The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) is the latest reauthorization of the 1965 Elementary and Secondary Education Act and was approved by the U.S. Congress in December 2015. This law provides significant federal support for programs to serve students in kindergarten through 12th grade and replaces No Child Left Behind passed in 2002.

ESSA limits power of the federal government to dictate education policy for states.  The new law increases state flexibility to design accountability systems, interventions and student supports.  It also gives states flexibility to work with local stakeholders to develop educator evaluation and support systems.  Ultimately, the new law supports the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate.   

The South Carolina Department of Education has launched a statewide effort to gather stakeholder input from educators, parents, students, education advocates and others to determine how best to implement key features of the new law, which will be implemented starting with the 2017-2018 school year.  The feedback provided by stakeholders, whether specific or general, will be incorporated in the draft Consolidated State Plan.  After the initial draft is developed, which will incorporate stakeholder input, the South Carolina Department of Education will continue to seek further stakeholder input until the Consolidated State Plan is finalized in February 2017. 

Please provide your input by answering the questions in the form below. This form will be available until January 1, 2017.  

Unless you decline, your feedback may be used in various forums, and attributed to you.  Based on the high volume of feedback we anticipate, each field limits your response to 500 characters.  If you would prefer to provide a more information, feel free to email us directly at:  essa.comments@ed.sc.gov