ESSA State Plan for Illinois Approved

Congress passed the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) in December 2015, reauthorizing the nation’s largest education law with many much needed updates and revisions. The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) submitted the ESSA State Plan for Illinois to the U.S. Department of Education (ED) on April 1, 2017. ED’s review of Illinois’ consolidated State plan was posted on August 2, 2017. The reviewers found that it was not clear whether the State-level activities that ISBE is “considering” under Title IV, Part A, Subpart 1, would be the activities that the State will implement. They also found the reference to using its “5 percent administrative set-aside from the Title IV allocation,” to be inconsistent with the statute, which only allows for up to 1 percent. The agency must also describe the procedures by which it will ensure that 21st Century Community Learning Centers will help participating students meet state and local academic standards. ISBE submitted its updated ESSA State Plan to ED on August 18, 2017. On August 30, 2017 ED approved the Illinois ESSA Plan. It can be viewed here.