An example of how federal educational policy causes only confusion is seen a series of policy changes enacted during one single academic year. The 2016/2017 school year started under one set of policies. Most schools in the United States begin in August or September.
By the beginning of November 2016, Congress had enacted a new set of policies, and local schools began to shift their planning, mid-year, to comply.
In February 2017, Congress changed its policies again, as is seen from the following White House document:
H.J. Res. 58 would nullify the final rule related to the Teacher Preparation Program Accountability System, 81 Fed. Reg. 75494 (Oct. 31, 2016), promulgated by the Department of Education. This rule establishes annual State reporting to measure the performance and quality of teacher preparation programs and tie them to program eligibility for participation in the Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education grant program. The rule imposes new burdensome and costly data reporting requirements on States and institutions of higher education.
So it was that a single academic year was marked by two policy changes and divided into three segments. Chaos and confusion ensued as local administrators attempted to comply; as they began to slowly redirect their sluggish bureaucracies according to one set of new mandates, another set of directives would arrive, requiring different adjustments.
Such policy mayhem is not unusual; it an established pattern.
This is merely one of many reasons why school policy is best left to states, counties, and cities.
