zip code, disability, home language, or background. The law was scheduled for revision in 2007, and, over time, NCLB’s prescriptive requirements became increasingly unworkable for schools and educators. Recognizing this fact, in 2010, the Obama administration joined a call from educators and families to create a better law that focused on the clear goal of fully preparing all students for success in college and careers.

ESSA Highlights

ESSA includes provisions that will help to ensure success for students and schools. Below are just a few. The law:

• Advances equity by upholding critical protections for America's disadvantaged and high-need students.
• Requires—for the first time—that all students in America be taught to high academic standards that will prepare them to succeed in college and careers.
• Ensures that vital information is provided to educators, families, students, and communities through annual statewide assessments that measure students' progress toward those high standards.
• Helps to support and grow local innovations—including evidence-based and place-based interventions developed by local leaders and educators.
• Sustains and expands this administration's historic investments in increasing access to high-quality preschool.
• Maintains an expectation that there will be accountability and action to effect positive change in our lowest-performing schools, where groups of students are not making progress, and where graduation rates are low over extended periods of time.

 

Approved New York State ESSA Plan

For the 2023–24 and 2024–25 School Years

Beyond the one-year accountability restart under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) Accountability State Plan Addendum for the 2022-23 school year based on 2021-22 school year results, the New York State Education Department (NYSED) has developed a two-year Rebuild Phase for the 2023-24 school year based on 2022-23 school year results and for the 2024-25 school year based on 2023-24 school year results. 

The United States Department of Education (USDE) approved amendments to the accountability section of the New York State Consolidated State Plan under ESSA to align with the Rebuild Phase for the 2023-24 and 2024-25 school years. 

• USDE Approval Letter for Amendments to New York State’s Consolidated State Plan under ESSA
• New York State's Approved ESSA Plan
• New York State's Approved ESSA with Tracked Changes
• Table of Changes to New York State’s Approved ESSA Plan

Additional resources about the New York State accountability system during the Rebuild Phase can be found on the NYSED School and District Accountability webpage. 

Looking for historical information about New York State's efforts to implement ESSA?
Find archived information here.