If a State wants funding that comes through the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESEA/ESSA), then it must submit an "ESSA State Plan" that describes how it will use that funding to benefit students in that State. The two deadlines to submit ESSA State Plans were April 3, 2017 and September 18, 2017, but not all states have submitted their plans.

Parent participation is an essential component to academic growth and achievement. The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) in 2015 considers parent participation so pivotal that sixteen different types of meetings are defined throughout the law. In this blog and in our free ebook, "The Parent Participation Form for Parent Meetings: What You Need To Know", we discuss best practices for raising participation in parent meetings, and review the components of an effective meeting notification.

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals or DACA is an Obama-era executive action that provides protections to undocumented immigrants that were brought into the U.S. when they were under age 16. The rationale behind DACA is that children cannot be held responsible for the actions of the adults that brought them into the U.S. and without some protections they could face dire circumstances.

In 2004, the Council of Great City Schools (CGCS) began its mission to provide school district operations leaders with a framework for measuring and improving their district's performance. One department that sees a particular uplift from regular performance measurement and adjustment is food services. Child Nutrition Services are a fundamental component of the services that school districts provide to their students, and they can have a measurable impact on student achievement. However, it is challenging to balance meeting nutrition standards for school meals, encourage students to participate in meal programs, and prove that programs are affordable and profitable.

Over the years that I have worked with students learning English (English learners or ELs), I have met a number of well-meaning educators and parents that don't understand the difference between English Language Proficiency (ELP) standards and English content standards also know as reading/language arts content standards. For some parents and educators that don't have training or experience working with ELs, the idea that there are two types of English standards is confusing. 

So, I (and a number of my colleagues) was glad to see that the U.S Department of Education (USED) recently published guidance that specifically addressed this issue. 

Education Week recently published an article about the increased rigor in the new English Language Proficiency (ELP) test (assessment) ACCESS 2.0. ACCESS 2.0 is the ELP test made available through the WIDA consortium. According to the EdWeek article, and several other articles that have been published on this topic, significantly fewer English Learners (ELs) tested proficient in English on ACCESS 2.0 in comparison to previous years when the previous version of this test was used.

When I was employed at a state department of education, I monitored school districts for compliance with ESEA requirements for both Title I and Title III. I also contracted with the U.S. Department of Education (USED) and helped USED monitor Title III in five states. One of the most common English Learner (EL) program monitoring issues I found was an improper use of Title I or Title III funds to pay for the salaries of teachers working in a district’s core “language instruction educational program” (LIEP), also know as an EL program.

The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) went into effect at the beginning of the 2017-18 school year, forcing districts across the country to evaluate, re-write, and re-translate the parent and family notifications that are required under the law. During a webinar training about the required changes (recorded July 24, 2017), the question was raised, “Which letters do charter schools use to schedule a Parent and Family Engagement Policy development meeting, the ‘school’ level letter or the ‘district’ level letter?”

Private sector entities rarely share what best practices they have employed to attain a competitive advantage. This is exactly the opposite of my experience in K12. Superintendents, administrators, educators want to share best practices so others can gain those advantages.  

TransACT Parent Notices is an online subscription for educators and administrators to manage their federal parent communication requirements. We offer expertly written, legally reviewed parent notifications in multiple languages, guidance on important requirements, and access to expertise to support understanding federal requirements under the Every Student Succeeds Act, Section 504, and IDEA. 

Occasionally, we receive questions about whether our Parent Notices and software as a service (SAAS) platform comply with the Section 508 Standards of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended (29 U.S.C. §  794(d)). This can be a point of confusion because Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act specifically applies to school districts serving students with disabilities, but Section 508 of the Rehabilitations Act applies only to Federal Agencies (not to States or school districts).

The Section 508 standards for accessibility for individuals with disabilities apply to Federal Agencies, in the development, procurement, maintenance, or use of electronic and information technology. The Section 508 standards do not apply to States and school districts because these agencies are not Federal Agencies. TransACT products are purchased by States and school districts. The Section 508 standards do not apply to TransACT because Federal Agencies do not engage in the procurement of TransACT products.

For more information on a subscription to compliant parent notifications in multiple languages for ESSA, Section 504 and IDEA for your district, request a demonstration here.