Senate Committee Discussed State Innovation under ESSA
October 3, 2017
The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee held a hearing on state innovation under ESSA. During the hearing, Chairman Lamar Alexander commented that “Tennessee, Louisiana, and New Mexico have taken the most advantage of the flexibility” offered under ESSA, in terms of “creating innovative state plans.” According to The 74, Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren, however, was quick to state that “Even without the accountability rules to explain some of the details about how to enforce it, [ESSA] is not a blank check.” Senator Patty Murray “also criticized its process, particularly the switch from providing feedback on state plans via public letter to doing so in phone calls, where there is no written documentation.”