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September 18, 2020
Updates in this email:
Yesterday, school leaders received a message from Deputy Commissioner Heather Mueller providing clarification on two important elements of the COVID-19 Exclusion Guidance, regarding determining when students or staff members should stay home from school and for how long.
Read the full letter for clarification on these two areas:
- Guidance for those who have been exposed to a confirmed case of COVID-19.
- Guidance for those who are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms without known exposure.
The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) has made great efforts to keep Minnesotans informed with frequently updated, easy-to-access data on COVID-19 in our state. Now that the school year is in full swing, it will be important to provide information on COVID-19 in school settings. MDH is currently working on pulling this data together, which will be available to Minnesotans in the coming weeks.
Thank you all for reporting your learning model information to the Learning Model Portal. We have close to 100 percent of districts and charter schools reporting. Data reported to the Learning Model Portal is available publicly in two places—the Safe Learning Model Look-Up site and the Safe Learning Model Dashboard. This means it is critical that this information stays current. As you transition through learning models throughout the school year, please be sure to update the portal within 24 hours of any transition.
We've added a Learning Model Portal: Frequently Asked Questions document to the District and School Site Verification page, which you may find helpful.
Note: When entering a new model, be sure to create a new entry. Do not overwrite or edit models previously implemented when entering a new model. You can enter any future learning models your district or charter school plans to implement as soon as those official decisions have been made. If you enter a future learning model and the model or implementation date changes, you can edit the information you entered. You should not edit learning models after they have been implemented to ensure that an accurate history is maintained. However, if you must edit an already implemented model, please ensure that the effective date remains the actual date that it was initially implemented, not the date that you edited the data for the model.
Commissioner Ricker has consulted with Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm and staff at the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) regarding the use of school facilities for ACT testing in the 2020-21 school year. Based on MDH's recommendation, MDE will continue to permit school building use for testing under the requirement that schools adhere to the state's indoor seating entertainment/meeting guidance and develop a protocol that describes in detail the steps they are taking to mitigate health risks. A district or charter school's protocol needs to be available on their website and sent to every test participant.
As outlined in the Safe Learning Plan, school districts and charter schools should engage with their current incident command team or advisory council when making determinations about local learning models. These teams consist of school board members, bargaining units, staff, students and families. It is critical to engage these individuals in the entire decision-making process, including the review of multiple data points and local considerations as well as ongoing discussions related to navigating COVID-19 within school communities while prioritizing the health and safety of students and staff. School districts and charter schools are encouraged to include incident command team members in requests for support from the Regional Support Teams.
The U.S. Department of Education’s Interim Final Rule, which outlined nonpublic equitable share calculation options in ESSER and GEER, was struck down by a Federal court on September 4,, 2020. There is no updated guidance from the U.S. Department of Education. MDE has released updated guidance and accompanying documents reflecting the original language in the CARES Act with directions for districts on how to calculate equitable share in ESSER and GEER. The budget worksheets in SERVS have been updated to correctly calculate equitable share using this guidance. Districts with nonpublic schools should follow this updated guidance effective immediately. This guidance can be found on the CARES Act Funding Information webpage.
Any district that has expended funds on behalf of a nonpublic school in excess of the new calculation should contact mde.esea@state.mn.us to determine next steps. The LEA should provide a summary of the funds spent, services provided, and communication with the nonpublic school(s) in question.
Postsecondary Enrollment Options (PSEO) Concurrent Enrollment is a program authorized under Minnesota Statutes, section 124D.09, subdivision 10, in which courses are taught in the high school by either a postsecondary professor or an accredited high school teacher. PSEO allows students to earn both high school and postsecondary credit (dual credit). For high schools partnering with postsecondary institutions that are not accredited by the National Alliance of Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships (NACEP), the signed concurrent enrollment program aid application for FY 2021 and required documentation are due to the Minnesota Department of Education no later than October 30, 2020. This deadline has been set so that information can be gathered to determine payments to districts in a timely manner. The application allows the high school to generate concurrent aid for the dual credit courses that are offered at the high school during the 2020-21 school year. A new signed application is required each school year. An application is not required for partnerships with postsecondary institutions that are NACEP accredited. Read the September memorandum from Mary Barrie.
Access the concurrent enrollment program aid application.
For more information, visit the National Alliance of Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships (NACEP) in Minnesota 2020-21.
If you have any questions, please contact Jacqui McKenzie.
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