NGA’s Education Focus
March 12, 2019
At last week’s SXSW Conference in Austin, Texas, NGA’s education policy director, Seth Gerson discussed how the 39 newly-elected governors across the country are “uniquely education-focused.” And because each state ESSA plan had been approved in fall of last year, Gerson notes that “governors didn’t apply the same focus on common core testing, standards or teacher evaluation as they might have in past campaigns” and “were free to tout other 21st century education strategies, like career or technical education.” Gerson also noted that though the focus has switched from being less about ESSA and more about a wide range of focus areas, and that “governors can help shape the story behind a state’s education policy not only via the pulpit, but by collaborating with their boards of education and K-12 administrators.”