Committee for Children Blog

Everything You Need to Know About ESSA: Part 3 of 3

This is the third of three blog posts that focus on how the new federal education law, known as the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), will affect the work of Committee for Children. 

As discussed in the earlier blog posts in this series, Committee for Children and its advocacy partners were pleasantly surprised when the U.S. Congress was able to pass the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) late last year. The bill replaces the outdated No Child Left Behind Act and sets federal policy related to K–12 education. We’re thankful and encouraged that ESSA includes many of the provisions we’ve championed over the years with our partners.

Committee for Children has three key pillars that guide its work and advocacy: 

  1. Social-emotional learning
  2. Bullying prevention
  3. Child protection

This post provides more details on how the ESSA affects each of these three areas.

I. Social-Emotional Learning
Social-emotional learning refers to programs that teach children self-control, to resolve conflicts, to work with others, and to make responsible decisions to avoid risky behaviors. These skills can be taught, learned, and measured. SEL skills are essential for students to succeed in school and in life. 

Although the ESSA doesn’t create a specific funding stream to support SEL programs, there are some broad themes in the law that will most certainly promote SEL in K–12 schools across the country. ESSA provides states with significant flexibility to design new accountability systems that align with their vision of school success. While current accountability systems focus primarily on standardized test scores, the new systems can include multiple measures and must include at least one “nonacademic” factor, such as SEL competencies, student engagement, or school climate.

ESSA also funds a $250 million early learning program that will be jointly administered by the U.S. Department of Education and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. SEL skills, such as the ability to regulate emotions or get along with peers, are central in preparing children for school and for success in later life, and will be incorporated into preschool programs funded through this new grant. 

Now our advocacy work turns to encouraging states to use SEL skills as one of the nonacademic factors in their new accountability systems. We don’t want SEL to become part of high-stakes testing and a punitive accountability system, but it’s time for SEL to be measured and included as part of a more nuanced, holistic picture of how students and schools are performing. Measuring SEL can play a role in supporting individual students and bringing about a change in school climate. 

2. Bullying Prevention
Committee for Children focuses on bullying prevention, because children can’t succeed in school if it’s unsafe for them. Schools are struggling to figure out how best to address bullying and provide safe and respectful learning environments for all students. 

For many years, schools were able to support bullying prevention programs through the federal Safe and Drug Free Schools (SDFS) program. When funding for this program dried up five years ago, many bullying prevention programs disappeared as well. Thankfully, ESSA includes a new block grant that will potentially provide schools with even more funding compared to when SDFS was at its peak. The new grant is called the Student Support and Academic Enrichment Program and will be awarded to schools based on formula (no competition necessary). Grants are to “improve conditions for learning in order to create a healthy and safe school environment.” The law specifically lists bullying prevention as a type of program that should be funded through the new grant. Programs that develop relationship-building skills and effective communication between students could also be supported through the new funding stream.

Committee for Children will continue to advocate in support of the full authorized amount of $1.65 billion for the Student Support and Academic Enrichment Program. If less than the full $1.65 billion is provided, then it’s likely the program will revert back to a competition and award funding only to select schools. We want ALL school districts to receive funding and take steps to reduce bullying and make schools safer!

3. Child Protection

Finally, Committee for Children is committed to preventing child sexual abuse. Educators are uniquely positioned to notice the signs of abuse and often are the people to whom children report sexual abuse. Schools play a crucial role in preventing this type of abuse.

Committee for Children has been a vocal advocate in support of legislative language that would specifically include sexual abuse prevention as an allowable use of funds for existing federal funding streams. CFC worked with lawmakers such as Senator Diane Feinstein (D-CA) and Congressman Mark Takano (D-CA) on introducing and supporting bills that would achieve this goal. We’re extremely gratified that ESSA includes the language we’ve worked for years to enact. The law indicates that funds through Title II (a $3 billion block grant for professional development) can and should be used for “child sexual abuse awareness and prevention, including how to recognize child sexual abuse and how to discuss child sexual abuse with a child.” 

Now our work will focus on reaching out to state education agencies and school districts to make sure they are aware of this new language and encourage them to take steps toward prevention.

 

Guest blogger Jon Terry has contributed this series. Jon Terry is president of Capitol Youth Strategies LLC and is an advocacy consultant for Committee for Children. He is a former Congressional staffer and also served as head of federal government relations in the YMCA of the USA’s office in Washington, DC.