The Ohio Department of Education announced in a press release that they intend to delay their submission of Ohio's ESSA plan until the September deadline. They had originally planned to submit the plan at the earlier April deadline.

As part of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), states now have the flexibility to make choices that best suit their needs. States can submit their ESSA templates to the U.S. Department of Education in either April or September. To allow this work to advance and drive needed change, the Department will delay the ESSA template submission to the U.S. Department of Education to September. This also will allow more time to ensure that feedback received on the draft template can be considered carefully.

This change of heart has come about because of withering pressure from parents and educators. When ODE released their original plan, stakeholders were shocked by the lack of substance included in the plan on reduced testing and an evaluations overhaul that they had given as part of their feedback.

In response to this outrage, the press release went on to say

To address one of the key concerns heard pertaining to reduction in testing, Superintendent DeMaria is convening a Superintendent's Advisory Committee on Assessments to focus on the full range of testing issues — including state-required tests, as well as district-level tests. This work will allow for a more thorough and complete review, and recommendations for adjustments to these assessments – both state and local. More details on this committee will be developed in the coming days and weeks.

The days of not listening to educators and parents and instead pressing forward with failed corporate education reform policies is over.