1. Promise, Policy, and Power: Redefining the Federal Role in American Education
FEDERAL LEGISLATIVE & EDUCATION POLICY OUTLOOK
J.F. “Jeff” McCullers

2. Budget: $81.1 bn
Employees: 4,000

3. Challenges for Secretary
Complete leadership team
Work with split Congress
Avoid Common Core State Standards
Implement Uniform Grant Guidance
Provide direction to What Works Clearinghouse, the Office of Civil Rights, new Title IV program, and student loans

4. Chief financial officer Douglas Webster
Secretary
Betsy DeVos
Deputy secretary
Mitchell Zais
General counsel
Carlos G. Muñiz
Chief financial officer
Douglas Webster
Assistant secretary for legislation and congressional affairs
Peter Louis Oppenheim
Undersecretary
No nomination
Assistant secretary for civil rights
Kenneth L. Marcus
Assistant secretary for communications and outreach
Assistant secretary for elementary and secondary education
Frank T. Brogan
Assistant secretary for planning, evaluation and policy development
James Blew
Assistant secretary for postsecondary education
Pending
Assistant secretary for special education and rehabilitative services
Assistant secretary for career, technical and adult education
Scott Stump
Commissioner, Rehabilitation Services Administration
Mark Schultz
Director of the Institute of Education Sciences
Mark Schneider
Source: Washington Post

5. Source: U.S. Department of Education

6. No Child Left Behind: Over And Done

7. Every Student Succeeds: In Full Force

8. Deleted From ESEA 100% proficiency requirement State waivers
Adequate yearly progress
Highly-qualified teachers
Federal requirements for education paraprofessionals
Secretary’s authority to waive most requirements
Secretary’s ability to encourage adoption of curriculum standards

9. Still in ESEA Supplement, not supplant (sort of) Maintenance of effort
Student testing and reporting
Subgroup reporting
FERPA
NAEP participation
Magnet Schools Assistance Program
21st Century Learning Centers Program

10. Added to ESEA New state plans required for school year 2017-18 2018-19
95% assessment participation requirement
Support for private alternative teacher preparation programs
New Teacher and School Leader Incentive Program (replaced TIF)
New Title IV Student Success & Academic Achievement program
“Well rounded education”
State ombudsman for private school participation (Nicolle Tanner)

11. Data Trends for Grant Developers
New ESSA plan (at last!)
Audits under UGG
Reconfigurations and reductions to federal programs
New Title IV grant and new competitive programs
Possible governmental shutdowns
Congressional paralysis

12. New state ESSA plan Represents overlapping interests:
Two different Presidents
Two different Congresses
Two different Secretaries of Education
Florida history with school accountability measures
Florida’s history with English learners.

13. Timeline of the Florida ESSA Plan
December 10, 2015
School Year
President Obama signs ESSA into law.
Reauthorizes ESEA.
Existing state plans will end on June 30, 2017
Existing state waivers will end on June 30, 2017.

14. Timeline of the Florida ESSA Plan
January 1, 2016
School Year
0:00:22
John King takes office as the new U.S. Secretary of Education after Arne Duncan resigns.
Duncan
King

15. Timeline of the Florida ESSA Plan
January 6, 2016
School Year
0:00:27
Florida State Board of Education lowers student and school cut scores to help transition to to new state assessment and accountability model.

16. Timeline of the Florida ESSA Plan
May 31, 2016
School Year
0:05:21
Secretary King announced rulemaking process in Federal Register to include requirements for:
State accountability systems
State school support systems
State school report cards
State ESSA plan

17. Timeline of the Florida ESSA Plan
June 3, 2016
School Year
0:05:25
FDOE announces public input schedule.
Memorandum from Chancellor Lyons cites:
Florida’s accountability history
Florida progress in closing achievement gaps
NAEP results for Hispanic students*
Unanswered and unresolved questions about implementation

18. Timeline of the Florida ESSA Plan
June 20, 2016
School Year
0:06:10
FDOE convenes online public input on ESSA.
Eventually, 912 people submit comments, including:
Teachers (309)
Parents and families (213)
The public (77)
School district administrators (73)
Community organizations (63)
Educator organizations (35)

19. Timeline of the Florida ESSA Plan
August 1, 2016
School Year
0:07:22
Commissioner Pam Stewart writes to Secretary John King challenging:
ESSA plan timeline
Authority of Secretary
Requirement for parental notices to be in home language
Criteria for low-performing subgroups

20. Timeline of the Florida ESSA Plan
November 8, 2016
School Year
0:10:29

21. Timeline of the Florida ESSA Plan
January 20, 2017
School Year
1:01:10
Donald Trump takes office as 45th President of the United States.

22. Timeline of the Florida ESSA Plan
February 7, 2017
School Year
1:01:28
Betsy DeVos takes office as the new U.S. Secretary of Education.
DeVos

23. Timeline of the Florida ESSA Plan
June 30, 2017
School Year
1:06:20
FDOE publishes draft ESSA plan.
450 people submit 1,295 comments and suggestions.

24. Timeline of the Florida ESSA Plan
July 20, 2017
School Year
1:07:10
FDOE publishes draft ESSA waiver request that would allow Florida to:
Not grade schools on English proficiency gains
Not test English learners in their home language
Waiver request is not submitted to Secretary DeVos.

25. Timeline of the Florida ESSA Plan
September 10, 2017
School Year
1:09:10
IRMA
134 deaths
lengthy school closures
$64.8 billion in losses

26. Timeline of the Florida ESSA Plan
September 20, 2017
School Year
1:09:20
MARIA 2,982 deaths
Near-total loss of power
$90 billion in losses
11,554 students relocated to Florida

27. Timeline of the Florida ESSA Plan
September 21, 2017
School Year
1:09:21
FDOE submits ESSA plan proposing that Florida:
Will report English proficiency gains
Will grade schools on all learners and not on subgroups
Will not test English learners in their home language

28. Timeline of the Florida ESSA Plan
December 11, 2017
School Year
2:01:00
The President nominates Frank Brogran to be Assistant Secretary of Education for Elementary and Secondary Education.
Teacher, principal, and superintendent in Martin County
Florida Commissioner of Education
Lieutenant Governor of Florida
President of Florida Atlantic University
Chancellor of State University System (Florida, then Pennsylvania)

29. Timeline of the Florida ESSA Plan
December 19, 2017
School Year
2:01:08
Secretary DeVos rejects Florida’s ESSA plan and requires resubmittal by January 4. (Deadline later extended to February 16.)

30. Timeline of the Florida ESSA Plan
February 14, 2018
School Year
2:02:04

31. Timeline of the Florida ESSA Plan
April 23, 2018
School Year
2:04:13
Florida submits revised ESSA plan.
Additional waiver requests to avoid double-testing.
Acknowledged Spanish as second-most spoken language.
Added Asian as an additional reporting subgroup.
Created parallel “Federal Percent of Points Index.”

32. Timeline of the Florida ESSA Plan
September 26, 2018
School Year
2:09:16
Secretary DeVos approves Florida’s revised ESSA plan.
State accountability tests will be administered in English only.
Two school accountability systems will be used side by side.

33. Timeline of the Florida ESSA Plan
January 8, 2018
School Year
3:00:29
Ron DeSantis takes office as 46th governor.
Three Florida Supreme Court Justices retire.
Commissioner Pam Stewart retires.

34. Not Testing In First Language
State
English Learners
Percent
Florida
268,189
9.6%
Georgia
112,006
6.4%
Arizona
67,195
6.1%
South Carolina
42,574
5.6%
Tennessee
36,398
4.1%
Montana
3,299
2.2%
Mississippi
9,588
2.0%
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data (CCD), "Local Education Agency Universe Survey," through

35. Dual System: Components
School Grades
Federal Percent of Points Index
Current School Grades components
English Language proficiency and gains

36. Dual System: Schools Assessed
School Grades
Federal Percent of Points Index
General education schools
Alternative schools
ESE centers
DJJ schools

37. Dual System: Subgroup Reporting
School Grades
Federal Percent of Points Index
Economically disadvantaged students
Major racial and ethnic groups
Students with disabilities
English Language Learners (ELLs)
Lowest 25th Percent in ELA
Lowest 25% Percent in Mathematics

38. Dual System: Subgroup Reporting
School Grades
Federal Percent of Points Index
Economically disadvantaged students
Major racial and ethnic groups
Students with disabilities
English Language Learners (ELLs)
Lowest 25th Percent in ELA
Lowest 25% Percent in Mathematics

39. Dual System: Improvement Status
School Grades
Federal Percent of Points Index
Grade of “D” or “F” for one year
Any subgroup below 31% for three consecutive years

40. Moral Of The Story All politics is local.
Donald Trump
Betsy DeVos
Moral Of The Story
All politics is local.
Complicated things happen slowly.
Leadership, leadership, leadership.
Ron DeSantis
Bill Galvano
José Oliva
Pam Stewart
Richard Corcoran

41. State Implementation
Concerns over new federal accountability plan and Federal Index
Questions about new ESSA fiscal transparency reporting
New statutes supporting charter school participation in federal grants
Auditor learning curve with UGG

42. Federal Implementation
New party in control of House; new Speaker; new committee chairs
Shutdowns (split congress facing high deficits) and/or CRs
More of the same regarding federal grant allocations
Flat funding (possible small increases in safety or workforce programs)
Rulemaking focus on civil rights enforcement and financial aid

43. Potential Effects on Federal Projects
Special Counsel
Sustained federal shutdown
2020 election campaigns
2020 Census
New Courts
Business cycle
Disruptive events (e.g., climate events, school shootings)

44. Promise, Policy, and Power: Redefining the Federal Role in American Education
FEDERAL LEGISLATIVE & EDUCATION POLICY OUTLOOK
J.F. “Jeff” McCullers

45. Notes on Images
Image of Lyndon Baines Johnson Department of Education Building. n.d. General Services Administration. Public domain.
Portrait of President Trump White House. Public domain.
Portrait of Secretary DeVos U.S. Department of Education. Public domain.
Image of President Bush signing NCLB White House. Public domain.
Image of President Obama signing ESSA White House. Public domain.
Image of Secretary Duncan. U.S. Department of Education. Public domain.
Image of Secretary King. U.S. Department of Education. Public Domain.
Image of President Trump taking the Oath of Office. White House. Public domain.