With a strong bipartisan vote of 359 to 64, the House of Representatives passed the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) on December 2, 2015. For the past few years, NCEA has been working with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Council for American Private Education to educate lawmakers on the inequity in the current No Child Left Behind law (now called ESEA) regarding participation of students and teachers in religious and private schools.
Since 1965 students, teachers and other private and religious school personnel have been participating in programs authorized under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). Since the passage on No Child Left Behind Act, (NCLB) in 2001, the benefits available to those in private schools have diminished significantly due to funding formulas in the last reauthorization and their interpretations in U.S. Department of Education regulations and policy.
Under NCLB public school districts are allowed to set aside up to 40% of funds for public school use only prior to determining the equitable share the law requires be spent on students and teachers in religious and private schools. ESSA’s clear and specific language pertaining to equitable services calculations based on the total share of the allocations, prior to set asides, and the strong consultation requirements of the school districts with the private school personnel are significant factors in restoring the equity that has long been part of the ESEA tradition of providing benefits to our students and teachers.
The Senate is scheduled to take up the bill next week and the president has indicated he will sign it. Thank you to all our members who have assisted in this long process of educating lawmakers and helping to bring the bill close to the finish line!
