A Message from Dr. McCormick 6/2/17

Indiana Department of Education
Friday, June 2, 2017

 

Dear Educators:

The Spring 2017 ISTEP+ Rescore window will be open June 19, 2017 through July 7, 2017. Please find the memo linked here detailing specific information you will need to assist parents during the rescore process. 

I appreciate your hard work and all you have done for student success. 

Sincerely,
Dr. Jennifer McCormick
State Superintendent of Public Instruction
Indiana Department of Education

Dr. Jennifer McCormick

In the News
The Indiana Department of Education Announces 2017 School Food Service Employee of the Year

Legislative Updates
We have shared more information regarding the recent legislation passed by the Indiana General Assembly. For more information on SEA 392, SEA 355, and HEA 1430, follow the links. We also put together an FAQ on Expanded Criminal History (ECH) Checks, Expanded Child Protection Index (ECPI) Checks, Reference Checks and Confidentiality Agreements. 

Assessment
The Summer ECA is an online only retest. Students may retest during the ECA Summer Retest window if they are enrolled in the course or a corresponding remediation program between retest opportunities. The summer DOE-TL is closed. The Summer Admin window will open June 12 for schools to manually enter students. Contact the ECA Help Desk for registration assistance: 877-424-0322.

Title Grants and Support
The recent passage of the federal appropriations allowed the IDOE to finalize the FFY 16 (SY 16-17) allocations and begin determining the allocations for FFY 17 (SY 17-18) for Title I, Part A and Title II, A. The IDOE anticipates releasing updated Title I, A allocations for FFY 16 by June 9, 2017, which will either have no impact or a small increase for LEAs to utilize by September 30, 2017. Additionally, the IDOE plans to release preliminary allocations for Title I, A and Title II, A by June 19, 2017 for the next school year. The application deadline for Title I, A will be July 1, 2017 in order for LEAs to begin utilizing their new funding. Further information can be found at our fiscal updates page. Questions can be sent to Nathan Williamson

School Health Report
Each public and accredited private school must complete the School Health Report. This report includes data regarding student vision screening, hearing screening, and immunization verification. Each school must complete their own individual report. The report will be open until June 15. Instructions for completing and submitting the report can be found here. If you have any questions, please contact Jolene Bracale, MSN, RN via email or at 317-232-0541. 

Scheduled Upgrade Window for IDOE Systems
The IDOE has a significant system maintenance and upgrade window scheduled for Thursday, June 15 through June 19
. Beginning at 5:30 p.m. on June 15, users accessing IDOE systems will likely experience intermittent and sustained periods of unavailability. During this upgrade window, IDOE e-mail and phones will still be operational. We expect systems to be back online by Monday, June 19 at 7:00 a.m. We thank you for your patience as we make these improvements. 

Equitable Service to Non-Public Schools and an Overview of Changes in ESSA
The Department of Education has recorded an informational webinar which is available on the IDOE website, titled Equitable Service to Non-Public Schools and an Overview of Changes in the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015. This webinar goes into detail about the IDOE's plan for ESSA, as well as changes with ESSA, with specific respect to non-public schools. 

Both public and non-public schools will learn more about their rights and responsibilities with the new law and will understand the role of IDOE in this process. At the end of the presentation, please be sure to fill out the questionnaire as we will be posting FAQ's as part of the ongoing ESSA discussion. 

Special Education
The FY 2018 Part B allocations for 611 and 619 were posted to the Part B Grants for Special Education Community on the Learning Connection on Friday, May 19, 2017. There will be a new process for submitting applications this year. Each fiscal agency will need to designate a staff member. To register for an account, click here. All applications should be uploaded to this system for review by Part B staff. The system will be available this week. Applications are due July 1, 2018. A PowerPoint has been added to the Learning Connection for assistance with the process, and a recorded WebEx will be uploaded later this week. 

Summer of eLearning
Summer is nearly here. Have you made your plans to attend a Summer of eLearning Conference in June or July? All 22 conferences have their registrations open. All conferences are less than $25 a day, and several of them are free! Click here for the complete list. Please share these opportunities with all the educators in your district. 

Social Media
We invite you to follow us on social media! Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram


Weekly Updates
Miss an update? View previous weekly updates here.

 
 

A message from Dr. McCormick will be sent every Friday.