Media Contact: Fred Lewis - (202) 412-2167; [email protected]

The District of Columbia’s Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) announced today that the US Department of Education (USED) has approved DC’s Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) State Plan.

The creation of the plan was informed by rigorous engagement with local education agencies, state board of education, parents, educators, and advocates. DC’s state plan is focused on continuing progress for all students, and accelerating growth for the students who are furthest behind. The plan:

• Establishes a common and consistent system of school transparency, called the STAR Framework, for all public schools in DC.
• Affirms the important role that school environment factors play in increasing student achievement. The plan includes concrete, quantifiable measures that provide important indicators of how schools are engaging and supporting students.
• Broadens our view of school performance by ensuring that schools support all students, whether they need access to more challenging programs or need extra time to graduate from high school.
• Includes measures of quality for our preschool classrooms which highlights the importance of early childhood and reflects the commitment we’ve made to universal pre-Kindergarten.

“We are pleased that the Department of Education has approved DC’s state plan. The plan is guided by our commitment to providing equitable access to high quality education for all students and flexibility for our schools to meet the unique needs of all students,” said State Superintendent of Education Hanseul Kang. “This plan is the right one for DC and I am proud that it was informed by thorough engagement with partners and community members.”

OSSE has already begun implementation of the work described in the state plan including beginning development of DC’s new state report card which will include substantive parent engagement this fall.

DC’s ESSA State Plan is available on OSSE’s website at https://osse.dc.gov/essa.