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Education Desk
The Education Desk is our education blog focusing on key areas of news coverage important to the state and its improvement. Evidence of public policy performance and impact will be reported and analyzed. We encourage you to engage in commenting and discussing the coverage of education from pre-natal to Higher Ed.Dusty Rhodes curates this blog that will provide follow-up to full-length stories, links to other reports of interest, statistics, and conversations with you about the issues and stories.About - Additional Education Coverage00000179-2419-d250-a579-e41d385d0000

Education Desk: DOE Taking Flexibility Out Of ESSA, Smith Says

BlueRoomStream.com
Tony Smith, superintendent of the Illinois State Board of Education, mentioned his critique of the federal Department of Education while testifying before the House committee on school curriculum and policies.

When Congress passed the Every Student Succeeds Act, it represented something rare these days -- a new law with bipartisan support. That’s largely because it replaced No Child Left Behind, which was almost universally unpopular.

But writing regulations for the new law fell to the federal Department of Education -- the same agency that enforced No Child Left Behind. In a recent column for US News and World Report, Illinois superintendent Tony Smith complained the DOE was perpetuating the same practices in the new regulations.

“The Department is continuing to legislate No Child Left Behind, and take an approach that really deeply distrusts states," Smith said. “All the language looks great, and that’s why I’ve been so outspoken about why the federal department is, I think, missing it. They’re continuing to write rules and legislate in an old framework while there’s an opportunity to be inclusive and engage right now.”

Smith made those remarks while testifying before the House committee on school curriculum and policies last week.

The Illinois State Board of Education is drafting a plan to implement the new Every Student Succeeds Act. Educators have hailed the new law for the flexibility it provides.

 

 

 

After a long career in newspapers (Dallas Observer, The Dallas Morning News, Anchorage Daily News, Illinois Times), Dusty returned to school to get a master's degree in multimedia journalism. She began work as Education Desk reporter at NPR Illinois in September 2014.
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