Midterm Races ESSA-Watchers Should Keep Their Eyes On
October 24, 2018
“U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos may have approved every state’s vision for implementing the Every Student Succeeds Act—but that doesn’t mean the plans are all done and dusted,” Klein also writes in Education Week. “States can still make changes to their plans,” and after the midterms, “many of them may want to.” While federal officials will need to approve significant changes, details of how this will actually look are still pending. Three-dozen states will be holding gubernatorial elections—the winners of which must give ESSA plan changes the nod (and eight or more of whom will have the power to appoint chiefs, while others will have the authority to appoint state board members). An additional seven states are also electing chiefs. Because some of these elections could have “dramatic consequences” for ESSA, Klein provides a rundown of which elections ESSA-watchers should keep their eyes on during Election Day.