Information for Educators and Schools
Fundamentally, ESSA is about creating a set of interlocking strategies to promote educational equity by providing support to districts and schools as they work to ensure that every student succeeds. New York State is committed to ensuring that all students succeed and thrive in school no matter who they are, where they live, where they go to school, or where they come from.
Information for educators and schools is available below:
Approved New York State ESSA Plan
View New York State's ESSA plan, as well as a summary of the plan.
Consolidated Application for ESSA-Funded Programs
Online Consolidated Application for ESSA-Funded Programs to support the timely administration of ESSA-funded programs to local educational agencies (LEAs) across the state.
ESSA Titled Programs
Information, resources, technical assistance, data, and reports on each of the titled programs under ESSA
ESSA Fact Sheets
These fact sheets for educators and school board members summarize and explain the final ESSA plan. The fact sheets are available in 15 languages.
ESSA Informational Videos and Webinars
ESSA videos and webinars provide information on ESSA requirements and important changes.
English Language Learners / Multilingual Learners
ELL / MLL resources include a webinar, FAQs, and planning information.
Equitable Course Access Guidance
The New York State Education Department (NYSED) issued guidance to assist school districts in ensuring all students, including those that are historically underserved, have equitable access to rigorous coursework. The equitable course access guidance, rooted in five core principles, builds on the State's Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) plan, which uses multiple measures of success to advance equity. This includes a "College, Career and Civic Readiness Index," that measures, among other indicators, advanced course enrollment.
Equitable Services for Nonpublic Schools
Equitable Services for Nonpublic schools under Sections 1117(a)(4)(C) and 8501(a)(4)(C) of the Every Student Succeeds Act requires that each State educational agency shall provide notice in a timely manner to the appropriate private school officials in the State of the allocation of funds for educational services and other benefits that the local educational agencies have determined are available for eligible private school children.
Information about substantial equivalency of instruction is available here.
Financial Transparency
Building-level financial transparency under ESSA will help those interested in education learn more about the equity and effectiveness of our federal, state, and local educational resources. It is critical that we maximize every dollar to provide the best opportunities and improve outcomes for our students. Fiscal transparency reports outline how much each school is spending per student and the source of the funds. These fiscal transparency reports were issued for the first time in 2020 for the 2018-19 school year, and annual releases will be available after April 1st in each subsequent year. At the district level, they will inform conversations within districts about whether equitable resources are being provided at the school level. At the state level, these reports will help inform future Board of Regents State Aid requests and other policymaking decisions.
Guidance for Schools/Districts
These guidance materials are intended to build the capacity of LEAs receiving federal funds from one or more programs authorized as part of the ESSA.
News and Memos
ESSA-related news and memos from the New York State Education Department
School Climate / Educating the Whole Child
A positive school climate promotes school safety, student self-esteem, emotional well-being, mental health, and lower incidences of substance abuse, student absenteeism, and suspensions. The New York State Education Department (NYSED) continues to promote initiatives to foster student engagement and thereby increase student achievement, safety, and wellness. Efforts will be expanded to provide capacity-building guidance; strategies; best-practice resources; and professional development for school administrators, instructional staff, and non-instructional staff in the following areas to advance these initiatives.
Dignity for All Students Act
Social Emotional Learning
Mental Health Education
Trauma Sensitive Schools
Restorative Practices and Reducing Exclusionary Discipline
School Climate Survey Pilot
School Improvement
The New York accountability system designates schools into one of four support models:
- Comprehensive Support and Improvement (CSI): Schools whose All Students group performed at Level 1 on a combination of ESSA indicators or schools with a graduation rate of less than 67%.
- Additional Support and Improvement (ATSI): Schools with one or more accountability subgroups that meet the criteria for identifying for CSI.
- Targeted Support and Improvement (TSI): Schools with one or more accountability subgroups performing at a Level 1 on a combination of ESSA indicators.
- Local Support and Improvement (LSI): Schools that are not identified for CSI, ATSI, or TSI.
Districts are designated into two categories:
- Target District: Districts that have at least one school that is identified for CSI, ATSI, or TSI or one or more district level subgroup that met identification criteria for two consecutive years.
- LSI: Districts that have no component schools identified for CSI, ATSI, or TSI and does not have any district level subgroups that have met identification criteria for two consecutive years.
The New York State Education Department (NYSED) partners with schools identified for CSI, ATSI, and TSI and Target Districts to provide support in the following areas:
School Accountability Support Models
Under ESSA, schools receive one of four support models: Local Support and Improvement (LSI), Comprehensive Support and Improvement (CSI), Additional Support and Improvement (ATSI), or Targeted Support and Improvement (TSI). Districts are designated as either identified for LSI or Target Districts. Schools identified for CSI, ATSI, and TSI are eligible for additional support. When schools are persistently found to be low performing, they can be placed into Receivership, and if a school in Receivership does not make Demonstrable Improvement, the school may be assigned an Independent Receiver. View information on School Accountability Designations and school standings, Receivership, and Demonstrable Improvement.
School Receivership
Commissioner’s Regulations §100.19 requires Persistently Struggling and Struggling Schools to make Demonstrable Improvement on indicators jointly selected by the New York State Education Department and the district.
School Report Card/Data Reporting
The New York State Education Department is committed to making data available and easy to use. Our public data website provides data on high school graduation rates, grades 3-8 test scores, and school report cards.
Student Growth
In New York State, student growth is calculated for public schools and districts using student assessments cores and is based on changes in student performance on the State’s grades 3-8 English Language Arts or ELA and mathematics assessments between two or more points in time.
- Growth Tech Report (2022-23)
This report provides a technical explanation of the statistical model used in New York State to calculate student growth in 2022-23 for use in Institutional Accountability. - Growth Tech Report (2018-19)
This report provides a technical explanation of the statistical model used in New York State to calculate student growth in 2018-19 for use in Institutional Accountability. - Growth Tech Report (2017-18)
This report provides a technical explanation of the statistical model used in New York State to calculate student growth in 2017-18 for use in Institutional Accountability. - Growth Monograph
This monograph summarizes how the student growth measure is calculated for use in Institutional Accountability.
Supporting Students with Disabilities
The New York State ESSA plan incorporates the principles of multitiered systems of support (MTSS) as a framework for both academic and behavioral instruction. MTSS is grounded in the belief that all students can learn and all school professionals are responsive to the academic and behavioral needs of all students. MTSS focuses on evidence-based practices, relies on student progress data to inform instructional decisions and ensures that each student, based on their unique needs, receives the level and type of support necessary to be successful.
Through its State Systemic Improvement Plan, NYSED is piloting the implementation of MTSS in 14 New York State schools. This pilot is designed to increase the capacity of school districts to implement, scale-up, and sustain evidence-based practices to improve outcomes for students with disabilities. The SSIP focuses on providing tiered intervention based upon students’ unique needs, using a lens that is responsive to each student’s social identity, culture and language.
The New York State ESSA plan also supports effective transition practices throughout a student’s educational experience and fosters coordinated transitions from early childhood education to postsecondary education. This emphasis on coordinated transitions directly aligns with the Department’s initiatives in transition planning for students with disabilities under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). This alignment also promotes the development of schoolwide inclusive systems of transitions, based on a student’s individual needs, experiences, interests, and aspirations.
Contact Us
Contact the Office of Accountability at the New York State Education Department