 |
|
IN THIS EDITION |
 |
|
ACTION ITEMS |
New preschool funding was recently made available in the 2017 legislative session. All districts and charters are eligible to apply for this new one-time funding. This funding will be distributed among voluntary pre-K applications received in January and the new school readiness plus applications due July 1. Recent changes by the Legislature include awarding five additional points to applications that deliver programs through a mixed-delivery system. Due to this and other program revisions by the Legislature, districts and charter schools that submitted an application for voluntary pre-K in January are required to fill out the FY18 Voluntary Pre-kindergarten Supplemental Application Information form in order for their application to be considered complete. If you submitted an application in January for voluntary pre-K, you are still eligible to apply for school readiness plus.
For questions about voluntary pre-K or your application submitted in January, please email mde.vpk@state.mn.us. For questions about the new school readiness plus program, email mde.schoolreadinessplus@state.mn.us.
Back to top
Last night the department held a meeting to update the public on the development of our state plan for the Every Student Succeeds Act. Download the updated decisions document for a preview of what will be in the state plan when it is posted publicly on August 1 for review and comment.
Some of you attempted to participate in a webinar on June 1 to discuss ESSA requirements that go into effect in the 2017-2018 school year. We apologize for the significant technical difficulties that occurred during the webinar, and for the limitations on the number of participants who were able to join. We are developing an online e-module that will be available next week that takes the place of this webinar. The module will be able to be viewed at your convenience and easily shared with your colleagues. Stay tuned next week for details on viewing this e-module.
Back to top
The WBWF legislation, Minnesota Statutes section 120B.11, provides districts an opportunity to strategically align plans and budgets around five common student achievement goals, including:
- Meet school readiness goals
- Have all third grade students achieve grade-level literacy
- Close academic achievement gaps
- Have all students attain career and college readiness
- Have all students graduate from high school
In recent years, the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) has provided data profiles to annually update districts on their progress toward these WBWF goals. Additionally, districts are using local measures to set goals and track improvement.
The legislation requires that the Commissioner begin working with districts and charters that are not making sufficient progress toward teaching and learning for all students after three years. The Commissioner, in collaboration with the district, may require the use of up to two percent of general education funding to implement strategies to accelerate progress. 2017-2018 will be the first year in which districts and charters will be eligible for this support.
Data from 2015, 2016 and 2017 will be used, and those districts consistently falling in the bottom 5 percent of the state for one or more student groups on the following measures will be eligible for support:
- Grade 3 reading proficiency
- Grade 8 math proficiency
- Math and reading proficiency index rate distance from achievement gap targets
- Graduation rates
More information on these measures and district performance can be found in the WBWF Data Profiles near the bottom of the WBWF website. Both 2015 data profiles and 2016 data profiles are posted. 2017 WBWF Data Profiles will be released at the end of July 2017 on the Data Center. At that time, MDE will also be reaching out to districts that have been identified for support for the 2017-2018 school year.
For information on plans related to accountability, reporting, school improvement and recognition for the 2017-2018 school year, see the transition document. Stakeholders have expressed a desire for WBWF measures, timelines and support to be closely aligned with Minnesota’s Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) system. It is anticipated this will be achieved when ESSA goes into effect in the 2018-2019 school year.
In addition, 2017-2018 will be the first year participating districts will be eligible for support under the Achievement and Integration legislation, Minnesota Statutes section 124D.861 and 124D.862. The Commissioner must review results of districts’ achievement and integration plans, determine which districts are not meeting goals in their plans, and consult with those districts on strategies to meet achievement and integration goals as well as WBWF goals. The Commissioner must use up to 20 percent of identified districts’ annual achievement and integration revenue to implement improvement plans developed in collaboration with the districts.
For questions:
Back to top
The 2017 Legislature passed a new property tax credit (Minn. Stat. § 273.1387) based on school building bond levies effective for taxes payable 2018. (Laws 2017 First Special Session, Chapter 1, Article 4, sections 2-8)
The school building bond agricultural credit applies to farmland excluding the house, garage and one acre, and managed forest land. The credit equals 40 percent of the qualifying property’s net tax capacity multiplied by the school debt tax rate. The school debt tax rate is the sum of fund 7 debt service levies for debt service equalization (Minn. Stat. § 123B.53), disaster debt service equalization (Minn. Stat. § 123B.535), and all other debt levies (Minn. Stat. § 123B.55), including long-term facilities maintenance (Minn. Stat. § 123B.595), after abatements (Minn. Stat. § 126C.46) and adjustments (Minn. Stat. § 126C.48) and after debt excess levy reductions (Minn. Stat. § 475.61), divided by the taxable net tax capacity of all property in the school district. (This includes all certified levies and adjustments subtotaled on lines 5014 and 5015 of the Levy Limitation and Certification Report, on Page 31 for payable 2017.) Other postemployment benefit bonds (Minn. Stat. § 475.52, subd. 6) in fund 47 are excluded.
Similar to other property tax credits, county auditors will determine the tax reductions after levy certifications, and send them to the Department of Revenue (Revenue). Revenue will review the credit as part of the abstract of tax lists and certify the tax reductions to the commissioner of education for payment of the reimbursement to school districts. The annual appropriation will be open. When budgeting for FY19 and later, please keep in mind that the property tax revenue in fund 7 will be less than the certified levy by the amount of the school building bond agricultural credit and other state paid credits.
Please see the spreadsheet, “School Building Bond Agriculture Credits 2017 Tax Bill,” end of session estimated pay 18 district level credits on the Minnesota Department of Education’s Funding Projections and Trends webpage. Please note that the levies used are based on February Forecast data, and value data for pay 2018 is based on county level auditor surveys.
Contact Lonn Moe for further information on the school bond levy estimates.
Contact Revenue for further information on value estimates and administration.
Back to top
If you are a new superintendent or charter school director, or if you have not already done so, it is time to recertify your IOwA for the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) External User Access Recertification System for FY18. The identified official with authority needs to be designated and reviewed annually in accordance with Minnesota State Access Control Security Standard 1.0.
Only the identified official with authority (e.g., superintendent, executive director, director, or board chair) is allowed to authorize access by local education agency users to MDE secure websites. For further information, including a frequently asked questions document and instructions for designating the IOwA, visit the External User Access Recertification webpage.
If you have any questions, please contact Mary Pat Olsen at 651-582-8624, or email questions to mde.school-verify@state.mn.us.
Back to top
If your district or charter school will be welcoming a new superintendent or director, please note the following important information that will assist in the transition.
Each year, information regarding schools and districts is updated in the Minnesota Department of Education master database for organizations that validate sites for all major department reporting systems such as MARSS, STAR, UFARS, MMR, assessments, etc. It is important that a single point person be identified as the site verification coordinator for your district. This person has access to request and certify school configuration changes and update other essential contact information for all sites within the district through a secure website.
We ask that you review your district and school sites, as well as the district contacts which you can update for the FY18 school year. To ensure data collections, payments, and reports are correct, district and school site information and contacts for the FY18 school year must be reviewed and certified by August 31, 2017.
Please read the May 17 memorandum from Matthew Porett regarding the timeline and critical steps to maintaining accurate district and school site directory information, which is critical in correctly processing records for your district including students, staff, payments, and federal programs.
If you have any questions, please contact Mary Pat Olsen at 651-582-8624, or email questions to mde.school-verify@state.mn.us.
Back to top
The Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) Divisions of Special Education and Early Learning are soliciting applications from greater Minnesota school districts serving infants and toddlers with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The availability of grant funds is to provide training to Part C – infant and toddler practitioners in greater Minnesota school districts that will improve the outcomes of young children (birth to age 3) with ASD or related developmental disabilities.
The objective of the grant opportunity is to increase the capacity of Part C early childhood (birth to age 3) special educators and other professionals who serve them to improve early identification of ASD and enhance the skills of parents of young children identified with ASD or related developmental disabilities.
Application information is available on the MDE Open Grant Opportunities webpage.
Grant periods will be from October 1, 2017, to September 30, 2018, with the possibility of two additional years.
Eligible applicants are any school districts from greater Minnesota. Any school districts that have a home district office or any school sites from the seven-county metro area are excluded from applying. The seven-county metro area, for purposes of this initiative, is defined as Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, Scott, or Washington Counties.
Applications must be submitted, via email, no later than July 21, 2017, 3:30 p.m. to the designated email box at MDE.CompGrants@state.mn.us. Late applications will not be considered. Please follow the submission requirements that will be published in the instructions.
Contact Loraine Jensen at 651-582-8523 for further information.
Back to top
The Minnesota Alliance with Youth will be placing over 200 AmeriCorps Promise Fellows across the state to support youth in grades 6-10 who are at risk of dropping out of school. Schools and school districts, community organizations, government agencies, and others are invited to submit an application to host AmeriCorps Promise Fellows for the 2017-2018 academic year. Learn more and apply today!
Back to top
I invite you to participate in the monthly audio conference calls during the school year. It is intended that regular monthly dialogues with you will provide insight into hot topics, answer your questions and most importantly, to hear your ideas about how we can work together to help all students learn at their highest potential. Come ready with your questions, comments and ideas for sharing with your fellow superintendents.
The calls are normally scheduled for the third Wednesday of the month, however there are two exceptions indicated below. All calls are held 9:30-10:30 a.m. You will receive call-in instructions prior to each call.
Wednesday, September 20
Wednesday, October 18
Wednesday, November 8 *
Wednesday, December 14 *
Wednesday, January 17
Wednesday, February 21
Wednesday, March 21
Wednesday, April 18
Wednesday, May 16
Back to top
 |
|
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT |
The application documents for staff development grants for intermediate school districts or special education cooperative units providing instruction to students in federal instructional settings of Level 4 or higher will be available online after June 16.
Intermediate school districts and special education cooperatives who served students in federal instructional settings of Level 4 or higher during 2016-2017 school year, and will provide Level 4 or higher services to students in 2017-2018 school year, are eligible to apply for funding. Grant award amounts will vary depending on the number of full-time equivalent licensed and non-licensed staff providing services to students in federal instructional settings of Level 4 or higher during the 2016-2017 school year.
From the $4,500,000 appropriated under Minnesota Laws 2016, Chapter 189, Article 24, section 22, $2,592,816 remains available to award as grants for use during state FY18. Funds must be used to enhance services to students for activities such as:
- proactive behavior management,
- personal safety training,
- de-escalation techniques, and
- adaptation of published curriculum and pedagogy for students with complex learning needs. The grant period is anticipated to run September 6, 2017, to June 30, 2019.
If requests for funding exceed the amount of available funding, the commissioner must prorate awards.
Email Rachel Centinario or call 651-582-8276 for more information.
Back to top
 |
|
ITEMS OF INTEREST |
The Minnesota Board of Teaching has taken the following licensure actions:
-
Benson, John (FF #342118) Mr. Benson’s license was suspended on June 9, 2017, pursuant to Minnesota Statutes, section 270C.72, until he meets requirements of the Board of Teaching.
-
Hayow, Faisal (FF #489733) Mr. Hayow’s license was reinstated on June 9, 2017.
-
Schmidt, Jessica (FF #450627) Ms. Schmidt’s license was reinstated on June 13, 2017.
-
English, Linda (FF #201731) Ms. English’s license was reinstated on June 14, 2017.
Back to top
|
