TransACT Blog

By David Holbrook, Keja Whiteman, with contributions from Jenn Runs Close To Lodge 

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. We are honored to feature a co-written article between TransACT Executive Director of Federal Programs and State Relationships, Dr. Holbrook, and his colleague Keja Nokomis Whiteman of KW Consultants LLC, with contributions from middle school educator Jenn Runs Close To Lodge. 

TransACT ParentNotices is parent engagement software that is used by school districts and state departments of education to support compliant and equitable parent engagement. Subscribers of ParentNotices have access to over 200 different expertly written and translated notices that have been legally reviewed where applicable for compliance with federal education laws. ParentNotices supports administrators in a compliant parent engagement plan and can serve as evidence of implementation in the event of a state monitoring visit.  

Every year, in order to inform the U.S. Congress of the presidential administration’s priorities, the White House releases a proposed budget for the next fiscal year (FY). The U.S. Congress is the legislative body that creates the federal law that designates the amount of funding available for the federal government and can confirm or ignore the White House’s proposed budget.

Parent and family engagement is not just a buzzword. It's an essential task for schools, parents, and families.   

During the COVID-19 pandemic, disruption to routines is occurring as schools blend remote and in-classroom learning. Schools can't always efficiently conduct learning assessments online; students are often less engaged with online learning and teachers are caught between two worlds, switching teaching methods for those in the classroom and online.

Effective school-to-home communication plays a vital role when it comes to achieving successful student outcomes. However, staying in compliance with Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) requirements when communicating with parents and family members can prove quite challenging for schools and districts, especially with the increases to Parent and Family Engagement requirements under ESSA.

To meet federal and civil rights requirements, school administrators must provide parent communications in a language parents can understand. Administrators are specifically required to meet these communication requirements for the top 5 languages in their district.

Congress passed the staggering $2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act that includes the authority for the Secretary of Education to waive certain federal requirements. It also includes about $38 billion in funding for higher education and K-12 education. The Elementary and Secondary School Relief (ESSER) Fund portion of the CARES Act includes $13.5 billion for K-12 education.

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.

TransACT’s Parent Notices team looks forward to the National ESEA Conference every year. It gives us the opportunity to meet with and learn more about our current customers as well as stay up to date on the topics that are at the forefront for educators working in ESEA (ESSA) programs across the country. We’ve poured over the schedule and wanted to provide you with some presentations that we think would be worth checking out at the National Association of ESEA State Program Administrator's Conference in Atlanta, Georgia, February 4-7, 2020. 

The reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) resulted in significant changes for requirements related to students in foster care in both the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act and Title I of the ESEA/ESSA.