On June 24, 2016, the U.S. Department of Education announced the release of guidelines on selected new provisions in the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). The U.S. Department of Education's announcement stated:
"The U.S. Departments of Education and Health and Human Services have released guidance on new provisions in the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) for supporting children and youth in foster care. The guidance aims to assist state and local partners in understanding and implementing the law and inform state and local collaboration between educational and child welfare agencies. It was informed by promising practices from states and districts and input from diverse stakeholders consulted during the development of the resource (letter on guidance). This guidance is the first in a series of ESSA guidance packages.
The guidance, which is non-binding, offers clarity in the form of questions and answers, touching upon: educational stability requirements; procedures for jointly determining which school is in a child’s best interest; procedures for jointly determining transportation to maintain children in their original schools; transfer of relevant records; and protecting student data and privacy (blog post).
The foster youth provisions in the ESSA take effect December 10, 2016 (letter on timelines).
The Department of Education plans on releasing guidance for early learners; homeless children and youth; English Learners (Title III); recruiting, preparing, and training teachers and principals (Title II); and student support and academic enrichment (Title IV). The agency is also still reviewing feedback from the field to determine what, if any, additional guidance is a priority for full implementation of the law in the 2017-18 school year.
In addition to the guidance, the Department released a letter stressing the importance and utility of stakeholder engagement as states and districts transition to the ESSA. This letter, from Secretary King, is meant to be a starting point as state and local leaders consider how to begin meaningful engagement at the beginning of implementing the law, so they can design the best possible education systems for students. The letter provides suggestions about which stakeholders to include throughout implementation and how to improve engagement by removing systemic barriers to participation and resources for states and districts as they approach the work (blog post)."
Texas public schools need to carefully review the guidelines. Although they are non-binding, the guidelines communicate the intent of various provisions in the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) and departures from the guidelines may result in compliance monitoring questions from regulatory oversight entities.