An Update From the Indiana Department of Education for January 8, 2021

indiana department of education - doctor jennifer mccormick - superintendent of public instruction
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A Message From Dr. McCormick

Dr. Mac

 

As my term as the last elected State Superintendent comes to an end, I want to take this opportunity to thank you for working so diligently to serve Hoosier students and communities. It has truly been my pleasure and my honor to serve alongside you. I pledge to continue to serve kids and support educators. As always, be nice, work hard, and be amazing.

 

 

 


IDOE Newsletters Centrally Located

All Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) newsletters are located in one convenient location. Please find January updates and past issues here.

 

COVID-19 Funding Update

Reminder: Additional COVID-19 Relief Funding for Local Education Agencies (LEAs) and Private Schools

With the signing of the new coronavirus relief bill on December 27, a considerable amount of new federal funding will be allocated to Indiana to support needs related to the pandemic and more. The bill provided further funding for both ESSER and GEER to support public and private schools at an amount much higher than the CARES Act of April 2020. IDOE will participate in an upcoming webinar with the U.S. Department of Education in early January to learn more about the next steps to acquire this money as quickly as possible. Additional information will be forthcoming. Please contact Cole Dietrich with any questions

 

Office of School Building Physical Security and Safety

2020 – 2021 Student Safety Reporting

Indiana’s Student Safety Reporting Law (IC 20-34-6-1) requires school corporations to report student bullying, arrest, and law enforcement presence in schools data for each school to IDOE. Additional information on submission and deadlines can be found here.

 

Office of School Assessment

New! ILEARN Biology End-of-Course Assessment (ECA) Fall 2020 Preliminary Results Available and Rescore Request Window Begins Monday

Permissioned staff can access preliminary results beginning Monday, January 11, in the Online Reporting System (ORS) for students who participated in the Fall 2020 ILEARN Biology ECA. Schools must communicate with parents preliminary results and details of the legislated ILEARN Rescore Request Process on behalf of students who tested. The Request an Item Rescore module provides an overview of the process that principals will follow to manage rescore requests in TIDE. Please contact the Indiana Assessment Help Desk with any questions.

New! Indiana’s 1 Percent Cap Waiver Extension Request Submitted to USED on Monday, December 28, 2020

Thank you to all who submitted feedback to IDOE's proposed 1 Percent Waiver Extension Request. This feedback was addressed and included in the submission to the U.S. Department of Education (USED). The final document can be found on IDOE’s website.

New! Alternate Assessment Assurance and Justification Survey Results Posted to IDOE’s Website

School corporations who identified more than one percent of students to take the alternate assessment in the Spring 2020 completed a required justification survey. The results of this survey are posted publicly to the Alternate Assessment ESSA 1 Percent Cap page. Questions about this survey and the results can be communicated to Stephanie Thompson and Sarah Mohr.

Reminder: WIDA ACCESS Monitoring

The Office of Student Assessment (OSA) will conduct unannounced monitoring visits during the WIDA ACCESS testing window beginning January 11. Please ensure school administrators and staff are aware that these online visits will be conducted. Click here for more details.

Reminder: Text-to-Speech (TTS) Guidance Webinar Recording and FAQ

IDOE held several TTS Guidance Webinars in December to discuss legislative changes impacting the TTS and human reader accommodations. IDOE created an FAQ to assist schools. A recording of the webinar is available here. Any questions related to assessment accommodations can be directed to Karen Davies. Any questions related to the notice should be directed to Reva Weiss

 

Office of School Finance

Reminder: Summer School Estimates 

The window to submit the Estimated Instructional Costs Report and List of Courses for Summer School 2021 will open on February 3. Please see this memo and FAQ for information regarding eligible courses, important dates, and financial provisions. Detailed information about the summer school program and how to report is included in Summer School 101. Questions should be sent to either Teresa Hemmerle or Kathryn Roth.

Reminder: Form 9 Financial Data Submission

Form 9 financial data for the period of July 1 through December 31, 2020 must be submitted electronically through the DOE Online upload program.  The deadline to submit is January 31. The data may be in CSV or TXT format.  Additional Form 9 data submission information is located here and in the Public School Finance Community in Moodle, under the Form 9 folder. Please email all questions here.     

 

Office of Academics / School Improvement

Reminder: Book Discussion on Planning Interventions and Extensions Coming Next Month

IDOE's Office of School Improvement is excited to launch our latest book discussion in collaboration with Mike Mattos, former administrator, presenter, and internationally recognized author of, "It’s About Time: Planning Interventions and Extensions." This is a great opportunity to learn together and share thoughts on this critical component of support for ALL students. Please register here.

 

Office of Academics / Social, Emotional, and Behavioral Wellness

New! SEBW Virtual Office Hours Announced

The Social, Emotional, and Behavioral Wellness team is excited to announce virtual open hours will be held monthly this year. The first session will occur on January 20 from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. (EST) and will address suicide prevention and crisis resources. Please find additional information here.

 

Office of Academics / Special Education

New! Indiana IEP Single Sign On Transition Dates

Please see the following memorandum for Indiana IEP Single Sign On Transition Dates. This information is relevant to the transition from accessing Indiana IEP through Learning Connection to accessing Indiana IEP through LINK. Please contact Colleen Pawlicki with any questions.

Update: Weekly Ofiice of Special Education (OSE) Webinar (WOW): Disproportionality File Review Trends

Plan to join OSE and Dr. Leah Nellis from IU Kokomo for the next Weekly Webinar, which provides an overview of the 2020 summer disproportionality file review trends. The webinar will be held Thursday, January 14, from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. (EDT). The session will include a 30 to 45-minute presentation and at least 15 minutes for participants to ask questions. Please register here and contact Kristan Sievers-Coffer with any questions.

 

Office of Academics / Teaching and Learning

Updated! Empower2INspire

Empower2INspire blast 3 is here. This one-pager will empower and inspire you to meet the demands of education. Because the demands of teaching are rigorous, Empower2INspire offers quick bits of information that educators can employ such as using emojis when checking for understanding. You may sign-up for these blasts here. Follow extended conversations and highlights on Twitter by using #Empower2INspire. Please contact Rose Tomishima or Matt Walsh with any questions.

Reminder - Mighty Moments in Early Learning

IDOE's Early Learning Team continues to release additional Mighty Moments in Early Learning guidance. These short videos are suggestions that families can use at home to support their child's development during daily routines. In each of these videos, ideas for easy-to-implement activities are offered for each of the eight foundational content areas. If you are an early educator, please share these with families as you work on a particular skill in the classroom. Contact Sarah Parks-Reese with any questions.

 

Office of Academics / Title Grants and Support

New! U.S. Department of Education Annual ESSER and GEER Data Collection

A submission of the ESSER and GEER annual reports is required by the U.S. Department of Education, covering expenditures in the ESSER program (ESSER CFDA number 84.425D; GEER CFDA 84.425C) between March 13 and September 30, 2020. IDOE must submit all data to the U.S. Department of Education no later than February 1 which has required IDOE to limit the time available for LEAs and other non-LEA Entities who have received the funds to respond. The Annual Report Data Collection Tool will be open through January 22.

The Data Collection Tools may be accessed by clicking on the appropriate forms, or on IDOE's CARES Act webpage:

IDOE staff will hold four-hour-long sessions next week for any questions or assistance in walking through the Data Collection Tools. Please refer to the CARES Act page for session dates and times.

Reminder: High Ability Identification Guidance Now Available

During hybrid and remote instructional platforms, please ensure the multifaceted assessment process that ensures equitable and inclusive High Ability identification continues. Please read the High Ability Identification Guidance and contact Whitney Coake with any questions.

 

News From Other State Agencies

New! COVID-19 Vaccine Information

Attention School Superintendents: Any individual included in IDOE’s School Nurse listserv received communication regarding vaccines available to those individuals who are part of the listserv.  

Individuals who have received an invitation for a COVID-19 vaccination directly through the Indiana Professional Licensing Agency (IPLA) are encouraged to register for the vaccine if they are a practicing healthcare professional in a patient-facing role providing care. If you are a healthcare professional and have not received an email from IPLA, please update your email with IPLA to receive reminder emails. Additional information from the Indiana Department of Health on the vaccine can be found here.

Updated Information for Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfers (P-EBT)

The Division of Family Resources (DFR) continues to partner with Indiana schools to provide Pandemic Electronic Benefits to Indiana families during this Public Health Emergency. The collection window for PEBT student data submission is open through January 15. Eligible student data submissions must be received via the FSSA P-EBT Portal by Friday, January 15. The FSSA P-EBT Portal is now accessible through IDOE's LINK Portal. After the close of submissions on January 15, schools will not be able to add students for P-EBT benefits until the April 2021 collection window. The only accepted changes between January 16 and April 5 are student address corrections. DFR has updated the FAQs based on questions received from school personnel. Please refer to the submission guidance information and parent flier on the FSSA: DFR Pandemic EBT website. Additional information is available here.

 


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Weekly Updates

View previous weekly updates from Dr. McCormick here.  

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The Weekly Update from the Indiana Department of Education is created by the Office of Communications, and  is distributed every Friday morning.