U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon has greenlit Louisiana鈥檚 request to combine state-level slices of four federal K-12 grant programs into a single, flexible fund that the state can direct to a range of statewide school improvement efforts.
The approval, announced May 20, marks the second time the department has given a state the go-ahead to merge its portion of funding for state-level activities for federal programs aimed at teacher training, services for English learners, student support and academic enrichment, and extended learning into one broad bucket.
Iowa received a nearly identical waiver from the requirements of the Every Student Succeeds Act in early January.
The change, which has been approved through 2029, will allow Louisiana to direct more than $18 million total to improving schools statewide, without cutting into individual districts鈥� piece of these grant programs. The $18 million represents the portion of each of the four grant programs set aside for state-level activities鈥攖ypically 5% of each fund.
The money can be put toward any type of program allowable under one of the four combined funding streams.
Louisiana鈥檚 waiver is part of a broader push by the Trump administration to shift more authority over K-12 decisionmaking to state and local leaders.
Also on that policy agenda for the administration: Transferring management of key K-12 programs to the Labor Department, nixing nearly half the Education Department鈥檚 staff, and pushing to eliminate the agency entirely.
Cade Brumley, Louisiana鈥檚 state superintendent, said the state will consider directing the money to a priority such as foundational math, high school preparation, or training teachers in the science of reading.
鈥淲e want to execute on K-3 literacy and math screeners and make sure that teachers have good information on how to make instructional decisions, and parents have information on the status of their child鈥檚 ability or inability to read or do math,鈥� Brumley said. 鈥淲e want to continue to cut our teacher vacancies across the state. We know that one way to do that is to make the profession more fulfilling and sustaining, so we can use some of the funds to do that important work.鈥�
Kirsten Baesler, the department鈥檚 assistant secretary of education, said Louisiana will have to show how the change is improving student achievement.
鈥淲ith more flexibility, comes more responsibility,鈥� she said.
Louisiana was one of a handful of states singled out for making progress in reading as much of the country struggles to climb out of what researchers at the Educational Opportunity Project at Stanford have deemed a decade-long 鈥渓earning recession.鈥�
The Pelican State鈥檚 progress 鈥渏ust really proves that education leaders in states 鈥� know how to best serve their students,鈥� Baesler said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not bureaucrats in Washington, D.C. I think what we鈥檙e doing right now is providing evidence that when we allow our states to have the flexibility with additional responsibility that will yield good results.鈥�
She added, 鈥淟ouisiana is a shining example of that.鈥�
Advocacy groups, including All4Ed, EdTrust, the National Center for Learning Disabilities, and the National Parent Union, have raised concerns that the Trump administration鈥檚 ESSA waivers allow states to shift focus鈥攁nd money鈥� away from marginalized students.
For instance, Louisiana鈥檚 funding flexibility could erode state-level support for English learners, in a state with one of the fastest-growing English learner populations in the country, said Eric Duncan, the director of P-12 policy at the Education Trust, an organization focused on educational equity.
鈥淭his waiver approval is part of a larger federal effort by the Trump administration to abdicate responsibility for education by reducing federal funding and oversight,鈥� Duncan said in an email. 鈥淎ll students can succeed when they鈥檙e given the supports they need; these changes put that assistance in jeopardy.鈥�
At least 10 states are seeking other types of ESSA waivers, the Education Department said in a statement.
Though the department has currently only approved one type of ESSA waiver鈥攏early identical funding flexibility for Iowa and Louisiana鈥攖he agency is open to other possibilities, Baesler said.
鈥淲e are working hand in hand with states as we are exploring what鈥檚 possible within the law,鈥� Baesler said. 鈥淥bviously, that鈥檚 a non-negotiable.鈥�
The Pelican State鈥檚 waiver, however, doesn鈥檛 go as far as Louisiana鈥檚 original waiver ask, filed earlier this spring.
The state initially wanted to include other funding in the flexibility grant, including a small portion of its Title I grants for schools that serve disadvantaged students, as well as federal funding streams aimed at rural schools, neglected and delinquent students, and migrant children.
Those programs, however, do not include a portion designated for certain state activities, so the Education Department couldn鈥檛 approve the ask, Baesler said.
Louisiana is pleased with the flexibility the department granted, Brumley said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e thankful for what they鈥檝e approved.鈥�
The department also recently OK鈥檇 requests from Florida and Illinois to join the Education Flex program, which allows states limited wiggle room from some of ESSA鈥檚 fiscal requirements.
Eighteen states have gotten the go-ahead for that leeway.
Participating states can give districts the go-ahead to carry over a greater share of their Title I funds for disadvantaged students from one year to the next without securing explicit federal approval. Or they can allow districts to spend a greater share of their Title IV-A grant funding on technology than is specified under the law. Title IV-A is a wide-ranging federal formula fund for student support and enrichment activities.
And the department sent to state education leaders highlighting existing leeway in ESSA to transfer funds between different federal K-12 programs (for instance, from teacher training to English learners) as well as funding flexibility for small, rural districts.
