As required in section 1111(b)(8)(C) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, the U.S. Department of Education is asking each State Educational Agency (SEA) to submit a State Plan to Ensure Equitable Access to Excellent Educators (State Plan) that describes the steps that the SEA will take to ensure that children from poor and minority backgrounds are not taught at higher rates than other children by inexperienced, unqualified, or emergency certified educators teaching outside their areas of certification. The State Plan includes the following components:
1. A description of the steps the SEA took to consult with Local Educational Agencies (LEAs), teachers, principals, pupil services personnel, administrators, staff, parents, and other stakeholders in the development of the plan
2. Identification of equity gaps and an explanation of the calculations and process of identification
3. An explanation of the likely cause(s) of the identified equity gaps
4. An explanation of the steps the SEA will take to eliminate the identified gaps
5. A description of the measures that the SEA will use to evaluate progress toward eliminating the identified equity gaps for both poor students and minority students
6. A description of how the SEA will publicly report its progress
A draft of Mississippi’s State Plan to Ensure Access to Excellent Teachers and a feedback form can be found below.
The State Plan has been submitted to the US Department of Education (ED). All states will receive technical assistance feedback on their State Plans. After ED has reviewed the State Plan, each SEA will be contacted to discuss questions or concerns. If the State Plan does not yet meet the applicable ESEA requirements, MDE will be provided the opportunity to address these requirements and resubmit the plan. ED anticipates determining whether State Plans have met the applicable ESEA requirements on a rolling basis.