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Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)
Colorado's ESSA State Plan
In December of 2015, the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) was signed into law. The title of the reauthorized legislation, which replaces the No Child Left Behind Act, is the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). The passage of ESSA provides a much anticipated opportunity to improve outcomes for all students and gives states more flexibility and decision-making power at the local level. This law also requires states to develop plans that address standards, assessments, school and district accountability and special help for struggling schools. You can read the Every Student Succeeds Act here.
As part of ESSA, each state had to conduct significant outreach to collect input for their plans. The Colorado Department of Education (CDE) engaged with thousands of Coloradans in the development of the plan through 2016 and the early part of 2017. This process provided Coloradans a chance to closely examine the state’s education system, adjust some priorities and gather feedback about what is working and what should be changed. Please visit our Hub and Spoke Committees pages and the ESSA Feedback page to read about the process and comments received throughout stakeholder engagement. CDE also releases an overview of Colorado’s ESSA state plan. This ESSA summary report is intended to provide a clear explanation of the issues addressed in Colorado’s plan.
On May 9, 2017, CDE submitted Colorado’s ESSA state plan and went through a number of revisions as state officials worked with federal reviewers to clarify how the state plans met with ESSA’s statutory requirements. Colorado's state plan was approved by USDE on May 7, 2018.
- Final ESSA State Plan (PDF) (Approved May 7, 2018) [Note: Revised on Nov 8, 2018 to fix an error in Appendix A data table]
- ESSA State Plan Approval Letter (PDF) (May 7, 2018)
- ESSA Assurances (PDF) (June, 2017)
- Stakeholder Feedback on Colorado's ESSA State Plan Draft (Archive)
- Colorado's ESSA Listening Tour (Archive)
Key ESSA Resources and Links
Colorado's ESSA State Plan
- Final ESSA State Plan (PDF) (Approved May 7, 2018) [Note: Revised on Nov 8, 2018 to fix an error in Appendix A data table]
Communication and Feedback from the U.S. Department of Education
- ESSA State Plan Approval Letter (PDF) (May 7, 2018)
- USDE Response to Colorado's Request for Additional Time to Submit State Plan (PDF) (September 6, 2017)
- USDE Interim Feedback letter on Colorado's ESSA State Plan (PDF) (August 11, 2017)
Archive of Spoke Committee Webpages
Archive of Resources
ESSA News at CDE
- ESSA E-newsletter archive
- USDE Response to Colorado's Request for Additional Time to Submit State Plan (PDF) (September 6, 2017)
- ESSA Plan Response Letter from Commissioner Anthes (PDF) (August 24, 2017)
- USDE Interim Feedback letter on Colorado's ESSA State Plan (PDF) (August 11, 2017)
- Update on ESSA State Plan Development (PDF) (August 19, 2016)
- View proposed regulations for ESSA and collected comments from CDE
- CDE submitted comments on ESSA accountability and state plan proposed rules (PDF) (August 1, 2016)
- Letter response sent to Secretary King on ESSA accountability and state plan proposed rules (PDF) (July 27, 2016)
- ESSA Committee Work and State Plan Development Memo - July 2016 (PDF)
- News Release - Interim Commissioner of Education Elliott Asp statement on Every Student Succeeds Act
- NCLB to ESSA Transition Update (PDF)
Previous versions of Colorado's ESSA State Plan
- ESSA State Plan Second Revision (WORD) (Submitted February, 2018)
- ESSA State Plan Revised (PDF) (Submitted October 23, 2017)
- ESSA State Plan (Word) (Updated May 9, 2017)
- ESSA Summary Report (PDF) (April, 2017)
USDE Guidance and Regulatory Information
- ESSA Consolidated State Plan Guidance Page
- Accountability Under Title I, Part A of the ESEA: Frequently Asked Questions (PDF) (January 2017)
- ESSA Accountability for English Learners under the ESEA: Non-Regulatory Guidance (PDF) (January 2017)
- ESSA State and Local Report Cards Non-Regulatory Guidance (PDF) (January 2017)
- ESSA High School Graduation Rate Non-Regulatory Guidance (PDF) (January 2017)
- Final Regulations for Assessments Title I, Part A and Title I, Part B (PDF) (December, 2016)
- Fiscal Changes and Equitable Services Requirements (PDF) (November, 2016)
- Title IV, Part A Guidance from USDE (PDF) (October, 2016)
- Early Learning Guidance from USDE (PDF) (October, 2016)
- Title II Guidance from USDE (PDF) (September, 2016)
- Title III Guidance from USDE (PDF) (September, 2016)
- Evidence Guidance from USDE (PDF) (September, 2016)
- ESSA Frequently Asked Questions (PDF) (January, 2017)
- Read more on ESSA
You can e-mail your questions and comments to ESSAquestions@cde.state.co.us.
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