There are several points throughout the school year where parent communication is required by law, but it can be difficult to keep track of the dates or specific circumstances which warrant required or recommended parent communication.

States, school districts and charter networks who subscribe to TransACT ParentNotices' ESSA  have a helpful resource to help them keep track of these timelines and requirements: "ACCT-A3 - ESEA Stakeholder Notifications Summary, Checklist & Timelines"

As of the most recent count, there were over 6,900 charter schools in 43 states across the U.S. Even though some states have not joined in on the charter school movement, the majority have, and each state has its own system of holding charter schools accountable in ways that differ from the criteria set forth by each district’s board of education.

If you have been following the situation with regard to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA program, you'll know:

The National Council of State Title III Directors (NCSTIIID) will host its Spring Webinar on May 10, 2018 from 11:30 am - 1:00pm Eastern Time. Those interested are invited to join to learn how State Title I and Title III Directors are collaborating at the national level to meet the needs of English Learners (ELs). The meeting will include information about the EL Newcomer Toolkit from USED, updates on NCSTIIID activities, and what is happening at the federal level.

On Wednesday March 21, 2018 the U.S. Congress released the text of its $1.3 trillion FY2018 Omnibus Spending Bill. If passed by both the House and the Senate and signed by the President, this bill will fund the government for the remainder of the current fiscal year (until October 1, 2018). The Government is currently operating on its fifth CR (Continuing Resolution, a temporary government funding bill). If Congress fails to pass this bill by midnight on... read more at 21CCLC.com.

The February 28th National Council for State Title III Directors (NCSTIIID) 2018 Annual Meeting, held in Albuquerque, NM, included a panel discussion titled “Building Strong Partnerships between Families, Schools, and Communities.” One item that was included in the NCSTIIID meeting program packet and discussed by the panel was the National PTA’s National Standards for Family-School Partnerships. This is an excellent resource for schools and districts looking for a model to implement ESSA’s Parent and Family Engagement requirements and includes a means to measure the success of that implementation.

In January 2018 I wrote a blog about a federal judge in California blocking the Trump administration's efforts to end DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program). On February 13, 2018 a second federal judge issued a temporary block to the end of DACA. According to the current timeline, the DACA program is set to end on March 5, 2018. The ruling by these two judges has temporarily block the end of DACA and opened the door for current DACA recipients to apply to renew their DACA status until the legal challenges to rescinding DACA are settled. Renewals were suspended on October 5, 2017 following the September 5, 2017 rescission of DACA. This will very likely allow DACA recipients to continue to apply for renewal past the March 5, 2018 looming deadline.

The Trump administration’s proposal for a major overhaul of the organizational structure at the U.S. Department of Education (USED) includes the eventual elimination of the Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA), rolling it into the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE). Doing this could compromise any singular focus at USED on students learning English as a second language (or third, etc.). This is because it combines all English learner (EL) programs administered by USED into the USED office where the largest funding stream that focuses on academics is located. OESE houses the Office of State Support (OSS), which is where Title I and other academic focused federal education programs reside. In the federal education funding world, Title I is the tail that wags the dog.

On February 12, 2018 the White House budget proposal was released, outlining Trump's priorities for funding the 2019-2020 school year (Fiscal Year 2019 or FY2019). This proposal included cutting the same two major programs that Trump proposed to cut for FY2018, Title II and 21st Century Community Learning Centers (Title IV, Part B). Dr. David Holbrook, Executive Director of Federal Programs and State Relationships, provides commentary on the budget at www.21cclc.com. Read more here.

A federal judge in California has blocked the Trump administrations efforts to end DACA (the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program). Last year, California and other states filed a request to stop DACA from being rescinded. While that case has not yet been resolved, a San Francisco U.S. District Judge, William Alsup, has issued a ruling that halts the DACA program from ending while the legal challenge moves forward.