ESSA Implementation and Music Education: Opportunities Abound
Introduction
In December 2015, the U.S. Congress authorized a new version of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), titled the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). Originally signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1965, ESEA is the federal government’s most extensive statute addressing primary and secondary education. The intent of the legislation is to provide supplemental funds and programs to serve low-income students and enable State and Local Educational Agencies (LEAs, or school districts) to improve the quality of elementary and secondary education.
The National Association for Music Education (NAfME) encourages you to begin conversing with your potential partners to make these opportunities a reality in your school and community. Please find following some of our suggestions, both for individual music educators and for state music education associations, on how you can make this happen, as well as the language from ESSA that can support your endeavors.