Regents Board Backs Down on proposed ESSA Regulations

When the draft regulations were proposed, we informed our members about the comment period and they responded with hundreds of letters. Because you and so many other members raised your voices, Chancellor Rosa and the Regents today adopted policies to defend parents’ right to opt their children out of flawed standardized tests without penalty or pressure. Specifically, the Regents;

• Ensured the commissioner would not be able to order school districts with low test participation rates to redirect Title I funds away from the classroom.
• Improved regulations to make it easier for school districts to exit state accountability lists if students are otherwise meeting academic performance targets but still have low test participation rates.
• Prevented the commissioner from designating schools with low test participation rates as SURR schools.

While much more work remains, this is a major victory on behalf of our members.

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