The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) is a law that was introduced in the Senate on April 30, 2015. ESSA was signed into law by President Barack Obama on December 10, 2015. The purpose of this act was to replace and update the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) which was signed into law in 2002. Like NCLB, ESSA reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Act of 1965.
The U.S. Department of Education approved New York’s Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) plan in January 2018. In developing the plan, NYSED engaged diverse groups of stakeholders to solicit recommendations on how to craft an ESSA plan that best meets the needs of the state’s students, schools, and communities. The plan emphasizes fostering equity in education for all students and expands measures for school accountability and student success.
Fundamentally, ESSA is about creating a set of interlocking strategies to promote educational equity by providing support to districts and schools as they work to ensure that every student succeeds. New York State is committed to ensuring that all students succeed and thrive in school no matter who they are, where they live, where they go to school, or where they come from.