On August 1st, 2017, the ACLU joined the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and 21 other civil rights and education groups in sending letters to 34 state education chiefs. The letters urged the state chiefs to submit education plans to the U.S. Department of Education that advance educational equity and serve the interests of all children, especially those facing the greatest barriers to success. The plans are required by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) and these states were chosen because they will be submitting their state plans for holding schools accountable for educating all children to the Department on or before September 18, 2017. States include: AK, AL, AR, CA, FL, GA, HI, IA, ID, IN, KS, KY, MD, MN, MO, MS, MT, NC, NE, NH, NY, OH, OK, PA, RI, SC, SD, TX, UT, VA, WA, WI, WV, and WY.