The California Association of Private School Organizations is the voice of K-12 private education in California. Its primary mission is to preserve the independence of California’s private schools and to uphold parental choice in education.
Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)
ESSA
Every Student Succeeds Act
Page Guide
7.
What is ESSA and how does it apply to private schools?
ESSA is an abbreviation of the “Every Student Succeeds Act,” one of the nation’s major federal education laws. ESSA, NCLB, and ESEA all refer to the same law.
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The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) was established in 1965 as a component of president Lyndon Johnson’s “War on Poverty” legislative program. More than 40 years later, ESEA remains the nation’s most important federal education law, and the single largest source of federal aid to K-12 schools nationwide.
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Reauthorization
In December, 2015 the U.S. Congress reauthorized ESEA as the “Every Student Succeeds Act.” Whenever ESEA is reauthorized, which means that it is rewritten and re-enacted in its new form – it receives a new “nickname.” When ESEA was reauthorized in 2001, it was called the “No Child Left Behind” act (NCLB).
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The “Child Benefit Theory”
From its inception in 1965, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act has made various forms of assistance available to children enrolled in America’s private schools. To uphold the integrity of constitutional church-state separation protections, the benefits offered by ESEA/ESSA are provided in a manner that assures that they accrue to children, rather than private schools, per se, and that the services are of a secular, neutral, and non-ideological nature. In short, the assistance provided by ESSA is intended to help kids, not schools.
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Private Schools Don’t Receive Government Funding
The U.S. Department of Education does not regard private schools whose students and educators participate in one or more ESSA programs to be recipients of federal financial assistance. That is because in almost every instance the funds that pay for the services in question remain under the stewardship of a public entity – generally a public school district, or state department of education. These units of government either provide the services received by private school students and educators, directly, or contract with third-party providers to furnish the services. Third-party providers are often recommended by private school officials.
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Must Private Schools Participate?
No. Participation in ESSA programs is purely voluntary. No private school is required to participate, and there are no penalties for declining to do so. However, before saying “No thank you!” it’s a good idea to learn about the programs and services that are available, as well as the accompanying procedures established by ESSA to ensure the best possible fit between the particular needs of a private school’s students and educators, and the federally funded services to be offered. That end is accomplished through the process of consultation.
Although private schools are free to decline, the law requires public school districts to reach out to officials of every nonprofit private school located within their boundaries to explain the programs and services made available through ESSA, and to invite the participation of private school students and educators. If you have not heard from your public district LEA, take initiative! Reach out to the LEA for the public school district in which your site resites and request a meeting.
All private schools will be eligible for some portions of ESSA.
A quick guide to understanding eligibility, services, and process by title is below. ​
Can Every Private School Pursue ESSA?
Title 1, Part A
Click video to view content
Click document to access full Title 1A Resource
Click video to view content
Title I Service for Private School Children, CDE Webpage of Resources for Title I
Title II, Part A
Click video to view content
Title II Service for Private School Children,
CDE Webpage of Resources for Title II
Click document to access full Title 2 Resource
Title III, Part A
Title IV
Click document to access full Title 3 Resource
Click document to access full Title 4 Resource
Title III Service for Private School Children,
CDE Webpage of Resources for Title III
Title IV Service for Private School Children, CDE Webpage of Resources for Title IV
The Consultation Process
Below is an overview of the typical process and timeline for private schools participating in ESSA. When you are ready to begin, consider using the ESSA resource document linked at the bottom of this page to support your engagement with the LEA.
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Click documents to access full Checklist and Timeline Document
A Note on ESSA Consultation
If private school officials decide that their students and educators will participate in ESSA programs, consultation becomes an ongoing process that continues throughout the implementation and assessment of the services provided.
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It is hard to overestimate the importance of consultation. Without it, private school leaders may not gain awareness of the range of federally funded programs and services that are available to their students and teachers, nor will they know how much money is available for each program. When consultation is provided in a timely and meaningful manner, available resources can be used in a planned manner and to maximum benefit.
What should consultation include?
One important new feature of ESSA is that the statute says that public and private school officials, “…shall both have the goal of reaching agreement on how to provide equitable and effective programs for eligible private school children…” (ESSA §1117(b)(1) and §8501(c)(1)). When discussions focus on Title I services, the law requires the results of whatever agreement is reached to be transmitted to the ombudsman to be designated by the California Department of Education. This is another new and significant provision of ESSA that will be of assistance if, at a later date, the parties to a particular consultation should hold differing views about what was agreed to.
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ESSA says that consultation should lead to the goal of reaching mutual agreement on issues such as:
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how student’s needs will be identified;
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what services will be offered;
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how, where, and by whom the services will be provided;
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how the services will be assessed, and how the results of the assessment will be used to improve services;
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the size and scope of the equitable services to be provided, the amount of funds available for services, and how that amount was determined;
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how and when a public school district (or other entity) will make decisions about the delivery of services, including a thorough consideration and analysis of the views of private school officials on the provision of services through potential third-party providers; and,
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whether to provide services by pooling funds so as to serve children from various school groupings. (ESSA §1117(b) and §8501(c))
Written Affirmation
At the conclusion of a consultative meeting, private school officials will be handed a form which they will be asked to date and sign. The law requires LEAs to document in writing that meaningful consultation has occurred, and to transmit the written affirmations to state departments of education.
If a private school official doesn’t believe the consultation to have been meaningful, he/she should not agree to sign the affirmation. For example, if a district only invites private school educators to participate in Title II, Part A professional development programs and activities developed for its public school teachers and/or principals and refuses to create additional programs tailored to the particular needs of private schools, that’s not meaningful consultation. The same will be true if a district fails to follow the new statutory requirements governing the manner in which the proportionate share of funding for private school students and educators is calculated for the 2017-18 school year.
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When ESSA’s new provisions go into effect (in 2017-18), the affirmation form will be required to “…provide the option for private school officials to indicate such officials’ belief that timely and meaningful consultation has not occurred or that the program design is not equitable with respect to eligible private school children.” (ESSA §1117(b)(5) and §8501(c)(5))
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Complaints
ESSA establishes the right of a private school official to file a complaint with the California Department of Education if the official believes:
- that consultation was not timely and meaningful; or,
- that due consideration of his/her views was not given by the public school district; or,
- that the public school district made a decision that failed to treat the private school or its students equitably
Under new provisions of ESSA, state departments of education must provide services (in lieu of local school districts), either directly, or through third-party providers if both of the following conditions are met:
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private school officials have requested such services directly; and,
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private school officials have “demonstrated that the local educational agency involved has not met the requirements of this section in accordance with the procedures for making such a request, as prescribed by the State educational agency.”
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The most up-to-date guidance on ESSA can be found here​​​​​​​​
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Guided Resource for Pursuing ESSA
