LIBERTY — Every chair was taken either by Sullivan County School Board Members, students, K-12 educators and staff, community members or parents at the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) Community Forum on Thursday, March 9.

Hosted by Sullivan County BOCES in Liberty and the New York State Education Department, the forum came together to get public input and feedback on the new state educational plan that was signed into law in December of 2015.

ESSA replaces and updates the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) and will officially go into effect in the 2017-18 school year.

Under ESSA, the federal government's footprint in education policy will substantially decrease, giving states more leeway in calling the shots on everything from testing to teacher quality, to low-performing schools.

States can now pick their own goals, both larger long-term goals as well as smaller, interim goals that address proficiency on tests, English-language skills and graduation rates. The goals, whatever they may be, must set the expectation that all groups further behind close the gaps in achievement and graduation rates.

Of course, each state's accountability plans and goals must be submitted to the Education Department before being implemented.

So after a brief video presentation by NYS Education Department Commissioner MaryEllen Elia, the various groups of individuals seated around the room were provided with ESSA draft plan questions such as: What do you see as the most critical areas of need regarding the preparation of new educators, who should be held accountable for students who are educated outside of the school district, and so on.

The groups then discussed and responded to each question before making a final summary presentation of their group's discussions.

Acting CEO/Deputy Superintendent of BOCES and meeting facilitator Susan Schmidt then discussed with everyone present the next steps in the ESSA State Plan Process before bringing the forum to a close.