All4Ed Flash: A Decade of ESSA: Equity, Accountability, and a New Challenge Ahead
⚡️ Welcome back to the All4Ed Flash!
In this All4Ed Flash, we mark the 10th anniversary of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) and break down what the law was designed to do, how states have used its flexibility, and why equity remains at risk a decade later. We explain the latest efforts by the Trump administration to allow states to waive key ESSA protections while attempting to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education—and how Congress is pushing back. We also introduce ESSA Waiver Watch, our new resource with EdTrust and the National Parents Union, designed to help advocates track waivers and protect the civil rights guardrails that ensure all students receive a high-quality education.
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This week, we’re marking the 10th anniversary of the Every Student Succeeds Act — ESSA — which was signed into law on December 10, 2015.
When ESSA passed, President Barack Obama famously called it a “Christmas miracle,” emphasizing the rare and overwhelming bipartisan support behind it.
The law was designed to protect students’ civil rights and give states more flexibility than its predecessor, No Child Left Behind, to improve outcomes for all learners.
But over the decade since ESSA became law, the education landscape has changed dramatically.
We’ve lived through a global pandemic, three presidential transitions, and the rise of new technologies reshaping how students learn and how teachers teach.
And now, we’re seeing an entirely new challenge unfold: the Trump administration’s efforts to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education, the very agency responsible for enforcing ESSA.
Since 2015, All4Ed has worked closely with policymakers, educators, and advocates to understand ESSA’s implementation and preserve the law’s civil rights legacy.
Our focus has been on ensuring states use the law’s flexibility to advance equity—not retreat from it.
ESSA replaced No Child Left Behind, giving states more authority to design accountability systems, measure success, and determine the right interventions for schools needing support.
That flexibility can spark innovation—but it can also widen gaps if states don’t take their responsibilities seriously.
To understand how this flexibility has played out, All4Ed analyzed several years of ESSA implementation in ten states.
Our findings, published in When Equity Is Optional, revealed that students—especially those historically underserved—continue to be left behind when states fail to act boldly and equitably.
And now, on the heels of ESSA’s 10th anniversary, the irony is impossible to ignore.
The Trump administration is inviting states to waive key ESSA provisions while simultaneously attempting to dismantle the Department of Education.
All4Ed, with our partners at EdTrust and the National Parents Union, have a new one-stop shop “essawaiverwatch.org” — a one-stop shop for advocates to learn about the waiver process and the waivers currently in the works, and to access tools to protect ESSA’s guardrails for the country’s most vulnerable students.
Members of Congress are also pushing back.
Senator Patty Murray and her colleagues recently sent a letter to Education Secretary McMahon, warning that shifting critical programs to agencies without expertise, capacity, or legal authority will risk undermining the support, funding, and oversight federal law guarantees to students and families nationwide.
Ten years after this “Christmas miracle,” ESSA’s core promise remains as important as ever: that every student—regardless of race, income, disability, language, or ZIP code—deserves access to a high-quality education.
All4Ed will continue fighting for strong implementation, meaningful accountability, and the civil rights protections that were central to ESSA’s creation.
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