PRESS RELEASE
February 8, 2018 - A new pilot program will help Minnesota begin connecting information from home-visiting programs to the state’s Early Childhood Longitudinal Data System (ECLDS). If successful, the program will help educators and policymakers measure the long-term benefits of home-visiting programs in Minnesota for the first time. Early childhood home-visiting programs provide parents of children from birth to age 5 with supports and resources to improve children’s development and well-being.
Read full press release.
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ACTION ITEM
It is important that superintendents and McKinney-Vento homeless liaisons take note of the following information, which has been communicated to MARSS coordinators. Your efforts in proper identification of all children and youth experiencing homelessness are important.
Students and families who have recently lost their housing due to damage caused by the following circumstances meet the definition of homeless:
- Any of the hurricanes from fall FY-2017 and subsequent flooding.
- Wildfires in the United States during the summer and fall of 2017.
Students who relocate to Minnesota and enroll in a Minnesota public school are eligible to generate state aid as Minnesota residents. They must be reported in MARSS using State Aid Category (SAC) 97, which has been reactivated for this use. The school district of residence for a homeless pupil shall be determined based on Minnesota Statutes, section 120A.20, subdivision 2(b).
For MARSS reporting, the student must report a complete enrollment record. Following are the specific codes to use for these data elements:
- State Aid Category, 97
- Last Location of Attendance, 02
- Homeless Flag, Y
- Economic Indicator, 2 (Free)
- Status Start Date, the day the student started school in your district (cannot be before August 25, 2017, for students displaced by the hurricanes)
- Resident District Number, see Minnesota Statutes, section 120A.20, subdivision 2(b) for residency determination
It is the responsibility of the district homeless liaison to verify whether a student is considered homeless and provide necessary documentation on that determination.
For MARSS reporting questions contact marss@state.mn.us.
For homeless education questions contact Roberto Reyes.
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ITEMS OF INTEREST
Superintendents and charter school leaders are invited to participate in this monthly audio conference call hosted by Commissioner Brenda Cassellius. The next call is scheduled for Wednesday, February 21, 9:30-10:30 a.m. A notice providing dial-in instructions will be sent prior to the call. Comments to offer and/or questions you would like to ask are encouraged.
Conference call schedule: March 21, April 18 and May 16. All calls are from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m.
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Graduation rates will be released to the public on Tuesday, February 27. Districts will receive an embargoed copy of the statewide graduation file, including school and district rates, on Friday, February 23. The release of graduation rates, including changes to the graduation rate calculation, will be discussed in greater detail during the next Commissioner’s Dialogue with Superintendents conference call on February 21.
As part of the transition to the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), Minnesota is using a new graduation rate calculation. This new calculation uses seven racial and ethnic groups instead of the previous five, and includes several smaller changes as well. An FAQ summarizing those changes is available on the MDE website. As a result of these changes, this year’s graduation rate release will include data going back to 2012 using the new calculation. Doing so allows discussion of changes over time between 2012 and 2017 using the new calculation; graduation rates using the old calculation cannot be accurately combined with the new calculation when discussing changes over time.
Questions about graduation rates can be directed to Michael Diedrich at 651-582-8332.
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The first draft of the newly revised Minnesota K-12 Arts Education Standards is now available. The public is invited to provide feedback on the standards during its public review and comment period, February 15-March 1, 2018. Submit your feedback using the online form or attend one of the town hall meetings and provide your feedback in person. You can view the draft standards and town hall meeting schedule on the Arts Education page. The date by which all schools must implement the new standards will be determined during the rulemaking process.
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Under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), there is no longer a local 1 percent cap on the Minnesota Tests of Academic Skills (MTAS). As a result, districts will no longer be asked to submit a waiver if they anticipate more than 1 percent of their tested students will take the MTAS. The waiver process has been removed from TestWES.
ESSA does maintain a 1 percent cap at the statewide level, so MDE will be analyzing MTAS administration data after testing is completed and following up individually with districts where MTAS participation exceeds 1 percent for reasons that cannot be explained by the district’s small size or special programs the district operates that attract students likely to take the MTAS.
Please contact Michael Diedrich with questions.
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The Minnesota Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board (PELSB) has taken the following licensure actions:
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Alexander, Timothy (FF# 485668) On February 9, 2018, the Board adopted a stipulation agreement whereby Mr. Alexander’s teaching licenses are subject to a stayed suspension.
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Daub, Colleen (FF# 260636) On On February 9, 2018, the Board adopted the Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law, and Order to deny Ms. Daub’s license application.
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Dokken, Andrew (FF# 413789) On February 9, 2018, the Board adopted a stipulation agreement whereby Mr. Dokken’s teaching licenses are subject to a stayed suspension.
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Noble, Joshua (FF# 395535) On February 9, 2018, the Board adopted the Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law, and Order to revoke Mr. Noble’s licenses.
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Sursely, Lucas (FF# 434375) On February 9, 2018, the Board adopted the Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law, and Order to revoke Mr. Sursely’s licenses.
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WEBINARS
The U.S. Department of Education (ED) will host two webinars regarding a new pilot to afford school districts and charters (LEAs) flexibility to create equitable, student-centered funding systems. The webinars will include identical information, and ED will take questions using the chat feature. Pre-registration is not required. The webinars will be recorded, and the recordings – as well as the slides – will be posted on ED’s website.
Option 1: Wednesday, February 21 from 2-3:30 p.m. Eastern Time
Option 2: Thursday, February 22 from 12:30-2 p.m. Eastern Time
The webinars will clarify the opportunity interested LEAs have to apply for flexibility to implement a student-centered funding system as part of a pilot authorized by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). With this flexibility, LEAs can combine eligible federal funds with state and local funds to create a single, student-centered funding system. In the context of the pilot, a student-centered funding system is a system based on weights that allocate substantially more funding for students from low-income families, English learners, and other educationally disadvantaged student groups. ED can approve not more than 50 LEAs to participate in this pilot. The official application became available on Friday, February 9 on ED’s website, and the application deadline is Monday, March 12 for those LEAs planning to implement in school year 2018-19, or July 15 for those LEAs expecting to implement in school year 2019-20.
If you have questions about the webinars or the application, please contact WeightedFundingPilot@ed.gov.
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