Federal

Teacher-Equity Plans Approved for 16 States

By Alyson Klein — September 16, 2015 3 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

The U.S. Department of Education has given 16 states the stamp of approval on their plans for making sure that students in high-poverty schools get access to their fair share of well-qualified teachers.

But questions loom about just how big a difference those plans and others still awaiting approval will really make: The Education Department has required similar plans in the past, and they haven’t always been implemented faithfully.

Receiving the nod last week were: Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Maine, Missouri, Minnesota, New York, Nevada, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Wisconsin. Meanwhile, nearly three dozen states are awaiting a thumbs-up, and the administration says those plans will be approved on a rolling basis.

The states approved last week all agreed to take steps to bolster teacher quality and make sure that low-income students have access to good teachers. Connecticut, for instance, is providing training for principals charged with turning around low-performing schools. Minnesota is enticing paraprofessionals to go into teaching by offering incentives like student-loan forgiveness for those who teach in high-need subject areas. And Nevada has a new state law creating a pay-for-performance system geared in part toward recruiting and retaining teachers for high-needs schools.

Implementation Challenge

Advocates for improving teacher equity who reviewed some of the newly revamped plans—which states were required to turn in June as part of the Education Department’s national strategy to improve teacher equity—say that good ideas were proposed, but that the real test will come in implementation.

“Few issues in education are more important than ensuring equitable access to high-quality teachers, and the Department of Education is right to focus attention on this topic,” said Kati Haycock, the president of the Education Trust, an advocacy organization, in a statement released by the Education Department. “Clear action plans are a first step, but we’ve got to make sure that these plans are actually enacted.”

Chris Minnich, the executive director of the Council of Chief State School Officers, agreed with that assessment in a press call, even as he praised states for coming up with thoughtful solutions tailored to their individual circumstances.

“These are just plans, and unless the states continue to implement these, they will just end up being plans,” he said.

There seems to be no clear enforcement mechanism for making sure that the proposals are actually put into practice. The department had initially planned to link states’ efforts on teacher equity to renewal of their waivers from provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act. It abandoned that strategy, in part because waiver states already had a lot on their plates, including crafting teacher evaluations that take student outcomes into account.

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan told reporters on the press call that the department is continuing to offer support to states, not just in crafting their plans, but in helping them to come to fruition.

Departmental Support

For instance, the administration will offer quarterly “equity labs” in specific states, bringing together teachers, administrators, and others to help think through implementation.

When asked whether the agency would consider withholding funds from a state or placing its waiver on high-risk status if it didn’t comply with its plan, Duncan said that kind of action wasn’t off the table, but it’s far from his first choice.

“We want to give people every chance to be successful,” he said. “We want to ensure that we’re not just the enforcement arm.”

Earlier this year, the department said it will work with states whose plans don’t initially meet its requirements, which include such practices as scrutinizing data to figure out what’s causing teacher inequities and reaching out to districts, educators, and their unions to find fixes. States that fall short will be expected to revise their plans.

This isn’t the first time the federal government has tried to tackle the tricky issue of teacher distribution. The No Child Left Behind law called for states to ensure all teachers were highly qualified by the 2005-06 school year. (States got a one-year extension.) But many of those plans sat on the virtual shelf without an update for years.

A version of this article appeared in the September 16, 2015 edition of Education Week as Ed. Dept. Approves Teacher-Equity Plans for 16 States

Events

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Professional Development Webinar
Inside PLCs: Proven Strategies from K-12 Leaders
Join an expert panel to explore strategies for building collaborative PLCs, overcoming common challenges, and using data effectively.
Content provided by Otus
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Science Webinar
Making Science Stick: The Engaging Power of Hands-On Learning
How can you make science class the highlight of your students’ day while
achieving learning outcomes? Find out in this session.
Content provided by LEGO Education
Teaching Profession Key Insights to Elevate and Inspire Today’s Teachers
Join this free half day virtual event to energize your teaching and cultivate a positive learning experience for students.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Federal Trump’s 4th Week: Musk’s Team Pushes Ed. Dept. Cuts as McMahon Faces Senators
Linda McMahon appeared before U.S. senators, answering for an already turbulent time at the Education Department before she's taken charge.
6 min read
A shouting protester is removed from the hearing room as Linda McMahon, President Donald Trump’s nominee to be Secretary of Education, testifies during her Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee confirmation hearing, at the U.S. Capitol, in Washington, on Feb. 13, 2025. A shouting protester is removed from the hearing room as Linda McMahon, President Donald Trump’s nominee to be Secretary of Education, testifies during her Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee confirmation hearing, at the U.S. Capitol, in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, February 13, 2025. (Graeme Sloan for Education Week)
A shouting protester is removed from the hearing room as Linda McMahon, President Donald Trump’s nominee to be Secretary of Education, testifies during her confirmation hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Feb. 13, 2025.
Graeme Sloan for Education Week
Federal Trump Picks Long-Serving State Chief With Bipartisan Fans for Top Ed. Dept. Role
Trump nominated North Dakota State Superintendent Kirsten Baesler to a key post overseeing K-12 policy at the U.S. Department of Education.
5 min read
North Dakota Superintendent of Public Instruction Kirsten Baesler announces the gathering of a task force to look into future options the state has for the assessment of students during a press conference May 8, 2015, at the state Capitol in Bismarck, N.D.
North Dakota Superintendent of Public Instruction Kirsten Baesler announces the gathering of a task force to look into future options the state has for the assessment of students during a press conference May 8, 2015, at the state Capitol in Bismarck, N.D. President Donald Trump has tapped Baesler to serve as assistant secretary of elementary and secondary education.
Mike McCleary/The Bismarck Tribune via AP
Federal Opinion Education Research Is in the Trump Administration's Cross Hairs
DOGE took a "chainsaw" to the Ed. Dept's grant programs. Morgan Polikoff has four suggestions for his research colleagues.
5 min read
Conceptual illustration of classroom conversations and fragmented education elements coming together to form a cohesive picture of a book of classroom knowledge.
Sonia Pulido for Education Week
Federal Vaccine Skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Is Sworn in as Trump’s Health Chief
Kennedy, who has called for public health agencies to focus on chronic diseases, was sworn in after a close Senate vote.
3 min read
Supreme Court Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch swears in Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Health and Human Services Secretary as Kennedy's wife Cheryl Hines holds the Bible in the Oval Office at the White House, Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025, in Washington.
Supreme Court Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch swears in Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Health and Human Services Secretary as Kennedy's wife Cheryl Hines holds the Bible in the Oval Office at the White House, Feb. 13, 2025, in Washington.
Alex Brandon/AP