The U.S. Department of Education (ED) released a “Learning Agenda Playbook” on Wednesday that is designed to help States strengthen capacity to “return education to the States.” ED encourages States to create their own learning agenda, which is a multi-year plan to address identified State education needs, and to use the playbook as a resource to assist with designing such agenda.
The playbook is comprised of four different tools for States: a facilitator’s guide, a facilitator’s toolbox, a learning agenda template, and a capacity continuum tool. These tools include a step-by-step guide for State leaders using the playbook, worksheets and other resources for “hands-on implementation,” a guide to help States create their own agenda, and a tool to assist States with assessing their capabilities.
ED worked with eight pilot States to design and test the Learning Agenda Playbook, including Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, New Hampshire, Tennessee, Utah, and Wisconsin. The playbook incorporates case studies from the eight participating States. In a related fact sheet on the playbook, ED emphasizes that using the playbook is not mandatory and it is only designed to be an optional resource for States. “The Trump Administration has been consistently clear that returning education to the states means reducing federal micromanagement and top-down mandates, not creating new ones,” the fact sheet states.
