Advance Illinois is an independent, objective voice for a healthy public education system that prepares all students in Illinois for success in college, careers, and civic life. Advocacy efforts have focused on securing equitable funding for schools, Common Core State Standards, high-quality assessments, and teacher quality efforts. As advocates for the building blocks of Illinois's education system, Advance Illinois saw Every Student Succeeds Act's (ESSA's) passage as a generational opportunity to develop a more robust, refined accountability system and improve results for students--especially students of color and low income students--and to ensure that the state's system of supports and assistance truly helps struggling schools. Advance Illinois saw ESSA as a new day for education, and an opportunity to evaluate schools fairly by uncovering true academic growth and reinforcing the belief that all students can learn. With ESSA, the state could develop new mechanisms to assist schools and lift achievement for every student. Illinois State Board of Education's (ISBE) final ESSA plan ultimately adopted many of the recommendations proposed by Advance Illinois and the array of partners that came together through the P-20 Council, Illinois Balanced Accountability Measures (IBAM), and ISBE meetings. Yet all agreed the work was not over when the plan was submitted. The partnership, trust, and working relationships built during the ESSA planning process will be the foundation for work going forward as the plan is refined and implementation begins.