Migration Policy Institute Podcasts

2017-03

Episodes

Thursday Mar 09, 2017

Since the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) was signed into law in December 2015, community-based groups have been working with states to ensure that English Learners (ELs) are appropriately included in the state accountability system. These systems are complex, leading to questions about the best practices states should adopt and processes to hold schools and states accountable for ELs’ achievement in the fairest and most accurate manner. This webinar, with MPI's Delia Pompa and Margie McHugh, and Susan Lyons from the National Center for Assessment, provides an overview of the decisions states are making. 
 
MPI has released a related set of 13 state fact sheets that provide a sketch of EL demographics, student outcomes, and accountability mechanisms under ESSA and its predecessor, the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). These fact sheets (covering California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and Washington) are on MPI's web page, English Learners and the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). The web page offers one-stop access to a number of resources that could help policymakers, community groups, parents, and others understand ongoing issues surrounding implementation of ESSA regulations at the state level.

Tuesday Feb 28, 2017

Nearly 2 million college-educated immigrants in the United States are unemployed or working in low-skilled jobs, resulting in both a waste of the education and training they obtained as well as billions in forgone earnings and lost tax revenue. Foreign-trained doctors, nurses, engineers, teachers, and other professionals face diverse barriers to accessing skilled employment, including difficulty gaining recognition for education and training completed abroad, filling gaps in academic or work experience, building professional-level English proficiency, and navigating the U.S. job search and application process. Unnecessary licensing requirements also frequently prevent individuals with years of experience in their home countries from practicing in the United States.
 
This webinar marks the release of a Migration Policy Institute report examining programs and initiatives that ease the barriers to credential recognition, employment, and relicensure facing foreign-trained immigrants, as well as recent policy developments and ongoing challenges in the field. Speakers talk about lessons from policies and practices being pioneered across the United States to overcome obstacles to career re-entry, and discuss recommendations for community-based organizations, employers, and state and local governments to expand successful efforts aimed at preventing brain waste. They also examine recent initiatives launched by Michigan’s Office for New Americans that are designed to improve immigrants’ access to professional English-language instruction, employment services, and licensing guidance. 

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