The 2016-2017 school year is a time when we are transitioning from one version of a major federal education law to another. In December last year, President Obama signed into law the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). The ESSA reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), which was last reauthorized by the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act in 2001. The transition between ESSA and NCLB during the 2016-2017 school year includes some changes to TransACT Communications’ parent notice collections. 

This blog was updated on July 25th, 2023.

There is a lot to organize at the beginning of the school year, especially with the additional chaos of keeping up with updates regarding the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).  

The TransACT ESSA National Advisory Board (NAB) was formed in March this year. The purpose of the ESSA NAB is to identify the parent notices that are required, necessary, and allowable to implement the mandates of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) and to help craft and review the content of these notices. The first meeting of the ESSA NAB was in March and today we have nearly 50 State and District education leaders participating in this work to ensure that our parent notices are comprehensive, up-to-date, legally compliant, and aligned to ESSA requirements.

The 2016-2017 school year will be one of transition due to the reauthorization of the ESEA by the ESSA. One transition includes the No Child Left Behind (NCLB), Title I Section 1119, Highly Qualified Teachers requirements: the US Department of Education (USED) is not requiring that districts comply with these requirements during the 2016-2017 SY.

Dr. David Holbrook, Executive Director of Federal Programs is presenting alongside Gary Cook from WIDA and Delia Pompa from the Migrant Policy Institute at WIDA 2016. The theme this year, Drawing on Life’s Experiences: Designing Bright Futures, brings together educators from a variety of backgrounds to give professional development on academic language development and academic achievement for children and youth who are culturally and linguistically diverse. This year’s conference will be held October 12-15, 2016 in Philadelphia, PA.

Join Dr. Holbrook, Gary Cook, Delia Pompa for an engaging question and answer time. The panel is set to meet on Thursday, October 13^th from 10:45am to 11:45am.

Additionally, TransACT is proud to be a sponsor of WIDA’s 2016 conference. Stop by and see us at booth #412!

Since 2002, the federal education law that focuses on providing all children with a fair, equal and significant opportunity to obtain a high-quality education has been a heated topic, both for education professionals and the lay-person alike. While NCLB’s original shelf life was seven years, it’s been on the books for twice that long — and it was so controversial that many are happy to see it go.

Immigration is changing education in the United States.  Public school districts are seeing increased enrollments of English Second Language (ESL) students, and the upward trend is expected to continue. As these trends have shifted, so too has the federal government’s role, with mandates that make school districts responsible for providing the best educational services possible to one and all.

The reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) made some significant changes and additions to requirements related to children in foster care. On June 23rd, the U.S. Department of Education (USED) issued the document “Non-Regulatory Guidance: Ensuring Educational Stability for Children in Foster Care”, which provides clarification for the new or changed requirements.

On July 27th 2016, the U.S. Department of Education (USED) issued updated guidance for the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). This guidance also covers the ESSA Title I requirements for students experiencing homelessness, with implementation requirements as soon as October 1, 2016.

In February, the House Education and the Workforce Committee took up the long overdue task of reauthorizing the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) as amended by the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001.