Given the inability of the U.S. House of Representatives to move forward with either FY24 appropriations or a Continuing Resolution (CR) to keep the government funded, it is looking more and more like a government shutdown is going to happen at the end of the day, September 30, 2023. While the exact effects on education are impossible to predict, we do know some things about what will happen if the U.S. Government shuts down. And the longer the shutdown lasts, the more significant the potential impacts on education and the U.S. economy. 

The most recent change to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals or DACA program runs counter to two recent court rulings. The Administration’s most recent pronouncement notes that new DACA applications are blocked, and renewals shortened from two years to one.

In June 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against the Trump administration’s efforts to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program or DACA. The ruling was a massive win for DACA recipients but left open the possibility for the Trump administration to try to rescind DACA again, using different legal arguments.

The onset of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic caused school closures across the nation. The response for many districts is a move to an online or distance learning environment, but the elimination of face-to-face interaction between teachers and students is creating new challenges in parent communications and exacerbating gaps in equitable access for all students, especially those that do not have access to laptops and those that are English Learners.

On April 15, 2019, TransACT published a letter to help states and districts communicate about the federal Public Charge Policy Final Rule. This letter about the changes to the Public Charge regulations is no longer needed because the Department of Justice has canceled those changes.

TransACT Communications, a leader in providing school districts and State Departments of Education with guidance and resources to support authentic family engagement in compliance with federal law, also provides resources for parent communication related to pertinent, urgent current events.  Our “Free Public Letters” are available to educators, regardless of their subscription status with TransACT^® ParentNotices. 

The reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) made some significant changes to how schools are identified as "in improvement."

The reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) shifted the responsibility for some requirements of federal mandates to be determined in ESSA States plans.  

On April 29, 2019, the White House issued a memo for the Attorney General and the Secretary of Homeland Security with the subject of "Additional Measures to Enhance Border Security and Restore Integrity of Our Immigration System." These regulations could make it more difficult for immigrants seeking asylum as they limit their ability to be self sustaining during the asylum application process.

Not only would these regulations impose fees for the asylum application and employment authorization application, but for those that entered illegally, it would also bar them from receiving employment authorization during the asylum process. Asylum seekers with school age children could potentially be negatively impacted by the changes outlined in these proposed regulations.

The current administration and the Department of Homeland security have proposed changes to the rule called "Inadmissibility on Public Charge Grounds." For educators, the group that the Public Charge policy and the proposed changes to that policy most closely impacts is students in immigrant families. 

The Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA) at the U.S. Department of Education (USED) has announced the release of the first two chapters of a new resource, the "English Learner Family Tool Kit". The English Learner (EL) Family Tool Kit will eventually contain six chapters or topics when complete. Release dates for additional chapters are not provided but will likely be announced by USED.