Sara Friedman reports for T.H.E. Journal that the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Evaluation is seeking proposals from vendors to undertake “evaluations for two programs authorized under the Every Student Succeeds Act—the Innovative Assessment and Accountability Authority (IADA) and the Flexibility for...
Corey Mitchell reports for Education Week that U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos has “appointed Andrea Ramirez as interim Executive Director of the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics.” Ramirez—who currently serves as Executive Director of the Center for Faith and Opportunity Initiatives...
According to Alyson Klein in Education Week, a December message from federal officials to the Georgia Department of Education, state officials who are thinking about applying for ESSA’s Innovative Assessment pilot program “don’t have to pick just one exam for your test drive—but you do have...
Andrew Ujifusa writes for Education Week that a “leading coalition of civil rights groups wants federal lawmakers to focus on oversight of the U.S. Department of Education when the new Congress begins next year.” In a letter to Capitol Hill, the Leadership Conference for Civil and Human Rights “asked Congress to...
Rebecca Klein reports for HuffPost that a “coalition of advocacy and teacher groups” has sued the U.S. Dept. of Education in an attempt to get “information related to its decision to allow schools to purchase firearms using federal funds.” Controversy over this issue “started in August,...
On September 17, dozens of civil and human rights organizations wrote to Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, stating that “any decision or recommendation by the Department allowing schools to use ESSA funds for weapons would be contrary to congressional intent and pose serious danger to children...
Education Week’s Klein reports that the U.S. Dept. of Education “is inviting more state applications” for ESSA’s Innovative Assessment Pilot, “which allows states to try out new types of tests in a handful of districts before taking them statewide.” States need to inform federal officials of...
The Associated Press reports that Education Secretary Betsy DeVos says she has “no intention of taking any action” regarding using ESSA to arm teachers. In a letter to top Education and the Workforce Committee Democrat Rep. Bobby Scott, DeVos wrote that “Congress did not authorize me or...
Erica L. Green reports for the New York Times that the U.S. Department of Education has been “considering whether to allow states to use federal funding to purchase guns for educators.” Green reports that the federal agency is “eyeing” ESSA’s Student Support and Academic Enrichment...
Florida remains the only state that has yet to have its ESSA plan approved by the U.S. Department of Education, and UnidosUS and the Florida chapter of the League of United Latin American Citizens want it to stay that way—at least for now. Corey Mitchell reports in Education...
