H.J.Res. 57 would disapprove and nullify the rule issued by the Department of Education on November 28, 2016, to implement the accountability, data reporting, and state plan provisions of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).
The bill's sponsors feel that while the Department had authority to issue regulations to implement the law, the regulation contained a number of provisions that significantly expanded the law’s requirements and violated the statute’s prohibitions against overreach by the Secretary. The bill's sponsors also believe that the Obama Administration’s purpose for these new requirements was to constrain states’ flexibility in developing appropriate accountability systems for their states.