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)

State Plan Overview

Learn about New Jersey’s approach to improve school and district accountability in an effort to close the achievement gap and raise overall student performance throughout the State.

ESSA State Plan Fact Sheet
U.S. Department of Education ESSA Regulations and Guidance

Transition Timeline

Timeline: ESSA Implementation
Date	Federal	State	District
2017	USED reviews and approves ESSA State Plan submitted in May.	ESSA State Plan goes into effect, stakeholder engagement remains ongoing.	Districts receive updated spending guidance from NJDOE. Districts receive allocations from NJDOE, apply for grants, and spend under ESSA formulas.
2020	USED waived assessment, accountability, and school identification requirements under ESSA.	NJDOE requests a waiver to delay school identification until fall 2021.	District receive updates and continue spending entitlement funding.
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.	Districts receive ESSER funding. Spending of entitlement funds continues.
2022	USED notified 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.	Districts have the ability to review their data for all indicators in the accountability system through the redesigned ESSA Accountability Profiles.
2023	USED approves limited amendments to the ESSA State Plan.	NJDOE implements updated ESSA State Plan and begins to gather feedback to continually improve its implementation of the ESSA State Plan.	Districts continue to receive updates regarding the implementation and to provide feedback as needed.