Analysis
Of the many theoretical frameworks of policy making, the Every Student Succeeds Act is a near perfect manifestation of John Kingdon’s theory of policy making. While other theories partially explain ESSA’s passage, Kingdon’s theory most closely fits the law’s development and thus forms the foundation of this analysis. Kingdon describes the importance of agenda setting and the participants involved with the process, but the bulk of his theory consists of what he calls the three “streams” of policy making (problems, policies, and politics), and the window that allows for legislative change. According to his theory, the most significant policy changes occur when the three streams come together and pass through the window, before the window …show more content…
The exchange model describes reciprocal interactions that occur among legislators and organized interests. The latter can “‘buy’ policies by providing resources to policy-makers in exchange for favorable policy decisions” (Godwin 2013, 25). Larger corporations and bigger players like local and state governments can more easily facilitate political action (Godwin 2013, 35). Involved interest organizations and lobbying groups are able to exhaust the research and manpower it takes to draft legislation that moves the policy making process along faster. If alternatives have already been outlined or research has been conducted, a legislator has a far easier time crafting a bill. In the exchange between legislators and interest organizations, bargaining takes place; in return for time and resources put into drafting legislation, lobbyists may push for certain addendums to be added to a bill. This kind of bargaining can be observed in ESSA’s development as, for example, support and lobbying from SHAPE America - the Society of Health and Physical Educators and the National Art Education Association, helped prioritize a “well-rounded” education rather than “core classes” in ESSA, thus emphasizing the importance of music, arts, health, and physical education in schools (NAEA 2015) (SHAPE America …show more content…
Some argued that, despite paring back the federal role in education, the bill still overreached appropriate government authority; others argued that it did not go far enough. Those in the latter camp took issue with the fact that ESSA focuses on K-12 education, and does little for preschool education as well as children from low-income backgrounds (Battenfield & Crawford, 2015). On the other hand, Republicans, mainly the members of the House Freedom Caucus, thought that ESSA granted the federal government too much oversight in education. Heritage Action for America, a part of the conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation, opposed ESSA, claiming that it represented “a step backwards for conservative education policy” and reiterating that it maintains too much federal control over local schools (Layton
Of the many theoretical frameworks of policy making, the Every Student Succeeds Act is a near perfect manifestation of John Kingdon’s theory of policy making. While other theories partially explain ESSA’s passage, Kingdon’s theory most closely fits the law’s development and thus forms the foundation of this analysis. Kingdon describes the importance of agenda setting and the participants involved with the process, but the bulk of his theory consists of what he calls the three “streams” of policy making (problems, policies, and politics), and the window that allows for legislative change. According to his theory, the most significant policy changes occur when the three streams come together and pass through the window, before the window …show more content…
The exchange model describes reciprocal interactions that occur among legislators and organized interests. The latter can “‘buy’ policies by providing resources to policy-makers in exchange for favorable policy decisions” (Godwin 2013, 25). Larger corporations and bigger players like local and state governments can more easily facilitate political action (Godwin 2013, 35). Involved interest organizations and lobbying groups are able to exhaust the research and manpower it takes to draft legislation that moves the policy making process along faster. If alternatives have already been outlined or research has been conducted, a legislator has a far easier time crafting a bill. In the exchange between legislators and interest organizations, bargaining takes place; in return for time and resources put into drafting legislation, lobbyists may push for certain addendums to be added to a bill. This kind of bargaining can be observed in ESSA’s development as, for example, support and lobbying from SHAPE America - the Society of Health and Physical Educators and the National Art Education Association, helped prioritize a “well-rounded” education rather than “core classes” in ESSA, thus emphasizing the importance of music, arts, health, and physical education in schools (NAEA 2015) (SHAPE America …show more content…
Some argued that, despite paring back the federal role in education, the bill still overreached appropriate government authority; others argued that it did not go far enough. Those in the latter camp took issue with the fact that ESSA focuses on K-12 education, and does little for preschool education as well as children from low-income backgrounds (Battenfield & Crawford, 2015). On the other hand, Republicans, mainly the members of the House Freedom Caucus, thought that ESSA granted the federal government too much oversight in education. Heritage Action for America, a part of the conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation, opposed ESSA, claiming that it represented “a step backwards for conservative education policy” and reiterating that it maintains too much federal control over local schools (Layton