An Update From the Indiana Department of Education for July 17, 2020

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Dr. Mac

NEW! Curation of Re-entry Resources for Schools Now Available

 

The Indiana Department of Education's (IDOE’s) Office of Academics Teaching and Learning Division is proud to release this webpage, filled with resources to assist schools with re-entry, regardless of the instructional format being implemented.


COVID-19 Updates and Guidance

COVID-19 Communications Update

As a reminder, IDOE’s COVID-19 FAQ document is updated regularly and available here. Please contact Holly Stachler with questions.

Important IN-CLASS Update Information

IDOE is committed to continuously updating the IN-CLASS Considerations as the fluid nature of COVID-19 influences guidance. Updates are highlighted with a change log in the back of the document located here. Please contact Holly Stachler with questions.

UPDATE: Face Covering Guidance for Parents in English and Spanish

IDOE has created this Face Coverings English language guidance and this Spanish language guidance for schools to share with families. Many schools and county health departments are recommending/requiring the use of face coverings for students and staff. This two-sided sheet provides information on acclimating students to wearing face coverings and guidance regarding face covering maintenance.

 

 

Legislative Updates and Guidance

IDOE continues to provide clear and timely guidance related to bills passed during the 2020 legislative session. Find a curation of all 2020 legislative guidance here.

Guidance on Senate Enrolled Act 2 – School Accountability

Please read this memo for information regarding changes to school accountability.

Guidance on House Enrolled Act 1113 – Local Government Finance

Please read this memo for information regarding various changes to school finance matters.

 

Office of Accountability

Required Principal Survey Reminder

Under Indiana Code, principals in each school corporation, including charter and virtual schools, must complete an annual survey for any teacher employed in their building, initially licensed in Indiana during the last two years. Additional information is available here.

Guidance on School Responsibilities for Adhering to Instructional Time and Student Attendance Requirements

As a result of the recent shifts to virtual, online, or remote learning options, and predictive increases in mobility in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, IDOE recognized the potential for miscommunication regarding expectations around instructional time and attendance requirements. This document aims to clearly translate legal requirements and general expectations for instructional programming and obligations related to reporting attendance across instructional environments for the 2020-2021 school year.

2020-2021 Policy for 180 Instructional Day Waiver Request

Please read this memo reminding schools about the process for requesting Instructional Day Waivers, and indicating how COVID-19-related school closures will be handled in light of this policy.

Submission of 2020-2021 School Calendars

Schools and corporations may now submit 2020-2021 school calendars to IDOE. Please read this guidance for information on submitting the calendar. Questions may be sent here.

 

Office of Student Assessment

2020-2021 High School Assessment Participation Requirement Updates

The Indiana State Board of Education approved IDOE's recommendations for updates to ISTEP+ Grade 10 Retest participation requirements for the 2020-2021 school year. ISTEP+ Spring 2021 Retest (cohort 2022 scores only) will serve as Indiana’s high school accountability assessment for 2020-2021. Published high school test window dates remain unchanged. Review this memo for details. The Office of Student Assessment (OSA) will publish supporting materials in the coming days. 

IREAD-3 Offered as Optional Fall Assessment

Per a Indiana State Board of Education resolution, schools may opt-in to an optional IREAD-3 window for grade four students from November 2-6. This optional test window is not connected to accountability measures and may not be used to retain students. A survey to indicate participation will be released in early August. Test window extensions and flexibility may not be available due to the optional offering of this assessment to manage state resources accordingly.  

Lexile® and Quantile® Measures: Summer Professional Development Continues

MetaMetrics will present a live tour of the Lexile® and Quantile® Hub for classroom teachers next Thursday. Please review this flyer for more details. OSA will share recordings of all sessions with CTCs once they become available. Please contact the OSA with any questions.

 

Office of Academics / School Improvement

Best Practices for Continuous Learning

The Office of School Improvement has created a short video providing an overview of best practices for remote learning taken from Indiana district continuous learning plans. The video provides specific best practices for delivery of instruction, grading, attendance, and communication with stakeholders. Additionally, a corresponding one-page document is available which includes information on high school credits, professional development, and addressing skill gaps during remote learning. 

Resource Allocation Reviews

IDOE will be facilitating Resource Allocation Reviews this fall with LEAs that have one or more schools identified as CSI or ATSI. School Improvement Specialists will send guiding questions, data, and a memo explaining the process to identified districts by July 24. A webinar further explaining the Resource Allocation Review process with school finance expert Larry DeBoer, will take place on August 4, from 10:00 – 11:00 a.m. (EDT). Interested district leaders are encouraged to attend the webinar, but the primary focus is to inform and answer questions for those participating in the Resource Allocation Review. Please read this memo for additional details Complete the JotForm to participate.

SEL and Race Bibilotherapy

As school re-entry begins, please reference this resource as social-emotional learning and diversity are incorporated into K-12 classrooms. The bibliotherapy is organized by The Seven Indiana Social-Emotional Learning Competencies and books about race. Each book title has the correlating lexile band, appropriate grade level, and author. Please contact Christy Berger with any questions.

 

Office of Academics / Special Education

State Medicaid Program Seeking Input from Telemedicine Expansion

Indiana Medicaid seeks feedback from Medicaid-enrolled medical service providers about its recent expansion of telemedicine services coverage. Please read Indiana Health Coverage Programs Bulletin # BT202086 for details and contact information.

FY 2021 Special Education State Funding Table Available

The FY 2021 special education state funding table is now available here. There was one change from the previous year involving Public Law 108-2019, which increased the preschool funding amount $125 per student to $3,000. Under Indiana law, adjustments to funding will take place after the December 1, child count with the February 2021 disbursement.

 

Office of Academics / Teaching and Learning

Best Practice for Instructional Re-Entry Video

Please watch this short video which provides an overview of best practices for instructional re-entry in student assessment, curriculum, instruction, and student grouping/differentiation. The video outlines the need for schools to provide all students data-driven, grade-level instruction upon re-entry and supports teachers and administrators with action steps needed for effective implementation of best practices at each stage. Find a summary of the video with this corresponding one-pager.

Academic Engagement Guidance

As educators plan for a school year with the potential for multiple delivery methods, IDOE seeks to provide guidance on the term academic engagement. Regardless of the delivery method of instruction, academic engagement is paramount for student success.

Upcoming Webinar on How to Discuss Race in the Classroom

Due to the high volume of registrations for this webinar, an additional session has been added on Thursday, July 30 from 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. (EDT)

Join IDOE for an interactive webinar on how to facilitate classroom conversations on race. The webinar will take place on July 30, from 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. (EDT). This presentation will provide a foundation and vocabulary allowing teachers and administrators to familiarize themselves with topics involving race. Participants will be provided with specific teaching strategies to utilize in classrooms where reading and discussions of current events or literature take place. Please complete the JotForm to participate.

Coming Soon

Additional newsletters from the Office of Teaching and Learning are launching in July and August. Please sign up to receive the Computer Science and/or the STEM newsletters to stay up-to-date. A reminder, all IDOE newsletters can be found in one convenient location.

 

Office of Academics / Title Grants

Competitive School Improvement Grant (SIG) Applications

Under 1003 of ESSA, IDOE annually offers planning grants to first time Comprehensive Support and Improvement (CSI) schools, and implementation grants to CSI schools beyond the planning phase. Due to hold harmless, no new CSI schools were identified except for graduation rate purposes only. Planning grants are available for these schools; implementation grants for CSI schools in their second year and beyond who have not previously received an implementation grant are eligible to apply for implementation funds. The application materials, eligible school list, and technical assistance can be found here. Applications are due Sept. 1.  

Migrant Work Survey

As a reminder, the Migrant Education Program Work Survey must be administered annually to all students in Indiana. The work survey should be completed during registration every year and kept on file. Upon receipt of any positive responses, the school corporation must contact their respective Migrant Regional Center to determine final eligibility to providing additional resources for the eligible students. Please send all questions to Emily Salinas.

Updated List of Grant Deadlines Available

Title Grants and Support has updated the Master List of Updated Grant Deadlines based on waivers granted to the State of Indiana. The information is available here.

Charter School Quality Counts Grant Deadline is July 31

The deadline for the Office of Title Grants and Support Cohort 4 Quality Counts grant application submission is Friday, July 31, at 12:30 p.m. (EDT). This is a a competitive federal grant focused on opening, replicating, and expanding high-quality charter schools in Indiana. Please see the CSP Quality Counts website for additional information.

 

Office of Information Technology

US ED Reschedules Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC)

According to a recently published document by US ED, the CRDC scheduled for the 2019-2020 school year has been pushed to the 2020-2021 school year. “ED has decided to shift the 2019−20 CRDC to the 2020−21 school year . . . The CRDC will continue as a biennial collection, and therefore, for example, the next collections following the 2020−21, will comprise of the 2022−23 and 2024−25 school years.”  There may be additional changes underway for this collection, including sampling rather than having every school submit this data. Please stay tuned to your information sources for updated collection information. IDOE will also make every effort to report on additional changes.

 

Office of School Finance

Form 9 Information Available

Form 9 financial data for the period of January to June 2020 is due on or before July 31. For the most recent Form 9 information, please review the OSF- Form 9 Special Edition of S’more. For assistance with Form 9 Steps 5-7, please see the summary at Supplemental Schedules. If you have any questions or are having issues with data submission, please include your school corporation number in the subject line and send the email hereThe submission deadline is July 31.

FY 2021 Appropriation Update

IDOE has worked with the State Budget Agency regarding FY 2021 state appropriations. Please read this memo for additional details.

Office of School Finance Annual Budget Workshop 

Updates from the Office of School Finance and other budget-related guidance can be found in Moodle Finance under Tuition Support - Budget Workshop Information. FY 2021 State Tuition Support Worksheets are available in State Aid. If you have questions, email Melissa Ambre or Amy Pattison.

UPDATE: Excessive Education Fund Transfer List

Please read the updated memo regarding the Excessive Education Fund Transfer List based on Form 9 financial data filed by school corporations. Please send questions here. The deadline is July 31.

CARES Act Fund Numbers

The Office of School Finance has added new fund numbers for reporting CARES Act expenditures. Please read this memo for details, and send any questions here. 

Annual Financial Report 

I.C. 5-3-1-3 requires the secretary of each public school corporation to publish an Annual Financial Report (AFR). The Report must be published one time annually, not earlier than August 1 or later than August 15 of each year. The statute also requires IDOE to develop guidelines for the preparation of and format of the AFR. The guidelines can be found in MOODLE Finance. The report submission deadline August 15.

 

2020 Census Information

Statewide 2020 Census Completion Rate

Indiana’s 2020 Census response rate is 66.3 percent, which is higher than the national average of 62 percent. Please encourage staff and families to complete the census. The result will be a lifelong impact on student and community success. Click here for IDOE census resources.

 

 


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