Official Site of The State of New Jersey
The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) replaced No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965. ESSA is meant to ensure that all students have equitable access to high-quality educational resources and opportunities.
New Jersey’s ESSA State Plan (ESSA State Plan) describes some of the New Jersey Department of Education’s (NJDOE) work to ensure all students are able to graduate high school ready for college and career. Funding from ESSA is intended to support programs, services, and activities that are supplemental to the work states are already doing on behalf of students.
During the 2022-2023 school year, the NJDOE engaged with the United States Department of Education (USED) to amend its ESSA State Plan to reflect implementation changes following the COVID-19 emergency and additional changes that have been required since the original plan was approved in 2017.
The amendments are limited in scope and reflect changes that have already been made related to: 1) The approved short-term amendments to the ESSA State Plan, which was based on the 2021-2022 Addendum for the Consolidated State Plan due to COVID-19; 2) The current assessment system (e.g., replacing PARCC assessments with the New Jersey Student Learning Assessment); 3) The New Jersey Performance Review Report FY 2019; and 4) The corrective action plan issued by USED for the Migrant Education Program (MEP) in 2017.
ESSA includes provisions that will help to ensure success for students and schools. Below are just a few. The law:
- Advances equity by upholding critical protections for America's disadvantaged and high-need students.
- Ensures that vital information is provided to educators, families, students, and communities through annual statewide assessments that measure students' progress toward those high standards.
- Requires states to implement an accountability system designed to identify the schools in need of the most support and resources.
- Helps to support and grow local innovations—including evidence-based and place-based interventions developed by local leaders and educators—consistent with our Investing in Innovation and Promise Neighborhoods.
- Sustains and expands this administration's historic investments in increasing access to high-quality preschool.
As a result of the ongoing challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE) submitted requests to the U.S. Department of Education (USED) to waive the requirement that limits NJDOE’s ability to grant to LEAs a waiver of the 15 percent Title I, Part A carryover limitation in section 1127(a) to once every three years.
| Title I, Part A Fiscal Year | Waiver Request | Waiver Approval |
|---|---|---|
| FY 2019-20 | COVID-19 Fiscal Waiver Request | USED 2019-2020 NJ Fiscal Waiver Approval |
| FY 2020-21 | COVID-19 Fiscal Waiver Request | USED 2020-2021 NJ Fiscal Waiver Approval |
| FY 2021-22 | COVID-19 Fiscal Waiver Request | USED 2021-2022 NJ Fiscal Waiver Approval |
Note: LEAs that received a FFY 2021 (Grant period 2021-2022) carryover waiver from NJDOE will not be eligible to apply for a carryover waiver from NJDOE again until FFY 2024 (Grant period 2024-2025).
For more information about the Federal Funding Flexibility Waivers, please refer to the Uses of Federal ESEA Funds during Mandated COVID-19 School Closure web page.
The United States Department of Education (USED) has approved the New Jersey Department of Education’s (NJDOE) waiver requests and Addendum request for temporary flexibility in implementing components of the state’s ESSA accountability system and the process for identification of schools in need of the most comprehensive and targeted supports due to COVID-19.
| Request | Approval Letter | Associated Broadcast |
|---|---|---|
| 2019-2020 waiver of statewide assessment, accountability, and reporting requirements | March 27, 2020 USED Approval Letter | April 30, 2020 broadcast |
| 2020-2021 waiver of accountability, school identification, and related reporting requirements | March 26, 2021 USED Approval Letter | February 19, 2021 broadcast |
| 2022 Addendum for the Consolidated State Plan due to COVID-19 | April 22, 2022 USED Approval Letter | February 16, 2022 broadcast |
The associated broadcast for each request outlines the flexibilities that were requested and how the approved request impacts reporting and school accountability under ESSA.
To support continued implementation of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), the United States Department of Education (USED) conducted a Performance Review of the New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE)’s compliance with federal fiscal requirements in October 2019.
The primary goal of the review was to ensure that implementation of ESSA provisions related to school accountability, school improvement, and programmatic and fiscal rules for Titles I, II, III, and V is consistent with the fiscal, administrative, and program requirements contained in the Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards (Uniform Guidance: 2 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 200); the Education Department General Administrative Requirements (EDGAR); and the ESEA.
The final performance report issued by USED in April 2020: Final Performance Report
The complete listing of the required actions and their status to date: 2020 Federal Performance Report – Required Actions
Required actions taken to meet USED requirements: Changes to the Calculation of the Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate (ACGR) Fact Sheet. Additional information regarding the ACGR is available on the Special Education webpage.