New education law will shift control to states and schools

The coming overhaul of the nation’s education law is not a “federal mandate,” State Superintendent Steve Canavero told the Clark County School Board on Wednesday.

He’s urging Nevadans to get involved as schools make plans to operate under the Every Student Succeeds Act during the yearlong transition in 2016-17. The federal law is a reauthorization of the the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.

The new law gives states and school districts far more control than its “prescriptive” predecessor, the No Child Left Behind Act, Canavero said.

Nevada isn’t waiting for the U.S. Department of Education to make the rules, either. The state is already working to define goals for students and put them in education policy. It’ll adjust its rules to fit the federal regulations once they come out.

“This is really about Nevada’s priorities,” Canavero said.

When the law takes full effect in 2017-18, states will come up with goals for students. Nevada gets to set the bar for passing tests, learning English and graduation rates and decide how much each mark matters. It will no longer have to grade teachers according to student scores.

The law gets rid of mandates for student progress, proficiency targets, failing school interventions and requirements for highly-qualified teachers. It focuses on making sure students from every ZIP code have equal learning opportunities.

Although the states have more control, federal policy continues to align with efforts to prepare all students, setting priorities for literacy, math and early education.

Canavero wants to see Nevada go beyond making sure students have paths to college. He’d hopes to find ways to prepare them to earn a living wage with a trade after high school.

School Board President Linda Young said she often hears complaints that schools aren’t graduating workers with skills needed to succeed on the job.

“We’re in a real crisis,” she said.

The state will have more flexibility to teach students skills that industries demand under the new policy.

Canavero is looking for ways to leverage federal money to better the state’s schools. He said the new law loosens restrictions on how local, state and money can be used to serve students who have special needs, difficulty learning English or low incomes.

He hopes people will share their ideas to help figure out the future of Nevada education.

“We all want the same thing for our kids,” he said. “How we get there is the question.”

Contact Amy Nile at anile@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3871. Find @AmyNileReports on Twitter.