The U.S. Department of Education's Office of Elementary and Secondary Education recently sent a letter to all chief state school officers providing guidance on a provision of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) that was originally enacted in 2002 as part of the No Child Left Behind Act.
Erika Donalds, chair of America First Policy Institute's Center for Education Opportunity, says under the Unsafe School Choice Option, states are already required to identify and track persistently dangerous schools according to their own established definitions.
Most importantly, they are to provide a public school choice option to families who are assigned to those unsafe schools so that their children have the opportunity to thrive at another public elementary or secondary school, including a public charter school.
"It's important to know that just two states, Arkansas and Virginia, seem to have been following the law," Donalds notes. "The Biden administration, unfortunately, was not holding states to this law that was already in place."
She praises the Trump administration, namely Education Secretary Linda McMahon, for now reminding states of this obligation and holding them accountable for ensuring the safety of students.
"It's so important that parents have school choice options," says Donalds. "Safety is one of the number-one reasons that parents are looking for an option outside of their zoned school."
She says this guidance, issued in response to Trump's school choice executive order, is "critically import," and parents need to know that their children have the opportunity to thrive in a safe and quality learning environment.
