WASHINGTON, DC—This morning, Republican leaders of the U.S. House of Representatives education committee introduced a resolution to rescind accountability regulations under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), an action that would remove important safeguards for students. In response, Bob Wise, president of the Alliance for Excellent Education and former governor of West Virginia, released the following statement:
“Students deserve support and states deserve certainty. I’m disappointed that the House of Representatives is planning to rescind a common-sense regulation that provides both.
“With many states planning to finalize their ESSA implementation plans by April, states are nearing the end zone; changing the rules would be a foolish fumble this late in the game.
“Striking this accountability regulation might mean more flexibility for states, but it would result in less support for students from low-income families, students of color, and other traditionally underserved students.
“New accountability systems use multiple measures to gauge school performance. That’s a good thing, but students should not have to fail on everything before they receive support. This regulation ensures that if students have low performance in one area, such as a low graduation rate, they can receive the support they need to excel.
“School reform is complicated enough without additional confusion from Congress. I urge the House to vote against the rescission of the ESSA accountability regulation.”
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The Alliance for Excellent Education is a Washington, DC–based national policy, practice, and advocacy organization dedicated to ensuring that all students, particularly those traditionally underserved, graduate from high school ready for success in college, a career, and citizenship. www.all4ed.org
