The writers who crafted the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), the 2015 bill co-sponsored by Senators Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Patty Murray (D-WA) re-authorizing the Elementary and Secondary Act (ESEA), thought they had worded an airtight case to prevent parents from removing their children from federal mandated testing.
States are responsible for ensuring a 95 percent participation rate of all its K-12 students in exchange for ESSA funds. If the rate is less than 95 percent, the US Secretary of Education has several options. Most allow USED to help the state come up with a plan to address the matter. In effect, ESSA turns state departments of education into school bullies.
UPPER MARLBORO, Md. (AP) — A man accused of shooting at a Maryland police station in an attempt to provoke officers to kill him has been charged with second-degree murder, police and prosecutors said Wednesday.
Michael Ford, 22, is facing 25 charges, also including attempted murder and conspiracy, in the shootout Sunday afternoon outside a police station in Landover, a Washington suburb. Several police officers returned fire after Ford started shooting, police said, and Officer Jacai Colson, who arrived at the scene in plain clothes and an unmarked car, was struck and killed by friendly fire.
