RIPLEY, W.Va. — President Obama signed the Every Student Succeeds Act into law last week, which Jackson County’s Superintendent said looks promising on its surface.
Blaine Hess said the law, which largely replaces President George W. Bush’s No Child Left Behind Act, seems to push education toward being more locally centered.
“I think anytime the people that are closest to the job being done can have input on how it’s being done, you get a better product,” Hess said in an interview with WMOV Radio of Ravenswood. “I know there are 54 other county superintendents and state board members that are glad to have some of those responsibilities and decision making processes shifted back to the states.”
The new law aims to preserve the spirit of No Child Left Behind, while fixing what was perceived as a one-size-fits-all approach to education nationwide.
“We’re certainly looking to getting deeper into that law to see what they’re returning to state control and local control,” Hess said.
Overall, Hess was optimistic that the new law would benefit the Mountain State in trying to improve education.
“On the face it’s a very welcome change. The U.S. Department of Education will spend the next several months writing the rules on how to implement the new last,” said Hess. “Sometimes the devil’s in the details on how a law gets rolled out. We’re very hopeful that this will be a good move for our education in our country and particularly in West Virginia.”
The new law allows states to adopt Common Core, which has been controversial both in West Virginia and nationwide, but does not require it.