Behind the Latest Rewrite (ESSA) of the U.S. Elementary and Secondary Education Act: Rivalry and Compromise between the Two Major Parties over Federal Overreach

In the United States, the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) was signed into law by President Barack Obama (Democrat) on December 10th, 2015, which rolls back federal authority in education and allows states more power over their accountability systems. ESSA is the latest reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965 enacted by President Lyndon B. Johnson (Democrat) in an effort to improve educational quality and opportunity for disadvantaged children. The previous reauthorization was the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001 signed by President George W. Bush (Republican) in 2002, but there was an unprecedented situation in which the law had not been reauthorized for as many as 8 years since its deadline for renewal in 2007.