Dive Brief:

• A new survey of 266 K-12 administrators by Catapult Learning Inc. found that around half believed the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) will have significant consequences for American schools.
• Some 55% said that they expect the new law to significantly affect systems in the 2016-17 academic year, while 17% believed that ESSA will not have a major impact.
• The two most common answers to an open-ended question on which factors educators believe helped their school systems to succeed were "being able to meet student needs" and "leadership."

Dive Insight:

It is surprising that 17% or respondents said the federal education law would not have major implications for their districts, as there are many changes coming. New flexibility offered under the legislation can be exploited to the advantage of district and state needs, meaning that some leaders are encouraging more creative uses of Title I and other funding under the law. One of its new requirements mandates that federal Title I-A funds supplement state and local resources as opposed to supplanting them. That language stems from concerns that higher federal funding could lead states to use less of their own funds on education.

ESSA also makes existing Preschool Development Grants permanent. A study from Duke University reported that universal preschool programs actually save money for states, since they result in a lower number of students being placed in special education programs later. The consequences of expanded pre-K will likely be positive for many students.