In this Message
- ODE Web Page for Tracking Federal Actions
- Federal Funding Update
- ESSA Quick Reference Brief Spotlight: Equitable Services
- Consultation for School Year 2025-26 Equitable Services is Beginning!
- Elevating Voices in Education (EVE) Survey Opportunity Closes March 21st
- No Title II-A Tuesday Session in March
- Free, Statewide Arts Integration Lessons
The Oregon Department of Education is actively monitoring changes at the federal level for any impact that they have on Oregon. We’ve launched a new page on the ODE website to clearly communicate with anyone else seeking a better understanding of changes at the federal level.
You will find our guiding statement, any actions that have immediate impact on our work, the latest updates to districts and a quick look at Oregon programs that receive federal funding.
ODE is committed to making sure students have the tools and resources to thrive, to continue our vision for serving each and every scholar receiving education in Oregon. Please contact ode.communications@ode.oregon.gov with any questions.
The federal government is funded through March 14, 2025, however, programming under ESSA and IDEA are forward funded, so funding has already been allocated for the 24-25 school year. Congress must pass a continuing resolution to fund the government beyond March 14th and must also pass a budget to fund the 2025-26 school year. Congressional representatives in both chambers are continuing to negotiate on both actions. The ODE will communicate updates about federal funding as we receive them.
ESSA Quick Reference Brief Spotlight: Equitable Services
Each district that receives federal funds must designate a portion of those funds to address the strengths and needs of eligible students, as well as their teachers and families, in the private, non-profit schools that choose to participate. In ESSA Quick Reference Brief: Equitable Services learn about the requirements for delivering equitable services (including consultation, calculation of the equitable share, and evaluation of programs) as well as considerations and recommendations for practice.
Check out other ESSA Quick Reference Briefs on this web page.
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Consultation for School Year 2025-2026 Equitable Services is Beginning!
Districts who are consulting with private schools this spring, are encouraged to use the ODE’s 2025-2026 school year Affirmation of Consultation (available in Word or PDF). The Affirmation has been updated so that district and private school will complete the first page of the Affirmation and then each program page in which the private school is participating. Each program page is written in such a way that the district and private school are able to organically discuss program design, complete all ESEA required topics, and record agreed upon decisions in one convenient form.
For school year 2025-2026 consultation with private schools:
- Each District must, at a minimum, contact all of the private schools on the Private School by District List in their district. Additionally, if an out-of-district private school is known to enroll students living in the district, the district must also contact these private schools, but only for Title I-A equitable services.
- The Intent to Participate Letter is a template school districts can use to inform private schools of their opportunity to participate in equitable services.
- Evidence that the district invited private schools to consultation must be uploaded to the Evidence of Consultation form.
- For private schools that are non-responsive, upload evidence that the private school was invited to consultation.
- For private schools that decline services, upload evidence that the private school declined services
- For private schools that are participating in services, upload a signed Affirmation.
Questions? Comments? Concerns? Contact Janette Newton, the Private School Ombuds, at Janette.Newton@ODE.Oregon.Gov or Call/Text 503-551-9405.
Elevating Voices in Education (EVE) Survey Opportunity Closes March 21st
The Oregon Department of Education and the Educator Advancement Council are excited to introduce the Elevating Voices in Education (EVE) Workforce Survey. The EVE survey window is February 4 to March 21, 2025 and is completed via SurveyMonkey (with English and Spanish versions). The survey is anonymous and is expected to take 15 minutes.
This is an incredible opportunity to understand the needs of the education workforce to improve working conditions and experiences for education staff across the state, so please lend your voice!
For more details, visit ODE’s EVE Workforce Survey web page.
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Title II Tuesdays – No Session in March
Title II Tuesdays is a monthly opportunity to dive deeper into topics specific to Title II-A and connect with others doing this work in Oregon. Because many districts will be taking a well-deserved break the last week in March there is no session scheduled this month. We hope you will be able to join us on April 22nd as district partners share the ways they are using federal funds to diversify their educator workforce.
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Oregon is leading the way in arts-integrated education with the launch of the Arts, Care & Connection (ACC) initiative, a free resource providing K-5 educators with high-quality, artist-led online lessons. The ACC project will culminate in 96 stand-alone, one-hour lessons, each including a detailed lesson plan, instructional videos, and a slide deck. These lessons align with the Oregon Arts Standards and Oregon's Transformative Social Emotional Learning Framework, ensuring accessibility and effectiveness for all educators, regardless of artistic background.
Developed by Arts for Learning Northwest in collaboration with Oregon Department of Education, arts partners, and teaching artists across Oregon, these lessons serve three key purposes: (1) To increase understanding and fluency with artistic approaches and practices; (2) To deepen learning in the arts content area needed for authentic Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math (STEAM) learning; and (3) To provide high-quality social-emotional learning opportunities to students through the arts.
This initiative is part of the Oregon Department of Education’s Well-Rounded Access Program, funded by a five-year, $9.8 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education. The grant started in 2020 and ends in September 2025. The online resource library created by the grant will continue to be available for students for years to come.
The ACC lessons are designed to be flexible, requiring no specialized materials while allowing educators to co-teach with virtual teaching artists. The lessons are currently available online, with additional lessons added throughout 2025.
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Federal System Team's "Framework of Support"
Our goal is to provide differentiated support and strengthen the partnership between districts and ODE federal program staff. Check out the resources and support below and reach out to let us know how we can support you!
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