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This update on the Every Student Succeeds Act and the education plans now being implemented by states and school districts is produced in partnership with ESSA Essentials, an ongoing series from the Collaborative for Student Success. It鈥檚 an offshoot of their  newsletter, which you can ! (See our recent ESSA updates from previous weeks right here.)

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos a new Title IX enforcement initiative 鈥渢o combat the troubling rise of sexual assault in K-12 public schools.鈥� Strengthening schools鈥� ability to respond to sexual harassment and assault, the initiative also 鈥渂uilds on the Department’s work to implement the 鈥楶ass the Trash鈥� provisions of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), which prohibits schools from simply moving employees who have committed acts of sexual misconduct.鈥� The initiative to assess sexual assault incidents includes conducting compliance and data quality reviews, increasing public awareness and support, and collecting more detailed data on sexual assault.

“We hear all too often about innocent children being sexually assaulted by an adult at school. That should never happen. No parent should have to think twice about their child’s safety while on school grounds,” DeVos said in a statement. “That’s why I’ve directed our [Office for Civil Rights] team to tackle the tragic rise of sexual misconduct complaints in our nation’s K-12 campuses head on. Through compliance reviews and raising public awareness about what’s actually happening in too many of our nation’s schools, we can build on the good work we’re already doing to enforce Title IX and protect students. We cannot rest until every student can learn in a safe, nurturing environment where their civil rights are protected.”

Beyond the Education Department, here are the week鈥檚 other top headlines for how states are implementing the Every Student Succeeds Act:

Bill to change Kentucky鈥檚 school accountability system moves out of committee

State lawmakers in Kentucky recently to 鈥渁lter Kentucky鈥檚 school accountability system鈥� out of the state Senate Education Committee.

https://twitter.com/KevinWheatleyKY/status/1233104400178130949

The legislation would 鈥済auge student achievement on annual K-PREP results, called 鈥榮tatus,鈥� and improvement over time, called 鈥榗hange.鈥欌�� The amended version of the legislation gives the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) more involvement than a previous version had allowed.

An official with KDE said the only remaining concern the agency has with the bill 鈥渋s its complexity, which will require revisions to the state鈥檚 education plan under the federal Every Student Succeeds Act.鈥� The new system proposed by the legislation is 鈥渉eavily modeled鈥� after California鈥檚 accountability system.

States鈥� evolving testing approaches

argues here in 社区黑料 that it鈥檚 time for state accountability assessments to evolve. Since the passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act, Minnich says, testing has increased steadily in K-12. But, due to the timing of most assessments, there is not enough time for parents and educators to respond to or make changes based on testing outcomes.

In leveraging new approaches to accountability assessments that 鈥済ather data throughout the year, not just at year鈥檚 end, states will be able to see how much academic growth occurred for each student during the school year.鈥� Five states 鈥� Nebraska, North Carolina, Georgia, New Hampshire and Louisiana 鈥� are working to 鈥渆xplore alternative assessment opportunities鈥� that will provide a 鈥渕ore complete picture of student academic health.鈥�

Parents in Missouri upset with mistaken claim teachers don鈥檛 meet ESSA standards

Parents in the , located just outside of St. Louis, are 鈥渙n edge after receiving an alarming e-mail about their classroom teachers.鈥� According to the email, which was received by some parents in the district, 鈥渙ne or more of their child鈥檚 teachers are not 鈥榟ighly qualified鈥� enough to teach鈥� and do not meet the standards set out by the Every Student Succeeds Act.

While parents are rightfully concerned, the Ferguson-Florissant School District says the email was the result of a 鈥減aperwork mix-up鈥� and said officials are 鈥渨orking to get all of the teachers classified as qualified,鈥� assuring parents that there is nothing to worry about.

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