The most recent reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), goes into full implementation on July 1, 2017. After July 1st all ESEA notices need to align with ESSA requirements.However, some ESSA notices are required or needed prior to the July 1st date. One category of notices needed is the Private Schools Consultation notices.
Consultation with private schools for equitable participation of eligible private school students in federally funded public school programs is a longstanding requirement of ESEA. ESSA made some changes to these requirements and therefore notifications connected to these requirements must be updated to align with the ESSA changes.
Consultation with private school administrators must be done in a timely manner prior to decisions regarding which services will be available to eligible private school students, teachers, and parents. Many school districts schedule consultation with private school administrators in the spring of the year for services that will be provided starting the next school year. Since ESSA goes into full implementation in the next school year, the notices used to document consultation under ESSA are required now. With this in mind, TransACT has made available to its existing customers its updated Private School Consultation documents that align to ESSA requirements.
The Private School Consultation documents include the three notices that were available in TransACT’s ESEA/NCLB Collection (now updated to align to ESSA). They include:
- Annual Private School Consultation for Public School Services: Invitation to Participate
- Verification of Annual Private School Consultation
- Private School Federal Program Services Identification of Provider
In addition, there is also a new Private School Consultation notice that reflects new requirements under ESSA. This notice provides information about federal requirements related to providing equitable services to eligible private school students, teachers and parents. It also provides contact and other information regarding the new ESSA required position at each State Education Agency of a Private School Ombudsman. The Ombudsman serves as an intermediary between private schools and school districts and handles issues and concerns. The new notice is titled:
- Federal Requirement for Providing Equitable Public School Services to Private Schools and Private School Ombudsman Information
Other ESSA notices that have been required prior to the July 1st full ESSA implementation date include the Teacher and Paraprofessional Qualifications Notices, Homeless Student Notices, and Foster Care Student Notices.
After July 1st all ESEA parent notices will need to align with ESSA requirements. Existing ESEA/NCLB customers will automatically transition to TransACT’s ESSA Parent Notices and currently have access to ESSA notices required prior to July 1st.
If you are not an existing Parent Notice customer, TransACT’s ESSA Parent Notices subscription is available to purchase now, with transitional coverage for NCLB that includes access to the ESSA notices required prior to July 1st listed above. Request a quote here.
If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact us at 425.977.2100, Option 3 or email at support@transact.com.
