In the Storytelling Suite at ISTE 2016, Dr. Julie Carter and Rob Dickson gave an exclusive presentation on the challenges and opportunities that the new law presents for ed tech vendors. 

At events like ISTE, PR with Panache! invites leading education experts to share their knowledge about trends, issues, and solutions with our clients in the Storytelling Suite. The ESSA session was just one of the many exciting events that the members of our Client Family participated in, all with the goal of helping them tell their stories to decision-makers and educators across the country.

GreyED Solutions’ CEO Dr. Julie Carter and CIO Rob Dickson shed light on the new Every Student Succeeds Act, signed into law December 10, 2015, which rolls back much of the federal government's big footprint in education policy governing everything from testing and teacher quality to low-performing schools. The new law gives significantly more control to states, particularly when it comes to funding for technology.

PRP clients learned how the new law will affect them and what the specific impact of ESSA on the technology sector may be. Dr. Carter talked about where the funding may live and how our clients may qualify for it. She shared the importance that ESSA places on evidence and accountability, and laid out clear and simple steps for how vendors can prove efficacy.

Dr. Carter then asked each client to think about which identified tier of evidence their studies fall under and to consider if the evidence of efficacy they have is enough. She then walked through the steps of how each PRP Client Family member can get the most out of their pilots and make sure that they are gathering all of the data they need to qualify for funding under the new law.

This session was extremely thought-provoking and valuable to our clients!