By Donald Litman, JD, MFS Education Law Attorney The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) was signed by President Obama on December 10, 2015, and represents a policy change for our nation’s schools. This bipartisan measure reauthorized the 50-year-old Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), the nation’s national education law and longstanding commitment to equal opportunity for all students, and it contemporaneously with federal budget compromises eliminated the federal government’s involvement in curriculum oversight. Eight years after the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) was due for reauthorization, Congress has revamped the law widely described as “broken,” “loathed,” and “much
THE SHOCKING WAYS SCHOOLS FAIL STUDENTS WHO ARE LGBTQ+ Students who are LGBTQ+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Queer, Plus) face discrimination and harassment daily at school, by both students and adults (13). All research indicates that a school’s climate has a direct impact on a student’s academic and social outcomes, yet schools continue to be unsafe and inhospitable to students who are LGBTQ+. A 7%-11% (8) prevalence of students who are LGBTQ+ occurs in our public and private schools and they continue to not be allowed to freely achieve academic success and progress, as compared to other students. They are denied equal access to their education due to hostile environments, intimidation
