Lawmakers on the House education committee have a not-so-subtle message for states and the U.S. Department of Education as they move to implement the Every Student Succeeds Act: We鈥檒l be watching you.
Republicans on a panel holding an oversight hearing last week seemed to be trying to cut potential federal overreach off at the pass, making it clear that, in their view, the law is aimed at returning key authority over K-12 schools to states and districts.
ESSA 鈥渋ncludes more than 50 provisions to keep the Department of Education in check鈥� on accountability, standards, assessments, and more, Rep. Todd Rokita, the chairman of the subcommittee that oversees K-12 policy, said in his Feb. 10 opening statement. 鈥淐ongress promised to restore state and local control over K-12 education, and now, it鈥檚 our job to ensure that promise is kept.鈥�
Meanwhile, Democrats made it equally clear they鈥檒l be keeping their eye on the department and states to make sure that they don鈥檛 use this newfound flexibility to trample on protections for historically overlooked groups of students, such as English-language learners and those in special education.
鈥淭he U.S. Department of Education will need to ensure that states are putting children first,鈥� said Rep. Marcia Fudge of Ohio, the top Democrat on the subcommittee.
To be sure, this rhetoric is all pretty preliminary. States are still mulling their ESSA plans, and the department hasn鈥檛 even specified the areas of the law on which it will be issuing regulations.
But the different takes on ESSA oversight should come as no surprise to anyone who followed the development of the legislation closely. ESSA鈥攚hich passed with big, bipartisan support late last year鈥攕eeks to strike a delicate balance between giving states and districts much greater leeway on K-12 and continuing the federal role in looking out for vulnerable groups of students.
鈥楾rust Us鈥�
State and district leaders who testified before the subcommittee鈥擩oy Hofmeister, Oklahoma鈥檚 superintendent of public instruction, and Paul 鈥淰ic鈥� Wilson, the superintendent of the Hartselle district in Alabama, had their own message for federal officials: Trust us.
鈥淪tates are not only ready, but we are willing and able to lead,鈥� Hofmeister said, noting that states have already raised standards and improved tests. 鈥淔uture regulations should focus on providing states with guidance, clarification, and support, not prescription or compliance.鈥�
What鈥檚 more, an alphabet soup of 10 groups representing superintendents, principals, state and local board members, state lawmakers, and teachers sent a letter to acting U.S. Secretary of Education John B. King Jr. that same day, letting him know that they鈥檒l be working together to promote state, local, and school decisionmaking when it comes to ESSA regulation.
But Selene Almazan, the legal director for the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates, which works to protect the civil rights of students in special education, sees a pivotal role for the federal government in making sure states look out for low-income children, racial minorities, students in special education, and others.
鈥淧ast history shows that states often set expectations far too low, which leads directly to low student achievement, impacting our most disadvantaged students,鈥� she said in written testimony.
One particular exchange encapsulated both sides of the argument: During her testimony, Hofmeister said she鈥檚 not thrilled with every part of her state鈥檚 accountability system. The way that the Sooner State calculates the performance of subgroup students can 鈥渕ask gaps.鈥� Oklahoma will likely revisit that portion of its system when it designs its new accountability system under ESSA, she said.
Standards and Enforcement
Rep. Jared Polis, D-Colo., seized on that, asking her how the federal government can make sure that other states don鈥檛 use their newfound flexibility to 鈥渟weep the performance of low-performing subgroups of students under the rug.鈥�
鈥淲e have to accept the fact that at the state level, I am held accountable to the people of the state of Oklahoma,鈥� she responded. (Hofmeister is an elected chief.)
Polis noted, though, that she鈥檚 elected by a majority in Oklahoma, but required to look after minority rights. 鈥淭here鈥檚 more to it than just politics,鈥� he said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a civil rights issue that transcends politics.
鈥淟awmakers on both sides of the aisle also sought to clear up areas where they seem to think that messaging on ESSA has been muddled.
Rep. John Kline, R-Minn., who was an architect of the law, said he鈥檚 dismayed with some of the rhetoric coming out of the Department of Education on areas like standards.
The law calls for states to adopt standards that get students ready for credit-bearing coursework and, in Kline鈥檚 view, the department has been twisting that language to make it sound like the law still somehow endorses something like the Common Core State Standards鈥攚hich wasn鈥檛 his intention.
For her part, Rep. Suzanne Bonaminci, D-Ore., said there鈥檚 nothing in ESSA that inhibits the department鈥檚 authority to enforce the law.
And one of the witnesses called by Republicans, Kent Talbert, the general counsel at the Education Department under President George W. Bush, agreed that the law鈥檚 laundry list of secretarial prohibitions doesn鈥檛 hinder enforcement authority.
But he also said, in general, the department should tread carefully. If it oversteps its bounds in regulation, it could open itself up to lawsuits.
Even though this was the House鈥檚 first ESSA oversight hearing, it won鈥檛 be the last: The panel has already invited King to testify on the budget, and again solely on ESSA implementation and oversight.
