• The U.S. Department of Education approved Georgia's ESSA State Plan on January 19, 2018, highlighting Georgia's work rewarding schools making significant progress with traditionally underserved subgroups and creating an accountability system that expands opportunities for students and supports the whole child.

    What is the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)?

     

    The Every Student Succeeds Act, commonly referred to as ESSA,  earned bi-partisan approval in 2015.

     

    States were freed from their No Child Left Behind (NCLB) waiver agreements and given the responsibility to develop state plans to support education.

     

    ESSA significantly scaled back the authority of the Secretary of Education and U.S. Department of Education. Though ESSA gave states additional authority and flexibility over their education system, wholesale flexibility was not granted and statutory requirements vary in specificity from issue-to-issue.

     

    Georgia has sought out maximum flexibility while creating a cohesive and aligned plan that is responsive to stakeholder feedback and supports our vision of offering a holistic education to each and every child in the state.​