Abstract
Editor’s Note: In this third Rural Education Policy Brief, we share the Transition Memo originally published by AASA: The School Superintendents Association. The National Rural Education Association partners with AASA and other state and national organizations to advocate for rural education through the National Rural Education Advocacy Coalition. The NREAC monitors federal policy and lobbies about issues that impact rural schools. Each spring, the NREAC develops a legislative agenda. Readers can learn more about the NREAC at their website: http://www.aasa.org/content.aspx?id=17140. On January 10, 2017, AASA released its Transition Memo to President Trump and his administration, summarizing key issues and steps the administration can take to support public education. Because the Transition Memo succinctly addresses several national policy issues of particular relevance to rural educators, the AASA Transition Memo is reprinted here, in its entirety.
Highlights
Dear President-Elect Trump, As you begin to think more deeply about your policies and priorities for improving the education of students in the United States, AASA, The School Superintendents Association stands ready to work with you and your Secretaries to ensure the 13,000 school districts we represent and the children they educate are well-served by your Administration
Throughout our more than 150 years, AASA has advocated for the highest quality public education for all students, and provided programing to develop and support school system leaders
State and local education agencies are deeply involved in efforts to implement the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)
Summary
State and local education agencies are deeply involved in efforts to implement the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). Guidance and technical assistance designed to support implementation have been released by the Obama administration, certain proposals have run counter to the spirit and intent of the underlying statute and act to undermine the state and local flexibility intended by law makers. The SNS rule as it is currently drafted substantially limits how school districts and schools may allocate resources, restricting and even undermining the ways in which Title I can support at-risk students. The proposal glosses over the realities of school finance, the reality of how and when funds are allocated, the extent to which districts do or do not have complete flexibility, the patterns of teacher sorting and hiring, and the likelihood that many students would experience the rule, as drafted, in a way that undermines intentional, evidence-based efforts aimed at increasing education equity. What you can do: We believe that a simple path the administration could follow in supporting state and local flexibility is to default to the underlying statute (which includes a test auditors could use) and refrain from additional unnecessary prescription
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