Based on feedback, we are continuing the phased approach to our Call for Proposals this year. We hope to build 50 percent of the Sacramento (Feb 2026) program during the first two phases and complete the Sacramento (Feb 2026) with an all call and invited speakers in Phase 3. We hope to build 50 percent of the Atlanta (Oct 2026) program by the end of Phase 3 and complete the Atlanta (Oct 2026) with an all call and invited speakers in Phase 4.  

• Phase 1 – Up to 20% of the program will be completed. Proposals submitted in Phase 1 that are not accepted right away, will move to Phase 2 for additional consideration.

• Phase 2 – Up to 50% of the program will be completed. Proposals submitted in Phase 2 that are not accepted right away, will move to Phase 3 for additional consideration

• Phase 3 – Up to 98% of the Sacramento (Feb 2026) and up to 50% of the Atlanta (Oct 2026) program will be completed. Proposals submitted in Phase 3 that are not accepted will move to a waitlist for possible consideration in the final program. Those who select Atlanta (Oct 2026) or both conferences in their submission will also move to Phase 4 for consideration in the Atlanta (Oct 2026) program.

• Phase 4 – Up to 98% of the Atlanta (Oct 2026) program will be completed. Proposals submitted by the end of Phase 4 that are not accepted will move to a waitlist for possible consideration in the final Atlanta (Oct 2026) program.

If you would like your proposal to be considered for the online conference, Digital Learningpalooza, as well (this will not affect the acceptance of your in-person conference proposal), check that option in the proposal form.

A webinar will be held prior to each phase sharing information about what we are looking for and how to submit a successful proposal, as well as what topics we are looking for. Time for Q&A will be provided during each of these webinars, so bring your questions.

The phases are outlined below:

Phase 1 - June 3 - July 14, 2025 - Sacramento (Feb 2026) and Atlanta (October 2026) presentations will be accepted.

• Informational Webinar - May 28, 2025 at 12pm PT/3pm ET - Watch the recording HERE!

• Priority Focus of Phase 1:

  • Submit on all topics! (Except AI, wait until Phase 3 and 4 - changing too fast to submit now.)

  • Program Models and Innovation: Dig into innovative approaches to structuring K–12 digital learning programs, big and small, including emerging models and lessons learned. Great for leaders, designers, and researchers.

  • Student Recruitment, Enrollment & Support: Explore how digital learning programs can market to and attract students, streamline enrollment, and design onboarding systems that set learners up for early and sustained success.

  • Student Wellness & Success: Explore strategies, tools, and structures that support student well-being, connectedness, and the development of SEL skills in online and hybrid learning environments.

  • Supporting Special Student Populations: Explore targeted supports, strategies, and structures for students who require additional attention to thrive in digital settings.

Phase 2 - August 5 - September 2, 2025 - Sacramento (Feb 2026) and Atlanta (October 2026) presentations will be accepted.

• Informational Webinar - July 30, 2025 at 12pm PT/3pm ET - REGISTER HERE!

• Priority Focus of Phase 2: (The topics below are from DLAC Ignite 2025, updated topics will be added after Phase 1.)

  • Professional Learning for both leaders and teachers - needs, onboarding, and ongoing support, etc.;

  • Innovation in digital learning (new and what's coming in the future);

  • Student and parent/family engagement strategies;

  • Working with special student populations in digital environments (ELL, Special Education, Gifted, etc.);

  • Accessibility;

  • Sessions to support specific roles (School leaders, Counselors, ParaProfessionals, Researchers, Policymakers, Media, etc.)

  • Best practices for teachers and leaders in digital learning.

Phase 3 - September 17 - October 12, 2025 - Sacramento (Feb 2026) and Atlanta (October 2026) presentations will be accepted -

• Informational Webinar - September 10, 2025 at 12pm PT/3pm ET - REGISTER HERE!

• Priority Focus of Phase 3 - An open call phase (please feel free to submit on any topic). However, we are looking to fill in gaps not met in the first two phases. (The topics below are from DLAC Ignite 2025, updated topics will be added after Phase 2.)

  • Artificial Intelligence in Education – a focus on what we can do now and in the future. How do you envision it will look in 2-5 years and how will this affect online and hybrid learning). Let’s push our thinking!;

  • Sessions focused on pushing the field forward (more advanced audience) and for leaders of digital programs/schools;

  • SEL/wrap around services focused sessions; and

  • eSports, clubs, proms, electives, etc. (how are you engaging students outside of academic online classrooms.

Phase 4 - March 17, 2026 - June 8, 2026 - Atlanta (October 2026) presentations only. An open call phase (please feel free to submit on any topic). However, we are looking to fill in gaps not met in the first three phases.

• Informational Webinar - March 11, 2026 at 12pm PT/3pm ET - REGISTER HERE!

• Priority Focus of Phase 3 (The topics below are from DLAC Ignite 2025, updated topics will be added after Phase 3):

  • Artificial Intelligence in Education – a focus on what we can do now and in the future. How do you envision it will look in 2-5 years and how will this affect online and hybrid learning). Let’s push our thinking!

Proposal submissions will be reviewed by members of the Program Committee throughout the months of July, August, September, and October (after each phase) and the program will be finalized by conference organizers in early November.  All submitters will be notified of their proposal status (e.g. accepted, waitlisted, declined) at the end of each phase and no later than November 8, 2024 on the final status of their proposals. 

May 28, 2025 - Phase 1 ABC’s of Submitting a DLAC Ignite Proposal webinar. Watch the recording HERE!

June 3, 2025 - Phase 1 Call for Proposals Opens (See phase dates and topics above.)

July 14, 2025 - Phase 1 Closes

August 9, 2025 - Phase 1 submitters will receive feedback from the Ignite Program Committee

July 30, 2025 - Phase 2 ABC’s of Submitting a DLAC Proposal webinar. Register HERE!

August 5, 2025 - Phase 2 Opens

September 2, 2025 - Phase 2 Closes

September 27, 2025 - Phase 2 submitters will receive feedback from the Ignite Program Committee

September 10, 2025 - Phase 3 ABC’s of Submitting a DLAC Proposal webinar. Register HERE!

September 18, 2025 - Phase 3 Opens

October 12, 2025 - Call for Proposals Closes

October 13 - November 13, 2025 - Final review of proposals by Program Committee and DLAC team.

Week of November 10, 2025 - Notifications are emailed to all submitters no later than November 14, 2025.

DLAC Ignite Feb 2026 (Sacramento) speakers must confirm their acceptance no later than Friday, December 12, 2025.

DLAC Ignite Feb 2026 (Sacramento) Speakers must complete all tasks and finalize their proposal and all edits no later than Friday, February 6, 2026.

DLAC Ignite - February 18 - 20, 2026 in Sacramento, California

March 11, 2026 - Phase 4 ABC’s of Submitting a DLAC Proposal webinar. Register HERE!

March 17, 2026 - Phase 4 Opens

June 7, 2026 - Call for Proposals Closes

June 8 - July 24, 2026 - Final review of proposals by Program Committee and DLAC team.

Week of July 20, 2026 - Notifications are emailed to all submitters no later than July 24, 2026.

DLAC Ignite Oct 2026 (Atlanta) speakers must confirm their acceptance no later than Friday, August 28, 2026.

DLAC Ignite Oct 2026 (Atlanta) Speakers must complete all tasks and finalize their proposal and all edits no later than Friday, October 2, 2026.

DLAC Ignite - February 19 - 21, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia

DLAC presentations emphasize shorter, more interactive sessions, ranging from 6 minutes 40 seconds to 110 minutes, allowing flexibility for attendees to personalize their learning experience:

• 20-minute segments: 15 minutes to form the building blocks of the program, with 5 minutes for Q&A and 10 minutes for transitions.

• Modular sessions: 4, 20-minute sessions, built around themes, with attendees encouraged to move between sessions (10 minute breaks) as needed.

• Room Moderators: Enforce timing and transitions to maintain "organized chaos" throughout breakout sessions.​​​

In the Call for Proposal form, you will select your main topic of focus. Proposals should focus on one of these key topics:

• AI and Emerging Technology: Explore the latest trends, tools, and ethics around AI and other transformative technologies impacting teaching, learning, and school operations. A focus on how you are rethinking digital teaching and learning with these tools will be prioritized.

• Curriculum and Course Design: Learn how schools and educators build, buy, adapt, and deliver high-quality digital content and courses. Useful for instructional designers, curriculum leads, and vendors.

• Digital Tools and Infrastructure: Focus on the practical tools, platforms, and technology infrastructure powering K–12 digital learning. Perfect for tech leads, support staff, and power users.

• Family & Community Connections: Showcase strategies for building meaningful, lasting relationships with families and communities that strengthen student outcomes and ensure long-term program success.

• Leadership and Program Management: For school and district leaders navigating the complexities of policy, funding, operations, research, and accountability in digital and blended environments.

• Professional Development and Staff Support: Explore how to build a thriving workforce of digital educators and support roles, with professional learning at the core. Designed for coaches, PD leads, and school leaders.

• Program Models and Innovation: Dig into innovative approaches to structuring K–12 digital learning programs, big and small, including emerging models and lessons learned. Great for leaders, designers, and researchers.

• Student Recruitment, Enrollment & Support: Explore how digital learning programs can market to and attract students, streamline enrollment, and design onboarding systems that set learners up for early and sustained success.

• Student Wellness & Success: Explore strategies, tools, and structures that support student well-being, connectedness, and the development of SEL skills in online and hybrid learning environments.

• Supporting Special Student Populations: Explore targeted supports, strategies, and structures for students who require additional attention to thrive in digital settings.

• Teaching and Learning Strategies: Explore effective practices for designing instruction, engaging students, and assessing learning in online and blended classrooms. Ideal for educators, coaches, and anyone focused on pedagogy and learner outcomes.

• Other: Please explain.

You will have the option to classify your audience to further categorize your session:

• Online Learning: Sessions in this topic should be focused on programs or schools where the majority of instruction is done online with students and teachers remote from one another. Full-time online schools and state virtual schools are generally in this category.

• Hybrid Learning: Sessions in this topic should be focused on programs or schools that combine online and onsite instruction, without requiring students to spend most of their time onsite on a traditional bell schedule. This category includes many independent study programs and alternative schools that have a site that many students attend regularly. These schools are funded based on mechanisms other than seat time.

• Blended Learning: Sessions in this topic should be focused on programs or schools that operate on a fairly traditional daily bell schedule and semester calendar, integrating online tools, resources, and content into the school day. (Please note, only a small portion of our attendees are focused on blended learning)

• Digital Learning: Sessions in this topic should focus on the use of digital tools, content, and systems to support teaching and learning across any school model, whether online, hybrid, blended, or traditional. This broad category includes strategies, policies, and innovations that enhance student learning, streamline operations, or expand educational opportunities using technology. Applicable to educators, counselors, administrators, support staff, and program leaders across all K–12 learning models.

We are soliciting the following types of sessions. Remember, an individual segment is planned for each speaker to present for 20 minutes including Q&A. Therefore, the total times are:

• 0.5 segments: 10 minutes

• 1 segment: 20 minutes

• 2 segments: 50 minutes

• 3 segments: 80 minutes

• 4 segments: 110 minutes

Sessions are held in the 110-minute blocks of time, made up of multiple segments and transition time, that can be built around a specific theme/topic, which will combine different session types.

You will be asked to select one of the following session types (You will also be asked: Are there any other session types you would consider for this proposal? If so, which one(s) would be appropriate?"):

• Contributed Talk (20 minutes/1 segment) – These talks are made up of 15 minutes of presentation and 5 minutes of questions and discussion. The Program Committee will organize these short talks together under broad themes. 

• Explore and Engage (50 minutes/2 segments) – This session is intended for a presenter to share information about a topic for 25 minutes (similar to a Contributed Talk) and then lead a discussion about the topic directly following the presentation for the next 25 minute segment (similar to a Table Talk).

• Table Talk (50 minutes/2 segments) – Table talks are facilitated small group (10-15 people) discussions of 50 minutes. Discussion topics are chosen by the moderator of the session and can focus on any aspect of digital learning. The moderator does not need to be an expert on the topic, but should have questions planned prior to the Table Talk to guide the conversation. Screens, projectors, and microphones will not be provided for Table Talks.

• Book Study (50 minutes/2 segments) – Book Studies are facilitated small group (10-15 people) discussions of 50 minutes. Sessions are focused around a book that will be highlighted before the conference so attendees have the opportunity to read the book prior to the session. The book is chosen by the moderator of the session and can focus on any aspect of digital learning. The moderator does not have to be the author of the book but should have questions planned prior to the Book Study to guide the conversation. Screens, projectors, and microphones will not be provided for Book Studies.

• PechaKucha (0.5 segments) – This is a very specific type of presentation that is exactly 6 minutes and 40 seconds long, where you must have exactly 20 images in a Powerpoint with slides auto-advancing after 20 seconds. See www.pechakucha.org for more information. Speakers will have a 10 minute block of time to answer a couple of questions at the end of their presentation.

• Poster Session (40 minutes) – Posters are presented during the 40 minute coffee break on Thursday in the exhibit hall. We would like you to think of your poster as an “infographic” to stress that the graphics must convey a problem and solution, or research question and findings. Speakers will be available during the 40-minute block to address participants' questions. Poster Guidelines, including examples of past posters will be shared with accepted poster presenters. To preview the requirements and examples, click HERE. 

Blocks may also be used for the following types of activities, using the entire 110 minutes or a portion of the 110 minutes:

• Community Meetup (2 or 4 segments within program or outside of program) - Interested in connecting with others who share your role, organization type, or passion for a specific topic? Community Meetups are informal, discussion-driven gatherings designed to bring together attendees around shared interests. Whether focused on charter schools, policy, instructional design, private schools, research, or a new emerging theme, these meetups are a great way to exchange ideas, explore common challenges, and build meaningful connections.

  Use this session type to propose a meetup during the conference—either as a scheduled part of the program or as an informal gathering outside of regular sessions. If your meetup sparks interest in forming a new DLAC Community Group or State Affiliate, our team will follow up after the conference to explore next steps.

  Note: DLAC currently has established community groups focused on Charter Schools, Design & Refine, Policy, Private Schools, and Research.

• Extracurricular Activity (Yoga, Running, etc.) / (Timing will be determined with Program Committee) These are activities happening before or after the program each day. In the past, we have held activities such as yoga, running, and walking groups for people to exercise/get together to do a wellness activity where they may/may not also discuss digital learning.

• Fishbowl (2 segments) – Fishbowl is a method for facilitating group discussions. In a Fishbowl discussion, there will be four "panelists" at the front of the room (the “fishbowl”). The moderator (person submitting the session) will propose the topic and those on stage will actively discuss the topic. The initial panelists can be selected ahead of time or they can volunteer once they hear the selected topic, this is the moderator's choice. Attendees outside the fishbowl listen carefully to the conversation but are not allowed to actively engage with the panelists unless they go on stage. When they go on stage, they will replace the individual who has been on stage the longest. The topics can change throughout the session with attendees and panelists taking turns being both contributors and listeners in a group discussion.  

• Panel Discussion (2 segments) – After short introductory statements on the panel topic, a moderator will lead a discussion with the panelists on the topic, encouraging the attendees to pose questions. Panel discussions must be interactive between panel members and the audience and not a set of individual presentations. The preferred panel discussion provides panelists with a variety of perspectives on a topic from multiple schools/organizations. (The Program Committee can assist in finding other panelists as needed.) 

• Research Study Data Collection (2 or 4 segments) - Researchers may complete a feedback/data collection session to help complete a research study. This should not be a company/organization trying to collect feedback/ offer a focus group for a new product or service.

• Workshop (4 segments) – This session provides an opportunity to explore a topic in depth. It is expected that the workshop will have various interactive components. DLAC Ignite is not looking for traditional conference sessions. Please do not select Workshop as a way of getting the time for a traditional conference session. These must be interactive sessions, engaging all participants in activities and discussions to take a deeper experiential dive into a topic. 

Please reach out to ignite@deelac.com with questions about this session type. 

If you have an idea for another session, please provide this information in your proposal in the "Other" area.

• State/Regional Meetup (2 1/2 hours prior to the start of the main conference) - State meet-ups will be held on the morning of Wednesday, February 19, 2026 from 8:00-10:30am PT and are free for all attendees. DLAC State Affiliates who wish to set up an in-person state/regional meet-up during the conference will select this session type. All DLAC State Affiliate primary contacts will receive a special submission code from Chris Voelker, DLC Director to input into their proposal. Contact info@deelac.com for more information.

• Sponsor Session (1 to 3 segments) –Carol Klyver, our Director of Sponsors, will provide the submission code to her main contact of each sponsor. Sponsor sessions will require the code to be entered into the proposal for their pre-assigned sessions. Contact sponsor@deelac.com for more information.

Also, you don't have to consider yourself an expert to propose a session. If you are struggling with an issue, propose a table talk to attract others who are dealing with it as well. If you have a certain view and want to explore it with others who hold different opinions, propose a panel discussion/fishbowl, or debate. If you have an issue that you feel is important and interesting but limited in scope, propose a PechaKucha presentation.

If you are submitting a proposal with multiple speakers, please have all group presenters' information (name, title, email, org, city, state/country, and bio) before submitting your proposal.

If you are submitting a proposal on behalf of someone else, please list them as the main speaker. You may add your email as part of the process to be copied on all correspondence.

Please only create one profile (account). All speakers should use the same email address for all presentations (both the ones you submit as the lead presenter and for the presentations where you are listed as a co-presenter).

Each individual person (not based on organization) is limited to submitting three submissions (you may be listed as a co-presenter on multiple proposals).

Please remember that sessions are for educational purposes only and not vehicles for commercial pitches.

Program Chair, Allison Powell, wrote a SPARK! to highlight ideas for submitting your proposal.

Trinity Wilbourn, one of our highest rated speakers has shared some tips and tricks for putting your proposal and presentation together in this short video.

A slide deck sharing some tips and tricks from Sarah Williamson who has submitted proposals for a variety of organizations and schools that have been accepted into each of the past few DLACs can be found here.

A projector and speakers will be available in each break-out room. Microphones are also provided in larger rooms. Table Talks, Book Studies, and Poster sessions will not include AV.

To get started:

1. Click the "Submit Your Proposal" button at the top of this page when it opens.

2. Create an account or log in.

3. Complete the submission form with your proposal details.

For more information about the DLAC Ignite conference, click here.