Ensuring Success in School Act (ESSA) Passes Both Illinois Houses

The Ensuring Success in School Act (ESSA) (House Bill 1330), an initiative of both the Women’s Law and Policy Project of the Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law and its collaborators across Illinois, has been a multiyear effort to meet the educational needs of elementary and secondary students who are parents, expectant parents, or victims of domestic or sexual violence. Extensive advocacy in Springfield proved effective in producing what is now an agreed-upon bill. The bill passed both the Illinois Senate and the House and will be sent to Gov. Rod Blagojevich for his signature.

The focus of the legislation is to ensure that children and youths who are parents, expectant parents, or the victims of domestic or sexual violence stay in school, stay safe while in school, and complete their education.
 
With Senate amendments to the original bill, ESSA now has two main provisions. The first creates the Ensuring Success in School Task Force to develop policies, procedures, and protocols to be implemented by school districts. The task force will accomplish the following:

·    Conduct a thorough examination of the barriers to school attendance, safety, and completion of school.
·    Conduct discovery (relevant research, best practices, and policy, including expert testimony) in Illinois and elsewhere.
·    Conduct meetings and hearings around the state to ensure maximum participation by local schools and advocates as well as students and their parents.
·    Report to the Illinois General Assembly on findings, recommendations, and an implementation plan.
The second provision requires a biannual in-service training for school personnel on the needs of students who are expectant or parenting youths or victims of domestic or sexual violence.

The ESSA Task Force will afford us a critical opportunity to collect data, narratives, and model policies and determine the policies, procedures, and protocols to be implemented in Illinois elementary and secondary schools and to inform future legislation. The Women’s Law and Policy Project has already assembled state and national-level coalitions of researchers, clinicians, advocates, and experts on pregnancy and parenting and on domestic and sexual violence among children and youth. The coalitions speak to the depth and breadth of the work on the ground to update obsolete school policies, create new benchmarks for progress, and ensure success in school. If you would like to join the Illinois ESSA Coalition so that you may contribute to and keep informed of the progress of the ESSA Task Force, contact Wendy Pollack.