Parents, educators, advocates, and state policymakers alike want excellence in teaching and learning every day for every educator and student. The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) gives states renewed authority as well as leverage to make this vision a reality. The role of state boards of education in this process cannot be underestimated. State boards of education hold primary responsibility for establishing compelling visions for education and ensuring that conditions exist to sustain quality teaching and learning. When states decide to put teaching and learning first, they will find that continuous improvement grounded in learning systems is the most logical strategy. State boards can and should use ESSA to advance efforts to develop learning systems that ensure successful teaching and learning for all. Ultimately, state boards of education must collaborate to be effective. They will work with State Education Agencies (SEAs) through rule making and planning. They can influence Local Education Agency (LEA) actions by contributing to the local applications for federal funding allocations. State boards, in partnership with SEAs, can guide progress toward the creation of learning systems in every district and school. By raising critical questions aligned to the five essential components, state boards will launch important conversations that move their state closer to the mark: when all educators get daily support needed to ensure that all students experience quality teaching every day.