Heidi Alexander: “So there is no confusion, let me clearly state what that timeline is. No. 1, States should continue to submit State…”

“So there is no confusion, let me clearly state what that timeline is. No. 1, States should continue to submit State accountability plans by the April or September 2017 deadlines. No. 2, States should continue to implement a State accountability system in the 2017-2018 school year. No. 3, States should continue to identify the lowest performing schools in need of comprehensive support and improvement by the beginning of the 2018-2019 school year. To write these plans, States need simply to consult the law. The Every Student Succeeds Act requires States to submit a plan for peer review and approval by Secretary DeVos and the Education Department. The Department is committed to working with States by providing technical assistance, issuing non-regulatory guidance and other support materials. If questions arise, there are a variety of ways to answer the questions. The Department will continue to provide States with clarification on how to comply with the law through the use of non- regulatory guidance, ``Dear Colleague'' letters, frequently asked questions documents, webinars, phone calls, and in-person conferences. In other words, if there are any questions about how to comply with the new law, there are plenty of ways for Chief State School Officers and others to ask the U.S. Department of Education to provide the answers. It is important to emphasize that this resolution does not in any way give the Education Secretary a path to creating a new Federal voucher program.…”