San Benito CISD Board President Michael A. Vargas recently attended the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) Southwest & Midwest Regional Governance Policy Institute in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
In December 2015, the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) was signed into law. In the last year, states have been engaged in the development of new state accountability plans that have been now submitted to the U.S. Department of Education for approval. The plans lay out a roadmap for how states and local school districts will ensure that every student has access to an education that prepares them to be college and career ready.
Vargas firmly believes that local school board members and community leaders should to be completely educated and aware on this new legislative reauthorization. “We need to know how it is affecting our districts and students, especially because power and more control now lies at the local, not the federal level, under the new law,” Vargas said. “NALEO did a phenomenal job in breaking down accountability and data measures that will all assist us with better decision-making back home.”
