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Weekly Newsletter- October 9, 2020

Please be sure to keep EDDIE up to date!

• OCS Guidance on Title IX-New Compliance Requirements
• OCS Guidance SB199 Sex Trafficking Prevention Training and SB476 Mental Health Plans
• OCS Guidance for Charter Schools SB681/Session Law 2020-78 Enrollment Priorities, Assessments Memo, and CARES Act additional funds available 7/17/2020 
• OCS Guidance for Charter Schools House Bill 1043 / Session Law 2020-4 Summer Learning Program and Supplemental Grants 6/2 revised 6/8/2020
• OCS Guidance for Charter Schools SB704/Session Law 2020-3 Remote Instruction Plans

Upcoming Events and Reminders!

Save the Date!

Action Required- Request for Student Home Connectivity Funding- Due October 21, 2020

$335 Relief Payment to Help Parents, BUT you must apply or amend by October 15, 2020!

Parents, Caretakers, and Educators – 

Thanks to a program recently created by the NC General Assembly, most North Carolina families with school-age children are eligible for a $335 coronavirus relief payment to help with virtual schooling and childcare costs.

Most families should receive this relief automatically before the end of the year. Importantly, I want you to know that some families need to apply or need to amend their 2019 NC tax returns by October 15! Please see the information below from the NC Department of Revenue.

This $335 is meant to be some help for families dealing with the challenges of remote learning. Even during this crisis, our work continues to eliminate high-stakes testing, improve state standards, and promote all pathways to success for students. But please know that our top priority at your Department of Public Instruction is to support local education leaders as they work to help students, educators, and families get back into classrooms if they want to return to school.

My own child is learning remotely these days. I share in many of these struggles with you, and we will get through this together. I wish you and your families the best as we finish what has been a year filled with unimaginable challenges and continue to transform education in the future.

Sincerely,

Mark Johnson
NC Superintendent of Public Instruction
@MarkRJohnsonNC

Additional Information (please refer to www.ncdor.gov/extracredit for all information on qualifying)

The $335 payment is for individuals with at least one dependent child who was 16 or younger at the end of 2019. Individuals must have been residents of North Carolina for all of 2019. 

The NC Department of Revenue has identified an issue with third-party tax preparation software that may require individuals to submit an amended return in order to receive the $335 payment.

From NC DOR:

Taxpayers that were allowed a federal child tax credit are advised to review their 2019 Form D-400 as filed and look at line 10a to determine if the return correctly reported a qualifying child. If the return incorrectly reported “0” children on line 10a, but the taxpayer would otherwise qualify for the grant, the taxpayer may file an amended return prior to the October 15, 2020 deadline.

Click this link for details: https://files.nc.gov/ncdor/documents/files/2020-9-21-Extra-Credit-Grant-Program.pdf

If you did not file a 2019 state return because your gross income for 2019 did not exceed the state’s filing requirements for your filing status (generally $10,000 per year if you are single and $20,000 per year if you are married), you may still be eligible for the $335 payment.

BUT you must apply or amend by October 15, 2020!

CLICK HERE TO APPLY RIGHT NOW. DON’T DELAY!

Notice from the Chief School Business Officer, Division of School Business, DPI   In accordance with HB1105, the SBE approved a hold harmless provision funded ADM for all public school units at its meeting on September 28.  In summary the approved policy states that charter schools shall be funded using at a minimum either the 2021 projected ADM submitted by the school in June 2020 or the schools 2019-20 funded ADM.  The basis of which ADM is applied to the hold harmless is determined by the accuracy of the projections submitted historically by the school.    The entire language is in the attached approved policy .   The Division of School Business is in the process of finalizing calculating the hold harmless ADM by school and will publish this as soon as it is complete.  As you may be aware, due to Powerschool issues there is a delay in the Month 1 PMR, but we shall compute Month 1 ADM and the allotments as a top priority when the numbers are available.  Please refer to the School Business newsletter for the most up to date information.  In addition, Charter school leaders are encouraged to attend the monthly School Business webinar for Q&A – the next meeting is scheduled for Oct 21.   If there are questions related to this policy, please email Alexis Schauss at alexis.schauss@dpi.nc.gov   Alexis Schauss Chief Business Officer of NC Public Schools   The State Board of Education recently approved the policy and distribution of the funding for PPE, and in order for the Division of School Business to have the information needed, we are requiring that all public school units (PSU) report the Phase under which the PSU is operating on specific dates.   Please submit this document - https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/5FYXN2Q -by October 19th with the local boards approved Phase as of October 15 or before.   Failure to report may affect the allocation for your PSU and will delay the allocation for all PSUs.   We appreciate your cooperation.   Nicola Lefler School Business NCDPI

Child Count Transfer System -   The FY 21 Child Count Transfer System will open to enter transfers on Oct 14, 2020.  We appreciate your patience while we prepared the system for the 2020-21 Fiscal Year.  We ask that you please submit your transfers promptly to avoid missing the deadline. Please be advised that the deadline for submitting transfers for students who enrolled from July through October is Nov 10, 2020.  

For New Charter Schools opening in 20-21, please have your transfers for students enrolled from July through September submitted no later than October 21st. Students enrolled in October need to be submitted by November 10th.  We need this information earlier to calculate Federal Planning allotments for the Budget and Application process for New Charter Schools.

More detailed instructions will be emailed directly to the Directors of the New Charter Schools.

To access the Child Count Transfer System, please use the link below:

https://schools.nc.gov/ords/f?p=130:101

Remember Access to the System for input has been granted to Data Managers that were reported to the Exception Children Division.  If you have a new Data Manager or want to report a change in Data Manager, please contact matt.hoskins@dpi.nc.gov or 984-236-2552.

If you have any questions about the HC transfer system, please contact melissa.dearman@dpi.nc.gov or 984-236-2444.

P-EBT - Benefits information for this school year

Family Facing-Pandemic-EBT Information-1_SPANISH.pdf

Family Facing-Pandemic-EBT Information-2_SPANISH.pdf

Issuance of Fall P-EBT Benefits to Eligible Households

As you will recall, the federal Pandemic-EBT (P-EBT) program was launched in the spring to help support food-insecure families purchase food for their children while schools were closed to students. to help meet this statewide need. The program provided a benefit on an EBT card that could be used to buy food at authorized retailers, including most major grocery stores.  We have been notified by NCDHHS of a brief extension of P-EBT benefits.  Under the new federal guidelines, many families that received P-EBT benefits in the spring may not be eligible to receive benefits this fall. Under USDA’s new guidance and September 30 deadline, DHHS provided P-EBT benefits to as many children as possible, with the wish they could have helped every family in need.  More than 600,000 students will qualify for the fall P-EBT program compared to the more than 900,000 who qualified in the spring.

Children are eligible for the fall P-EBT program if they meet these criteria:

• Received P-EBT benefits last school year (2019-2020); or have been Directly Certified for free meal benefits for the current school year (2020-2021); or attends a Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) School for the current school year (2020-2021); and
• Their school district or charter school is approved to participate in the National School Lunch Program during the 2020 – 20201 school year; and,
• Their school district or charter school utilized virtual learning for all students for at least five consecutive school days between August 17^th and September 30^th.

This is different than the eligibility criteria for P-EBT benefits in the spring, which was available to all children who normally access free or reduced-priced meals, regardless of school circumstance. The new eligibility criteria are based on guidance from the US Department of Agriculture.

NC School Districts and Charter Schools Eligible for P-EBT in Aug & Sept_final (1).pdf

We are reaching out because the fall P-EBT program has rolled out rapidly and households are beginning to receive benefits on their EBT cards. While there is technically very little district leaders are asked to do to support this effort, we wanted you to be aware of the following important points:

1. Fall 2020 eligibility is different than spring eligibility.
2. Eligibility requirements are established by federal regulations.
3. Funds are already being loaded onto existing cards.
4. P-EBT eligible districts are asked to share NCDHHS information (attached) with families through local communication channels.
5. NCDPI encourages non-eligible districts to communicate with families how parents, guardians, or designees of students opting to participate in remote learning can pick-up or preorder meals that are provided to students receiving face-to-face instruction.
6. Eligible families with questions about their P-EBT card should call the NC EBT Call Center at 1-866-719-0141.

Thank you for your leadership and understanding. 

Jessica B. Swencki | District & Regional Support-Sandhills Region

N.C. Department of Public Instruction-Sandhills RST

jessica.swencki@dpi.nc.gov | 910-524-7020 | @JessicaBSwencki

COVID TOP TEN:

To help recap important news of the week, we are pleased to bring you the NCDPI COVID-19 WEEKLY TOP TEN.   The link does not change.  New content is added to the top of the document weekly.  

Check out this week's preview:

10. Top 6 Things Educators Should Know about NC Countdown to College!  (Number 2 will be your favorite!) CFNC.org
9. October is Dyslexia Awareness Month!
8. Reminder-CCRG Implementation Training Webinars
7. NC Community College System Dashboards-Postsecondary Enrollment Outcomes
6. NC Independent Colleges and Universities College Fair:  Week of October 19
5. Purple Star Application Webinars-Wednesday, October 14
4. LEA Preschool Classroom Survey-COMING THIS WEEK TO CAOs!
3. JUST RELEASED! October NCDHHS K-12 Guidance Updates & New Resources
2. Highlights-2020 Fall Planning and Work Session of the North Carolina State Board of Education 10.6.20-10.8.20
1. DTL Update: Connectivity & Safety Management Funding Opportunities-Apply Now!

Please note that the state COVID WEEKLY TOP TEN is not compiled with charter schools primarily in mind, or written by OCS. Charter schools retain flexibility by law, including but not limited to the issuance of emergency leave. If you ever have any uncertainty about a requirement, please reach out to the Office of Charter Schools.

School Nurse PPE Booster Packs on the way to Charter Schools

10/1/20 Announcement: COVID-19 Remote Learning Facility Registration Form

Jessica B. Swencki | District & Regional Support-Sandhills Region

N.C. Department of Public Instruction-Sandhills RST

jessica.swencki@dpi.nc.gov | 910-524-7020 | @JessicaBSwencki

10/6 PPE training for Charter School Staff-PPT presentation:

• PPEforSchoolStaff Presentation
• IsolationTrackingTmpltF.xlsx

Annette Richardson, MSN, RN, NCSN

Charter School Health Nurse Consultant

Division of Public Health - Children and Youth Branch

NC Department of Health and Human Services

Follow-Up-Communications Leaders' Biweekly Call-10.6.20 Lots of info linked!

Please send the attached memo, Summer Programs 2020–21, from Dr. David Stegall and Dr. Tammy Howard to all Charter School Directors.

State PRC 016 – Summer Reading Camps is closed as of June 30, 2020

We noticed that few of the charters coded expenditures to state PRC 016 Summer Reading Camps which closed as of June 30, 2020.  Do not code expenditures to state PRC 016.  We currently have state PRC 121 CRF Summer Learning that have some of the eligible account codes like the closed state PRC 016.

Remove the expenditures from the closed state PRC 016 as soon as possible.

If you have questions, contact Roxane Bernard at roxane.bernard@dpi.nd.gov.

Important Info Update from the School Financial Reporting Section

What’s New – FY 20-21

Please check out the What’s New section of DPI’s website at https://www.dpi.nc.gov/districts-schools/district-operations/financial-and-business-services.  It will provide you the latest information about the COVID funding and Teacher and Instructional Support Bonus.

Teacher and Instructional Support Bonus

Charters received their Teacher and Instructional Support Bonus per their ADM in your PRC 036 installment.  The bonus must be paid by October 31, 2020.  Code the bonus to object code 180 as it is not subject to State Retirement (TSERS). However, the bonus is subject to FICA withholdings, using social security object code 211.  Please review state PRC 045 for the list of eligible purpose codes for this bonus.

If you have questions, please contact Roxane Bernard at roxane.bernard@dpi.nc.gov.

COVID Funding

Review the COVID Allotment Policy manual 2020-21, which reflects which COVID PRCs charters are eligible.

If you have COVID funding questions, please contact Sue Holly at susan.holly@dpi.nc.gov.

UPDATED GUIDANCE: $350 Teacher Bonus FAQ

Please review the attached memo, The 2021 Session of the North Carolina Governor's School, from Dr. Beverly Emory, executive director of the Leandro Implementation, and Sherry Thomas, director of the Exceptional Children Divison.

• Memo 2021 Governor's School.pdf
• Weekly_Updates_10.7.20 .pdf
• Summer Program_DS_TH_100720.pdf

Please review the attached ECATS communication. 

• Indicator 7 Reporting Checklist.pdf
• Indicator 7 Exception Descriptions.pdf
• Monday Message 10.5.20.pdf
• ECATS Webinar Video Links - Federal Reporting 10.02.20.pdf

• Tip Sheet: Related Service Support Descriptions (RSSD) The EC Division has received questions regarding how to document supplemental aids and supports that were previously included on a separate stand-alone form, RSSD, prior to the implementation of ECATS and the new EC forms. While this information was previously provided at the May 2017 Regional Director’s Meeting, it is appropriate to update the information and re-release in a Tip Sheet.  Please see the updated version attached.

Resources Galore:

K-12 Education Legislative Update - Friday, October 9, 2020

School Business Resources 10/2/20

NC SIS Weekly Email Bulletin 10/9/20

October 2020 - AP/IB/CIE Update

Free HS Student and Educator - Ethics and Leadership Conference: October 30th

2021 NC Governor's School Announcement

NCDPI Webinar Series: Integrating SEL in the Content Areas

School Financial Reporting SCHOOL BUSINESS DIVISION FINANCIAL AND BUSINESS SERVICES 9/15/20 Independent, Charter & Lab Schools Webinar

Fall 2020 NCStar Professional Learning Opportunities

Mark Your Calendars for International Education Week!

NCDPI Webinar Series in October: Integrating SEL in the Content Areas 9/21/20

Arts Ed Newsletter *FEEDback BUFFET* 9/21/20

NCDPI Webinar Series: Integrating SEL in the Content Areas 9/21/20

October First Tuesday Science Update

Cross-Curricular Opportunities for K-5 Teachers and HS Students 10/7/20

SALC PD on 10/24 for French and German Teachers

October 2020 K12 Mathematics Monthly Update

STEMtastic Newsletter - October

Digital Learning Standards & ELA Standards Crosswalk - New Resource

Character Education News & Updates: October 2020

10/13 @ 3:30 pm: LinguaFolio Café

Please Help Announce the Senate Youth Program Opportunity through December 6th

Please Share- Ready, Set, App! Cycle 2 Live for HS Students