Across the country, states are quietly pursuing federal waivers under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) that would weaken equity protections tied to funding, assessments, and accountability. These changes are being framed as technical adjustments or “flexibility,” but for parents—especially Black, Brown, immigrant, and low-income parents—they represent something far more dangerous: the removal of our ability to advocate for our children.
ESSA was never just a policy framework. For families, it has been one of the few tools that forces transparency—requiring states to show how students are actually doing, who is being underserved, and where resources are falling short. When states ask to waive these requirements, they are not simplifying the system. They are making inequity easier to hide.
When Accountability Disappears, Parents Lose Leverage
Parents cannot advocate for what they cannot see.
ESSA’s equity backstops—disaggregated data, subgroup accountability, and school improvement requirements—give families the information and leverage needed to demand change. Without them, schools can mask disparities behind averages, districts can shift resources away from students who need them most, and states can claim progress without addressing persistent gaps.
These waivers do not just reduce federal oversight. They weaken parents voice and community power.
And the harm does not stop with students who have formally recognized disabilities.
What About Children Who Don’t Have a Diagnosis—but Still Need Support?
One of the most overlooked dangers of ESSA waivers is how they affect students who do not have documented medical or learning disabilities, but who still require intervention, mental health supports, academic recovery, or culturally responsive services.
Many children struggle due to trauma, housing instability, community violence, language barriers, or systemic racism—not because of a diagnosable condition. ESSA accountability structures help ensure these students are identified, supported, and not written off as “behavioral problems” or “low performers.”
When states roll back assessment and accountability requirements:
- Early intervention opportunities disappear
- Families lose the data needed to advocate for support
- Schools face less pressure to respond proactively
- Students without formal diagnoses are more likely to be ignored
In other words, waiver requests don’t just affect “special populations.” They impact any child who needs adults to intervene before failure becomes permanent.
Waivers as a Tool to Silence Families
This moment is not happening in isolation. It comes amid coordinated attacks on DEI, CRT, and parent-led advocacy across the country. ESSA waivers fit neatly into this broader effort to shrink public accountability and sideline families—especially families who challenge inequitable systems.
When federal protections weaken, parents are told to trust state systems that have historically failed our children. When transparency disappears, families are blamed for not being “engaged enough.” When outcomes worsen, responsibility is shifted back onto communities instead of institutions.
This is not flexibility. It is displacement of responsibility.
A Resource for Parents Who Refuse to Be Shut Out
That’s why the launch of ESSAWaiverWatch.org, created by All4Ed, The Education Trust, and the National Parents Union, is critical. The site serves as a hub for parents and advocates to:
- Access plain-language tools to question and challenge state leaders
- Adapt resources to local and community-specific contexts
- Advocate for limited waivers that do not sacrifice equity
- Track which states are proposing rollbacks
- Understand what ESSA waivers are and how they work
Importantly, many of the tools are white-labeled—meaning parents and organizers can use them in their own communities, with their own voices, and on their own terms.
Parent Voice Is Policy Power
Parents are not a special interest group. They are stakeholders with lived expertise. When their ability to advocate is weakened, systems become less accountable—and children pay the price.
ESSA equity protections exist because families demanded them. Waivers that roll them back should not move forward without public scrutiny, parent consent, and clear evidence that students will not be harmed.
This is a call to parents everywhere:
- Ask your state leaders what waivers they are pursuing.
- Demand transparency about how students will be protected.
- Insist that accountability does not disappear behind policy jargon.
Federal Waiver Watch reminds us that advocacy does not end at the classroom door—or even within school walls. It continues wherever decisions are made about our children—especially when those decisions are being made quietly.
Our voices are not optional. They are essential.