Briefs for Policymakers

With the new Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), State education agencies (SEA) have a great opportunity to revisit and update their state-wide school improvement plans. A particularly important emphasis of ESSA is school climate and safety, which are so integrally linked to academic achievement, active student and teacher engagement, and tiered systems of support for all students, but especially students with high failure risk (e.g., students with disabilities English language learners, students from disadvantaged and diverse backgrounds and environments).