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The grinding, two-year process of drafting accountability plans under the Every Student Succeeds Act has upended states鈥� K-12 political landscape and laid bare long-simmering factions among power brokers charged with putting the new federal education law into effect this school year.

The details tucked into dozens of plans being turned in to U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos this week were hammered out by a hodgepodge of elected and appointed officials鈥攆rom governors and legislators to state school board members and local superintendents鈥攄uring sometimes sparsely attended meetings, caucuses, and task force sessions.

Further complicating matters, 12 governors, half the nation鈥檚 state superintendents, and half of legislatures鈥� education committee chairpersons are new to office since the passing of ESSA in December 2015, when significant policy leeway was handed back to the states from the federal government.

鈥淭he problem with devolution and decentralization is that, by definition, you鈥檙e going to get a lot of variation ... in terms of effort, political will, and the effectiveness of those efforts,鈥� said Patrick McGuinn, a political scientist at Drew University in New Jersey who has studied state and federal policy and followed the implementation of ESSA.

In many cases, politicians, lobbyists, and membership organizations used their political prowess, technical expertise, and longevity to successfully push their agendas in the crafting of 51 state-level ESSA accountability plans.

But the nature of state politics left out other groups, some of which will spend the coming months restructuring their spending and staffing priorities to more effectively lobby in the inevitable battles to come over the new law.

鈥淭he politics of federalism is going to dramatically change going forward,鈥� said Sandra Vergari, a political scientist at the State University of New York at Albany who has studied federal education policy. Following all 50 states 鈥渋s going to be a lot more work for us scholars, policy analysts, and advocates.鈥�

Unlike prior federal versions of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, ESSA required 鈥渕eaningful stakeholder engagement鈥� in crafting state plans鈥攚ithout defining who a stakeholder is or how much or what type of engagement needs to be conducted.

Many state superintendents said shortly after ESSA was passed that they had a natural incentive to put an end to years of polarizing debates over standards, accountability, and testing. But as the ESSA planning process unfolded, power grabs ensued in a number of states. Those traditionally in charge of education policy sparred with each other and with lawmakers eager to take on a share of the new responsibility.

In North Carolina, for example, the Republican-controlled legislature鈥攋ust days before Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper took office this winter鈥攄ecided during a special session that the state board should no longer oversee key accountability and school turnaround decisions, and that those decisions should be left up to the state鈥檚 recently elected Republican state superintendent.

The board sued, and a judge decided last week to delay the law, which has held up the state鈥檚 ESSA planning process.

Delaware鈥檚 legislature stripped its state board of several powers, and a pending bill in Washington would scrap that state鈥檚 board of the ability to oversee portions of its accountability system.

And after years of infighting, Indiana鈥檚 legislature decided this year that the state鈥檚 elected superintendent should instead be appointed by the governor.

Hot-Button Issues

In other states, crucial policy decisions over testing, state goals, and how to define an ineffective teacher fanned flames between advocacy groups and politicians.

The governors in Louisiana, Maryland, North Carolina, and Wisconsin all before sending them to Secretary DeVos. (A plan still can be turned in without the governor鈥檚 signature.)

And Michigan Lt. Gov. Brian Calley asked DeVos to (something his office is not allowed to do) after he took issue with portions that dealt with special education students. That state鈥檚 board-appointed superintendent involved more than 300 people in the development of the plan, a process the lieutenant governor said still left the state鈥檚 special education community without a voice.

鈥淲hat we have in our system is all these interest groups across the political spectrum that have a lot of power and say,鈥� said Calley, who has a child with special needs. 鈥淭here鈥檚 no organized group with PACS and electoral power in our system that represents the parents.鈥�

State superintendents, many with their own political agendas, were left walking a political tightrope in some states. Several didn鈥檛 survive.

In a political snub, Hawaii鈥檚 since-replaced state Superintendent Kathryn Matayoshi wasn鈥檛 invited by Democratic Gov. David Ige to sit on the state鈥檚 ESSA task force.

New Mexico鈥檚 secretary of education, Hanna Skandera, resigned in June shortly after turning in her state鈥檚 controversial plan, which upset the state鈥檚 teaching force. And just last week, Alabama Superintendent Michael Sentance resigned after a bruising evaluation by the state鈥檚 district superintendents who took issue with his leadership style and the ESSA development process.

Advocates Weigh In

National, state, and local advocacy organizations all scrambled throughout ESSA planning to adjust to the fluid situation. A board meeting in California in July, for example, fielded dozens of comments protesting the state鈥檚 proposed accountability system.

In other states, advocates skipped state board meetings and went straight to their legislature.

Maryland鈥檚 Democratically-controlled legislature, pressured by the state鈥檚 teachers鈥� union, effectively wrote the state鈥檚 accountability system into a law called 鈥淧rotect Our Schools Act.鈥� The bill survived Republican Gov. Larry Hogan鈥檚 veto and inflamed state board of education members who accused politicians of trapping students in failing schools.

Ohio鈥檚 teachers鈥� union and parent groups managed to convince the state鈥檚 superintendent in the spring to stall the turning in of that state鈥檚 plan after they convinced enough people that the plan would ramp up school testing.

And Kentucky鈥檚 legislature passed as part of its new ESSA-aligned accountability system a sweeping education bill that mostly scrapped a historic school governance model that had elevated parent voices in the form of school-based-decision-making councils.

The battle pitted Kentucky鈥檚 politically weak parent groups against the state鈥檚 well-financed superintendents鈥� association and teachers鈥� union. It flew in the face of a working relationship the three parties had forged over the years in fighting for more school funding from the legislature as the coal industry collapsed.

鈥淲e鈥檝e been together for so long and through so much together,鈥� said a disappointed Lynne Slone, the attorney for the Kentucky Association of School Councils.

In Florida, Rosa Castro-Feinberg, a civil rights activist for minority and English-language-learner students, said she will shift her efforts to the local level if the state鈥檚 ESSA plan passes federal muster. Castro-Feinberg launched a petition and letter-writing and media campaign to from being attached to that state鈥檚 plan.

Others, however, see an opportunity for advocates and policymakers to forge ties across state lines in the wake of the sometimes-tense ESSA planning, especially on common issues such as the achievement gap, the effects poverty has on schools, and stagnant student performance.

鈥淔or some states that are diving into this more deeply, doing the soul-searching, you鈥檙e seeing a lot less partisanship,鈥� said Michelle Exstrom, the Education Program Director for the National Conference of State Legislatures. 鈥淓ducation shouldn鈥檛 be a partisan issue. I think when you have a sense of urgency, you figure out that it鈥檚 in everyone鈥檚 best interest to improve outcomes, and leaders get motivated to go to the table to fix it.鈥�