The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) was signed into law on December 10, 2015. The U.S. Department of Education approved Maryland's ESSA plan on January 16, 2018. The plan sets into place improvement targets for schools and systems, and outlines assistance programs for schools not meeting the grade. Maryland developed its ESSA plan after unprecedented outreach to citizens across the State.
Flexibility in K-12 Education Funding
Authorized under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act
Approved for Maryland
Due to the extraordinary circumstances created by the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting school closures, the U.S. Department of Education offered
Flexibility for States in K-12 Education Funding, in particular the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA). This flexibility is authorized under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. On April 14, 2020, Dr. Karen Salmon, State Superintendent of Schools, submitted Maryland’s waiver request to the U.S. Department of Education for the allowable flexibility and received approval.
Through these waivers, Maryland is able to approve a local school system to carry over more than 15 percent of its
Title I, Part A Improving Academic Improvement for the Disadvantaged Grant funds, even if the school system had received approval to exceed this limitation in the past three years. Maryland is able to extend for itself and its local school systems the period of availability of FY 2018 funds for programs included in Maryland’s consolidated State plan to allow additional time to obligate those funds. Maryland is able to permit a school system to use its
Title IV, Part A, Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grant funds to best meet its needs without regard to content-area spending requirements, spending limits on technology infrastructure, or completing a needs assessment. Finally, by waiving the definition of professional development, Maryland and the local school systems will be able to conduct time-sensitive, one-time, or stand-alone professional development focused on supporting educators to provide effective distance learning.
Flexibility for States on the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA)
Assessment and Accountability Requirements
Due to the extraordinary circumstances created by the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting school closures, the U.S. Department of Education offered
Flexibility for States on the Elementary and Secondary Education Act Assessment and Accountability Requirements. The
letter from the U.S. Department of Education can be found at:
https://www2.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/secletter/200320.html. On March 24, 2020, Dr. Karen Salmon, State Superintendent of Schools, submitted Maryland’s waiver request to the U.S. Department of Education for the allowable Flexibility. Following this request, Dr. Salmon received the official letter of approval dated March 27, 2020, from the Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education, U.S. Department of Education. A copy of each letter is available for review.
Through the waiver, Maryland will not need to administer its statewide assessments to all students in the 2019-2020 school year, or make annual accountability determinations, identify schools for support and improvement, or provide data on Maryland’s and local report cards for assessment and accountability information based on the 2019-2020 data.
New Maryland Report Card is Now Available
The 2018-19 Maryland Report Card provides parents and educators with the most complete picture of school and school system performance in State history. Take a look:
MdReportCard.org
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Using the Maryland Report Card
The new
Maryland Report Card provides a variety of information of interest to both educators and parents. This short video provides a helpful guide to navigating the site.
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