UDL in the ESSA

(2016, February) | Useful to Parent Centers, families, and schools in understanding the many references to universal design for learning (UDL) in the Every Student Succeeds Act. 

In December 2015, Congress passed the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), which replaces No Child Left Behind. For the first time, the nation’s general K-12 education law now defines and endorses “Universal Design for Learning” (UDL).

This resource article from CAST briefly highlights the role of the National UDL Task Force in raising awareness of UDL’s potential to support better teaching and learning with high expectations for all students, including those with disabilities. The Task Force was instrumental in helping Congress write a definition of UDL for the 2008 Higher Education Opportunity Act, the definition now embedded in ESSA.

The article then identifies references to UDL in federal policy documents, including:

• UDL in the ESSA of 2015
• UDL in the National Education Technology Plan of 2016
• UDL in the Ed Tech Developer’s Guide (2015)
• UDL in the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008
• UDL in the National Education Technology Plan of 2010

For each law or policy document, the article provides the verbatim language used in referencing UDL.

Access this substantive resource at:
http://www.cast.org/whats-new/news/2016/udl-in-the-essa.html#.Vug8d55VhBc