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“Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under trees on a summer's day, listening to the murmur of the water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time.”
― John Lubbock, The Use of Life
While hard work and planning have their place in these slow summer months, let’s not forget to also take some time to rest. We hope you savor the season!
Save the Date: Brustein & Manasevit Training
The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) is holding a statewide federal programs training at no cost to school districts Sept. 20-22 at the Central Bank Center in Lexington.
The training will be provided by Brustein & Manasevit, a legal firm that is nationally recognized for its federal grant management and education regulatory and legislative practice. Possible topics at the training include legislative developments and program compliance topics such as timeliness of spending federal funds, preparing for monitoring and audits, and developing compliant internal controls.
Superintendents, finance officers and federal program coordinators are strongly encouraged to attend. The same content is being provided each day, so attendees should select one day they plan to attend. Coordinators should have received an email from Erin Sudduth about the training with a link to register.
FY2023 GMAP Application
The fiscal year (FY) 2023 Consolidated Application opened in the Grant Management Application and Planning system (GMAP) for districts on June 27 and is due Aug. 31, 2022. Allocations in GMAP are preliminary for the 2022-2023 school year.
As you work to complete your GMAP application, don’t forget to use the help for current pages within GMAP and the GMAP Training Video Series to ensure accurate completion. Please reach out to your district’s Title I consultant with any questions regarding the application process.
Applications are reviewed in the order in which they are submitted. Each consultant reviews applications for multiple districts in addition to other duties. We appreciate your patience and understanding as we work diligently to provide a detailed review of each application.
As you work to complete your FY2023 application, don’t forget that you may have applications from previous years that require attention in GMAP. If your application status is not “consolidated consultant approved” be sure to check the consolidated checklist to see which sections of the application require revision.
Procedures for Awarding Credit and Diplomas to Homeless Children and Youth
Each monitoring season provides KDE consultants with insight into commonly missed or misunderstood requirements within the Title I program. This year’s hot button topic centered around the written procedures required for awarding credit – including partial credit – and diplomas to identified homeless students. The procedures must go beyond a written policy and must describe how the district will implement policies.
The procedures could be enhanced by incorporating a brief introduction explaining their purpose, as well as information about the steps taken prior to calculating and awarding credit (e.g., immediate enrollment of the student, contacting the sending district to obtain records, meeting with the student, what courses the student will be enrolled in in the absence of records, etc.).
The procedure requirements of 704 KAR 7:090 are listed below:
704 KAR 7:090 (2)(5)
To ensure credit, including partial credit, is awarded for all coursework satisfactorily completed by homeless children and unaccompanied youth, a local educational agency (LEA) shall adopt written procedures addressing:
- The tool or methodology the district shall use to calculate credit, including partial credit, to be awarded for all coursework satisfactorily completed by homeless children and unaccompanied youth;
- The consolidation of partial credit, where appropriate, to provide opportunities for credit accrual that eliminate academic and non-academic barriers for homeless children and unaccompanied youth;
- How the district shall provide students experiencing homelessness access to extracurricular and summer programs, credit transfer and electronic course services, and after-school tutoring and other extended school services available in the district to the fullest extent practicable and at nominal or no costs;
- The ways in which the LEA shall lessen the impact of school transfers for homeless children and unaccompanied youth, which shall include:
- Identifying systems that are in place to ease the transition of students experiencing homelessness, particularly during the first two weeks at a new school;
- Requiring counselors to provide timely assistance and advice to improve college and career readiness for students experiencing homelessness; and
- Granting priority placement in classes offered by the district that meet state minimum graduation requirements for students who change schools at least once during a school year as a result of homelessness;
- How and in what circumstances the district shall allow a student experiencing homelessness who previously was enrolled in a course required for high school graduation to complete that course at no cost before the beginning of the next school year as required by KRS 156.160(1)(p)(2); and
- The required review of credit accrual and the personal graduation plan for each homeless student and unaccompanied youth that is not on track to receive a high school diploma before the fifth year of high school enrollment.
704 KAR 7:090 (2)(7)
An LEA shall adopt written procedures for awarding a high school diploma to homeless children and unaccompanied youth who transfer after completion of the second year of high school and meet the requirements outlined in KRS 156.160(1)(p).
KRS 156.160(1)(p)
The development and implementation of procedures, for all students who are homeless children and youths as defined in 42 U.S.C. sec. 11434a(2), to do the following:
- Awarding and accepting of credit, including partial credit, for all coursework satisfactorily completed by a student while enrolled at another school;
- Allowing a student who previously was enrolled in a course required for graduation the opportunity, to the extent practicable, to complete the course at no cost to the student before the beginning of the next school year;
- Awarding a diploma, at the student's request, by a district from which the student transferred if the student transfers schools at any time after the completion of their second year of high school and the student is ineligible to graduate from the district to which the student transfers, but meets the graduation requirements of the district from which the student transferred; and
- Exempting the student from all coursework and other requirements imposed by the local board of education that are in addition to the minimum requirements for high school graduation established by the Kentucky Board of Education pursuant to paragraph (d) of this subsection in the district to which the student transfers, if the student transfers schools at any time after the completion of their second year of high school and the student is ineligible to graduate both from the district to which the student transfers and the district from which the student transferred.
Districts also may refer to the School House Connection Partial Credit Guidance for an extensive checklist. KDE’s September 2021 Title I, Part A Webinar also covered these requirements. The recording and September 2021 PowerPoint provide additional resources to consider.
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