Federal Policy

Through a mixture of laws, regulations, guidance, and incentives, the federal government serves to protect the rights of the nation's disadvantaged students and their access to the public education system. In this section you will find information on federal policies, including the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).

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Stories from the Field

How ESSA is Helping One School District Recruit Great Teachers

The single most important factor for student learning is a great teacher, but recruiting and retaining great teachers has been a major challenge, especially for high-needs schools where teacher burnout and turnover is rampant. The Clark County Education Association (CCEA), however, seems to have discovered a solution to the problem...

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Diplomas Now: A Model of Collaboration and Innovation

First posted July 2013. We know a great deal about the high school dropout problem. From the research of Robert Balfanz and others, we know where dropouts are likely to come from – the majority attends a small subset of high schools where the graduation rate is 60% or lower...

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LFA Updates

LFA Members Blast White House Budget Proposal

Fiscal 2019 proposal would spend billions on defense and infrastructure, advocates call plan "devastating" to critical K-12 programs

The fiscal 2019 budget put forth by the Trump administration today would spend billions of dollars more than the federal government will take in, breaking promises to balance the federal budget, yet K-12 education is once again shortchanged. Members of the Learning First Alliance spoke out against the proposal as...

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Education Advocates Warn New Tax Plan and Increased Deficit Will Lead to K-12 Cuts

LFA members representing teachers, superintendents and school boards speak out against tax reform, warning of the impact on public school funding and future deficits

Updated December 20, 2017 LFA organizations sharply criticized the tax reform measure that cleared the Senate and House this week because it jeopardizes federal K-12 funding and allows deductions for private schooling and other expenses. National Education Association President Lily Eskelsen García said, “Hypocrisy is at the heart of the...

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Member Resources

6 Keys to Engaging Families in ESSA

National PTA has identified six critical ways states, school districts and schools should be engaging parents and families as part of ESSA or any new education initiative. Learn what they are, and use their new rubric to evaluate how your state, school district and school are doing.

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ESSA and Professional Learning

The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) includes many provisions that influence how educators experience professional learning. Learning Forward offers several resources related to ESSA to help educators at all levels advocate and implement meaningfully, including: A New Vision For Professional Learning: A Toolkit to Help States Use ESSA to Advance...

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