Discussion Questions

Topic 1 DQ 1
The executive branch of the government is responsible for the U.S. Department of Education. What purpose does the U.S. Department of Education serve? How does this department work with States’ Departments of Education and local school districts? In your opinion, does having a U.S. Department of Education benefit K-12 education in the United States? Why or why not?
Discussion Board One Topic One
The U.S Department of Education is charged with the responsibility of maintaining educational policies as well as advancing the education system. The main objective of this department is making sure that education in the United States is of high quality and accessible to everyone (education department). The major focus areas of this department are the creation of policies on financial aid, data collection regarding education, and identification and addressing of educational issues together with preventing discrimination.
The maintenance and operation responsibility of public schools is charged with the states. The states also claim a major share in the establishment, the selection, curriculum regulation, the teaching methods as well as the provision of instructional materials in their specific schools. Nevertheless, each state has its policies and standards that may impact the education quality provided but it must be guided by the provisions of the U.S Department of Education (education department). The state governments are known to delegate some responsibilities for accountability and operation purposes in running the schools locally. Therefore, state education departments are responsible for school districts creation. The school districts are managed by school boards of whose the members are elected publicly or through appointments.
The U.S Department of Education in my view is highly beneficial to K-12 education in the United States in that it brings in the national interest in ensuring quality education in public schools. Through the legislative process, the federal government brings in aid to the states as well as the schools with a view to supplementing their educational provisions (education department). Through this department, grants are provided for the elementary and the secondary school programs mainly for children from low-income backgrounds.

Reference
https://www2.ed.gov/about/overview/focus/what_pg2.html

Topic 1 DQ 2
In 2015, President Obama signed the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) into law. The law was marked for decreasing federal authority over states and school districts in providing education, but it still assigns key responsibilities to these entities. Do you think these responsibilities help, “promote student achievement and preparation for global competitiveness by fostering educational excellence and ensuring equal access,” which is the official mission of the U.S. Department of Education? Why or why not? What aspects of the constitution do you see that apply to ESSA of 2015? Cite specific examples in your response.
Topic One Question Two
The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) was enacted with the purpose of providing children with significant opportunities in the receiving of equitable, high-quality, and fair education as well as closing down on the gaps in educational achievements (ESSA). This law is a major milestone in ensuring accountability in education in the sense that it gives the states a lot of say in reference to how schools account for the achievements made by students. This, in reality, gives the disadvantaged students an opportunity to tremendously mark their achievements. The students, in this case, are categorized into four major groups including students in poverty, minorities, those with fewer skills in the English language, and those receiving special education. In my honest view, through ESSA the educational standards allow students to be fully prepared to succeed both in college as well as in their life careers (ESSA). The good thing with this law is that it applies to all students regardless of whether they have learning challenges or not.
The major aspect of the U.S Constitution that was applied in the development of ESSA is on the matters of school governance (States). It is clear that the governance of public schools in the United States Constitution is never a guarantee of the federal government. It is indeed a power of the states as stated in the 10th Amendment (States). The law reduced the powers of the federal governments and assigned them to the states with a view to bringing services close and enhancing accountability. In essence, the effectiveness of ESSA is in that interventions are solely determined by the states other than federal governments.
References
https://www.understood.org/en/school-learning/your-childs-rights/basics-about-childs-rights/every-student-succeeds-act-essa-what-you-need-to-know
http://web.csisd.org/school_board/Agendas/2015-2016/January/EveryStudentSucceedsAct(ESSA)workshop12-15-15.pdf