The New Jersey Department of Education announced in an advisory that the United States Department of Education has approved its redlined changes to the New Jersey Every Student Succeeds Act state plan.
The state plan describes New Jersey’s approach to meeting federal accountability requirements and was first approved by the USDOE in 2017 following the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act through ESSA.
As explained in a July 2023 advisory, the approved redlined changes were limited to: (1) changes needed to reflect the approved short-term amendments to the state plan, based on the 2021-2022 Addendum for the Consolidated State Plan Due to COVID-19; (2) changes made to the current assessment system; (3) changes needed to reflect the New Jersey Performance Review Report for Fiscal Year 2019; and (4) the corrective action plan issued by the USDOE for the Migrant Education Program in 2017.
Continually Improving the ESSA State Plan
To ensure the state plan reflects New Jersey’s students’ and schools’ current needs, the NJDOE is reviewing and revising the entirety of the ESSA state plan. The NJDOE is inviting diverse groups of stakeholders to discuss ways the NJDOE may continually improve schools that require targeted support and resources. Following meaningful engagement with stakeholders, the NJDOE expects to then submit an updated state plan to the USDOE in 2024.
Stakeholder Engagement
The NJDOE will convene a central ESSA Stakeholder Working Group that will represent a variety of professional, family and community organizations. The Stakeholder Working Group will review the NJDOE’s proposed changes through a series of alternating in-person and virtual meetings starting the second week in January and occurring through February 2024.
Additionally, individuals interested in engaging on this topic and collaborating with the NJDOE to improve the efficacy of the state plan may register for upcoming webinars and focus groups, posted on the NJDOE events page.
For general ESSA information and resources, please see the ESSA webpage, and for questions or to sign up for email updates about the ESSA revision project, email the NJDOE.