Every Student Succeeds Act

The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) is a federal education law that was signed by President Barack Obama on December 10, 2015. It replaces the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) as the most recent reauthorization of the landmark Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, which was the nation’s first federal education law and a key component of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s War on Poverty. It has been planned to take ESSA to full effect in the nation’s public elementary and secondary schools in the 2017–2018 school year. This entry describes the passage of ESSA and the key components of this federal education law and explains how ESSA differs from its predecessor, NCLB, which was signed into law in 2002 by President George W. ...