On December 10, 2015, the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015 (ESSA) was signed by President Barack Obama and became the United States' current national education law (United States Department of Education [U.S. DOE], n.d.). The ESSA was a long overdue reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA). Unlike previous ESEA reauthorizations, the ESSA shifted a great deal of education authority from the federal government back to states and local education agencies. This reauthorization of ESSA: (1) ensures that each state has set high college and career standards; (2) enables states to maintain accountability by directing resources towards schools that require improvement; (3) empowers states and local education agencies to use appropriate, evidenced-based interventions that foster school improvement; (4) encourages states to preserve annual assessments as an informing mechanism that does not overshadow teaching and learning; (5) increases access to quality preschool programs for more children; and (6) secures new resources to identify and investigate promising educational practices and to replicate proven strategies that enhance students' educational outcomes (The White House, Office of the Press Secretary, 2015). With the ESSA now in place, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) is preparing for its implementation during the 2017-2018 school year, and the initial perception seems favorable.