The English Language Learner KnowledgeBase for Administrators

ELL Family Toolkit

The English Learner Family Toolkit was created to help families choose education services that meet their child’s needs. U.S. educators, elementary and secondary school teachers, principals, and other school staff can also share the toolkit as a resource for English learners and their families.  The English Learner Family Toolkit consists of 6 chapters, and each chapter contains 5 sections - an overview, enrollment, family and student rights, questions to ask schools, tips, and resources. Download the complete toolkit by using the quick links for the information needed most.

ESSA: ELL Toolkit

This ESSA updated ELL Tool kit is provided by the Department of Education.

Toolkit for Hispanic Families

As noted via the U.S. Department of Education's website, "This U.S. Department of Education toolkit will show Hispanic families what to expect from their schools, their teachers, and their child at all ages and grade levels. It will tell them how to help their child through school, what resources are available, and what they, their family, and their community can do to help their child learn."

Alternate version in Spanish

ELL Parental Involvement

Local education agencies (LEAs) must have a process to identify limited English proficient (LEP) parents and provide them with free and effective language assistance, such as translated materials or an appropriate and competent interpreter.

OCR Self-Assessment Guide - Notice to Parents

This assessment guide is part of a OCR Region VII office's pilot program to encourage partnership approaches to civil rights compliance. It assists school systems to voluntarily comply with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 regarding equal educational opportunities for national origin minority students who are English language learners (ELL). This section can be completed at the school or district level to evaluate policies and procedure for communicating with the parents of ELL students.

Alternate Format: PDF

Parent and Family Engagement Provisions in the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)

LEAs must ensure meaningful communication with LEP parents in a language they can understand and adequately notify LEP parents of information about any program, service, or activity of an LEA or state that is called to the attention of non-LEP parents. This January 2016 brief provides advocates with a full overview of the ESSA's requirements, and opportunities for parent, family and community engagement.

Parental Involvement - Title I through III

ESSA specifies the Title I through III requirements for parental involvement. This document summarizes discussions from the leadership Conference Education fund on pages 3 - 5. The requirements include:

• "a written district policy on parental involvement,
• the allocation of funds to promote family literacy and parenting skills,
• a written parent involvement policy for each school receiving Title I funds,
• an annual meeting to explain how they parents can be involved in their child's education for each school receiving Title I funds,
• a school - parent compact."
• The district must also build capacity among parents and staff to work together to assure participation by parents with limited English proficiency "to the extent practicable, in a language such parents understand."

To read the complete section, click on Section 1118.

ELL Resources

This link provides additional resources for ELLs from the Central and South Central Comprehensive Centers "External Resources - Topic Specific Sources."