Dive Brief:
- Comments on the U.S. Department of Education's proposed rules for the Every Student Succeeds Act echo frequent criticism of federal overreach by the agency.
- The Washington Post reports the Vermont Board of Education, California education leaders, the American Superintendents Association and the National Center for Fair and Open Testing are among those that blasted the proposed rules during a recently closed comment period.
- Education World also writes that a new report from the Government Accountability Office urges the department to reflect on its failures during the waiver process and has prompted commitments from top department officials to do better with ESSA.
Dive Insight:
The U.S. Department of Education under President Barack Obama has often been accused of being too prescriptive with education policy, especially as it handed out waivers from the previous No Child Left Behind Act. But the Every Student Succeeds Act was passed as a victory for those who supported states’ rights.
Republicans led the House and Senate education committees that did much of the work drafting the final legislation. First and foremost, the law returns a significant amount of power over deciding education policy to the states, limiting the influence of the U.S. Secretary of Education. Yet many believe the department’s rulemaking is creating mandates the law did not allow. Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) has already said if the final rules go beyond the scope of ESSA, he will work to nullify them. Meanwhile, the Obama administration is pressing forward with its final word on education policy before the next president takes over in January.