Governor Phil Murphy • Lt. Governor Tahesha Way

ESSA State Plan

The revised 2024 ESSA State Plan was submitted to USED on December 9, 2024, and is currently under review. The NJDOE will provide updates as needed. The 2017 Approved ESSA State Plan and the 2024 ESSA State Plan are linked below.

Supporting Documents

2024 NJ ESSA State Plan:

Approved ESSA State Plan: Redlined version reflects a limited set of amendments.

ESSA State Plan Approval Letter (2023)

ESSA State Plan Approval Letter (2017)

​U.S. Department of Education ESSA Regulations and Guidance ​

​Transition Timeline

Timeline: ESSA Implementation
Date Federal State
2024 USED approves updated 2024 ESSA State Plan. In consultation with New Jersey stakeholders, NJDOE developed and submitted revisions to the ESSA State Plan.
2023 USED approves limited amendments to the ESSA State Plan. NJDOE implements updated ESSA State Planand begins to gather feedback to continually improve its implementation of the ESSA State Plan.
2022 USED notifies states that they must submit amendments to their state plans to reflect implementation of changes following the COVID-19 emergency. NJDOE resumes implementation of ESSA school accountability system.
2021 USED requests states to submit an Addendum to account for one-year changes to their accountability systems. NJDOE submits a COVID-19 State Plan Addendum, with a waiver to delay school identification until fall 2022.
2020 USED waived assessment, accountability, and school identification requirements under ESSA. NJDOE requests a waiver to delay school identification until fall 2021.
2019 USED publishes the results of its 2018 Performance Review of New Jersey’s implementation of its ESSA State Plan. NJDOE begins responses to all inquiries and submits evidence of required changes through 2023.
2017 USED reviews and approves ESSA State Plan submitted in May. ESSA State Plan goes into effect, stakeholder engagement remains ongoing.

Archived State Plan Resources