Chapter 13: Drifting from Equity: The Relationship Between Academic Drift, Epistemic Drift, and the Role of Equity in Principal Preparation and Professional Development

The passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) in 2015 holds significant educational equity questions and concerns for K–12 districts and schools (Black, 2017; Egalite, Fusarelli, & Fusarelli, 2017; Williams & Welsh, 2017). Under ESSA, states have greater latitude over school improvement strategies (Fernandez, LeChasseur, & Weiner, 2017). As ESSA returns education policy-making authority back to the states, equity concerns center on whether and how the newly granted autonomy will (a) improve college and career readiness for traditionally underserved groups (Malin, Bragg, & Hackman, 2017); (b) influence the financial scope and focus of the types of services and opportunities students receive (Fernandez et al., 2017 ); (c) impact tribal sovereignty and self-determination (Mackey, 2017); (d) enhance states’ accountability systems (Marsh, Bush-Mecenas, & Hough, 2017); and (e) shape educational leadership (Fuller, Hollingworth, & Pendola, 2017; Young, Winn, & Reedy, 2017).