This blog has been modified from its original version, which appeared in the Ellevation blog. 

TransACT Communications, the leader in parent engagement compliance, is proud to announce that Executive Director for Federal Compliance and State Relationships, Dr. David Holbrook, will serve as a policy adviser for the Ellevation Advisory Board.  In this role, which is the first of its kind at Ellevation, Dr. Holbrook will help the Ellevation ELL community understand the impact of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) of 2015 on the work of English Language Learner (ELL) educators and their students.

TransACT’s Executive Director for Federal Compliance and State Relationships, Dr. David Holbrook, has been selected to serve as the Executive Director of the National Council of State Title III Directors (NCSTIIID). In this role, David will be responsible for guiding the board and its activities associated with advocacy for English Learners and immigrant students. 

Charter schools continue to be a hotly debated topic in the world of education, with educators and administrators tending to be either strongly for, or strongly against, the charter school movement. No matter if you are pro-charter school or anti-charter school, there are many facts and figures that seem to support both sides of this movement.

School choice is a hot topic in the education world, especially lately. With the change in presidential administration, there have been many promises regarding how charters schools may be a mechanism for education reform. This conversation really began back in the late 1980s, when Albert Shanker rocked the educational world with his speech on school choice, and a subsequent New York Times article that became widely circulated.

Charter schools are known throughout the U.S. for endeavoring to provide students with resources to better channel their energies into their studies by experimenting with new or modified methodologies. Depending on the charter network you visit, you might see strategies focused on increased parental involvement, modified school days, smaller class sizes, and/or a greater level of attention for those who need more assistance, such as special education students and English Language Learners (ELLs).

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.

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.

As part of our commitment to provide school district administrators with resources and guidance on federal program compliance and administration, we regularly publish blogs featuring guest writers. This month, we are honored to feature Dr. José Medina, the Director of Global Language and Culture Education at the Center for Applied Linguistics in Washington, DC.

There is growing concern surrounding the impact that the Trump administration’s decision to rescind (cancel) DACA (the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program) will have on immigrants and their educational rights. In particular, the work that a school district does to collect information for school enrollment, or eligibility for Title III services, needs to be carefully conducted so as to not violate civil rights around the "chilling effect" (any practices that could intentionally or unintentionally dissuade immigrant families from enrolling their children as students).