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July 13, 2021
Federal ESEA/ESEA Fiscal Requirements Waiver - Public Comment
U.S. Acting Assistant Secretary Rosenblum announced states may apply for waivers to limited fiscal requirements of some grant programs within the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), reauthorized as the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). The U.S. Department of Education has made a waiver process available to any state in order to support districts in their response to the ongoing national emergency, providing relief from some federal fiscal requirements in these grant programs.
Through this waiver, states will be able to approve a district or charter school to carry over more than 15 percent of its FY2020 Title I, Part A funds, even if they had received approval to exceed this limitation in the past three years. States would be able to extend for itself and its subgrantees the period of availability of FY 2019 funds for programs included in their consolidated state plan to allow additional time to obligate those funds. Guidance for districts and charter schools on this waiver will be published to the MDE ESEA/ESSA Title Grant Programs website as soon as they are available.
Minnesota’s Federal Waiver Application is available for public review and comment. A public comment survey is now open for Minnesotans to provide feedback. The public comment period closes at 4 p.m. on July 27, 2021.
Status of Known Issues with ESEA Title Grant Applications in SERVS
Some Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) are experiencing issues in SERVS Financial related to one or more ESEA Title grant opportunities. Below are the known issues and the status of each.
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Known Issue in SERVS for Some Users
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Status
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| Data entered into FIN401 application not saving |
This is resolved. Email mde.esea@state.mn.us if this error is experienced after 9 a.m. on Friday, June 25, 2021. |
| Incorrect enrollment and FRP-eligible data in FIN401 |
This is resolved. The October 1, 2019 enrollment and FRP-eligible data are loaded into FIN401. This is to account for the “best available data” due to the impact of the pandemic on families enrolling in nutrition benefits by October 2020. LEAs are able to edit these number to reflect their local “best available data” as long as they use the same date for all public and nonpublic schools. |
| Budget and Narrative tab in FIN401 not working |
Resolution is pending. An update will be sent when this is resolved. LEAs can use the Title I, Part A Narrative Questions and Response Guide 2021-22 document to prepare Narrative responses while awaiting resolution. |
Email mde.esea@state.mn.us if you have questions or if you experience additional issues with the ESEA Title grant applications in SERVS Financial.
Students Placed in Foster Care Guide for School Districts and Charter Schools
MDE has posted a new resource for school district and charter school personnel working to ensure educational stability for students placed in foster care. The guidance explains how state and local education and child welfare agencies must collaborate to implement the ESSA’s provisions to ensure school stability, prompt school enrollment, and school success for children in foster care. It includes key definitions, information on residency determination, transportation, student reporting and more.
Questions can be directed to:
Foster Care: MN MDE Foster Care ED
MARSS Reporting: MN MDE MARSS
Transportation : MN MDE Pupil Transportation
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Program Highlight – Title II, Part A (FIN414)
Nonpublic Equitable Services in Title II, Part A
Title II, Part A activities provided to participating nonpublic schools are limited to tuition reimbursement and other forms of professional development. A college course is more likely to produce effective, sustained results for teachers and students. Use of Title II, Part A funds for tuition reimbursement should follow school district policies and procedures. In SERVS, the line item must be entered in the Title II, Part A (FIN414) Recruitment and Retention budget tab.
Nonpublic services cannot use Title II, Part A funds for other recruitment and retention activities or class size reduction. Title II, Part A can also not be used for curriculum development or purchasing materials for student use in nonpublic schools.
For more details about allowable public and nonpublic activities, please access Title II, Part A Eligible Activities and Expenditures on the MDE Title II, Part A website: Title II, Allowable Eligible Activities and Expenditures.
New MDE Guidance for Title II, Part A
To assist LEAs in understanding the three overall categories of allowable Title II, Part A activities and determining specific activities and expenditures that are eligible, four documents have been added to the MDE Title II, Part A webpage.
- Title II Part A Eligible Activities and Expenditures
- Title II, Part A Recruitment and Retention, which includes mentoring and tuition assistance
- Title II, Part A Professional Development
- Title II, Part A Class Size Reduction
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ESEA Title I Committee of Practitioners (COP) is Seeking Members for 2021–2022
The Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) is seeking applications from schools/districts that receive Title I, Part A funds. Parents, administrators, teachers, school business officials, and other school leaders, members of local school boards, nonpublic school representatives, student services personnel, specialized instructional support personnel, paraprofessionals, and charter school representatives are invited to apply to serve on the 2021–2022 ESEA Title I, Committee of Practitioners (COP).
The COP provides MDE ongoing recommendations on a variety of issues related Title I programs. The COP is required by the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) which was reauthorized as the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) in 2015. Refer to the Terms of the Committee of Practitioners.
All 2021–2022 will take place virtually. If you are interested, please complete the application linked below by August 21. MDE staff will contact you by early September via email regarding the status of your application. Please forward this to any colleague or parent of a Title I student who might be interested. The Committee of Practitioners application must be submitted by August 21, 2021.
All meetings this year will take place virtually over a web-based platform. Meetings are scheduled on the following dates:
- September 22, 2021, orientation, 1-2 p.m.
- November 10, 2021, 1-3 p.m.
- February 16, 2022, 1-2 p.m.
- April 20, 2022, 1-3 p.m.
Email mde.esea@state.mn.us with questions.
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Invitation to Apply: English Learner Stakeholder Input Group (ELSIG)
The Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) is seeking applications from educators, parents and community members to serve on the English Learner Stakeholder Input Group (ELSIG). The purpose of the ELSIG is to provide MDE ongoing recommendations on a variety of issues relating to the improvement of standards, instruction and assessment for the state’s English learners (ELs). It is composed of educators and community members from throughout the state who are knowledgeable about the educational needs of ELs.
The time commitment is two hours (1-3 p.m.) on each of three dates during the 2021–2022 school year (October 25, 2021, January 10, 2022, and April 25, 2022) with the possibility of additional survey requests by email. Meeting location is to be determined. Virtual options will be available when in-person meetings become an option.
Complete the ELSIG application by Friday, September 3, 2021.
Selected applicants will be notified and posted by the middle of September 2021. Please contact Julie Chi (651-582-8444) for assistance with questions.
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Title Tuesday
Join members of MDE Equity and Opportunity team every third Tuesday of the month to learn about topics that apply to many ESEA Title programs. Example topics include making amendments to your application, accepting and declining awards, and closing out awards. There is no need to register.
ESEA Title Applications in SERVS
Join MDE staff for an overview of the applications in SERVS for finance codes (FIN) 401, 406, 414, 417, and 433. An overview of the application timeline and available resources to support application writing. This is part of the BOSA-approved “ESEA Federal Title Applications and Budget Worksheets Series” and participants should submit the ESEA Federal Title Program Applications and Budgets in SERVS Financial BOSA clock hours form when completed with all four hours in the series.
Title I, Part A Overview, Program Design and Application
This training will provide an overview of Title I, Part A, some program design possibilities (including best practices, necessary components, and allowable spending), and how to complete the FY22 Title I, Part A application in SERVS. This training is designed to be interactive and questions are welcome. A duplicate session will be held 8/18/21. This is part of the BOSA-approved “ESEA Federal Title Programs Learning Series” and participants should submit the ESEA Federal Title Programs Virtual Learning Series BOSA clock hours 2021 form when completed with either 3 or 8 hours of attendance.
Title I, Part A Schoolwide Essentials—Becoming and Being a Schoolwide Program
This session will go over the essentials of a solid Schoolwide plan, compliance requirements, when/why a school should consider becoming Schoolwide and the process to become Schoolwide. This is part of the BOSA-approved “ESEA Federal Title Programs Learning Series” and participants should submit the ESEA Federal Title Programs Virtual Learning Series BOSA clock hours 2021 form when completed with either 3 or 8 hours of attendance.
ESEA Title Applications - Budget Worksheets
Join MDE staff for an overview of the required budget worksheets for finance codes (FIN) 401, 414, 417, and 433. An overview of the requirements and how to complete and upload the budget worksheets for each finance code. This is part of the BOSA-approved “ESEA Federal Title Applications and Budget Worksheets Series” and participants should submit the ESEA Federal Title Program Applications and Budgets in SERVS Financial BOSA clock hours form when completed with all four hours in the series.
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