The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) is federal education legislation that provides funding to local educational agencies (LEAs). It was signed into law in 1965 by President Lyndon B. Johnson and has been reauthorized over the years to meet the changing needs of LEAs. The latest iteration of ESEA, known as the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), was signed into law by President Barack Obama on December 10, 2015. ESSA replaced the previous version of ESEA called, “No Child Left Behind (NCLB)” and includes provisions that will help to ensure success for students and schools.
ESSA required each state to develop and implement a state plan in consultation with critical partners. Wisconsin’s plan is available on this webpage: Wisconsin's ESSA State Plan
ESSA Highlights
On an annual basis, ESSA provides more than $260 million in federal, non-competitive funding to supplement state and local funding in all LEAs in Wisconsin. Private schools in Wisconsin may choose to work with their local LEA to participate in ESSA funded services. LEAs determine how best to use these funds in accordance with ESSA. The Local Educational Agency (LEA) Implementation webpage provide a summary of the ESSA grants available to LEAs.
The ESSA Dashboard in WISEdash displays the accountability data required in ESSA for all public schools to improve student achievement and school success.
ESSA requires DPI to identify three categories of schools: (1) those needing comprehensive support and improvement (CSI); (2) those needing targeted support and improvement (TSI); and (3) those needing additional targeted support and improvement (ATSI). ESSA identified schools must develop and implement improvement plans to address root causes related to their identification and DPI provides a range of supports for these improvement efforts.
Resources
U.S. Department of Education ESSA - Full Version
U.S. Department of Education ESSA Website
For questions about this information, contact dpi.title1@dpi.wi.gov.