OPI's November 2022 Compass

The first of four testing windows for the MAST pilot program will be November 7-18. Each testing window includes three Math and two Reading testlets. The Math and Reading testlets are aligned with our Montana State Content Standards.

After more than 30 years Montana's School Accreditation standards are changing to prioritize student learning. On Monday, October 31 at 9:00 AM in room 152 of the State Capitol Building the Board of Public Education will hold a public hearing on the proposed changes to Chapter 55. Written public comment is open until November 4 and can be submitted to bpe@mt.gov.

To view a five-page summary of the rule changes, please click here.

Board of Public Education Timeline: Proposed Chapter 55 Rules:

• Public hearing date October 31, 2022 – 9:00 AM Room 152, State Capitol
• Final public comment deadline November 4, 2022
• Draft Notice and Economic Impact Statement to Interim Committee Before Nov. 7, 2022
• Adoption notice to BPE for consideration/respond to comments Nov 17-18, 2022
• Interim Committee Meeting December 7, 2022
• BPE authorization to publish adoption notice, including comments and responses January 12-13, 2023
• Adoption notice to SOS for publication in MAR January, TBD 2023
• MAR publication of adoption notice January, TBD 2023
• Effective date of rules July 2023

On September 29, 2022, the United States Department of Education sent a liquidation extension letter to the OPI. The letter states, “the Department is offering a liquidation extension request process for immediate use by grantees. This process ensures strong accountability for the use of funds and important safeguards for States and subgrantees. Under 2 CFR § 200.344(b), properly obligated funds must be liquidated within 120 calendar days (or by January 28, 2023, for CARES Act funds). The Department has the authority to approve liquidation extension requests for properly obligated funds upon review of a written request made by a grantee on its own behalf or on behalf of its subgrantees. Final approval of a grantee’s written request will be based upon the specific facts and circumstances, in accordance with 2 CFR § 200.344(b). If approved under this process, grantees and subgrantees may have an extension to the liquidation period of up to 14 months beyond the 120 days already available to liquidate funds.”

Districts received a letter regarding the liquidation from OPI ESSER Director Wendi Fawns with an extension template.

The monthly Trustee Report that was sent to board chairs on October 17 can be found here.

Many of you attended the Montana Conference of Educational Leadership (MCEL) presentation by our OPI legal team, Rob Stutz and Rick Wootton. Here is another free opportunity:

Exciting News! The Youth Risk Behavior Survey Registration is online!

This exciting 17th year of the Youth Risk Behavior Survey, (YRBS), is bringing a change to registration. We hope to take advantage of all our technology-savvy and connected superintendents, administrators, and lead staff out there during this process.

 WHAT'S NEW:

• A NEW link on our YRBS Website will lead you to an online registration to fill out for the 2023 YRBS. Registration will be as easy as going online and filling out the form.
• ALL the forms and information are posted on the website for you to view and print off as you need. This will cut down on the mail coming to you and having to remember to mail the registration back to us.

As you know, the YRBS combines the data requirements for several state departments into this survey. We are fortunate to have continued support from state agencies, including the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services, the Department of Crime Control, the Department of Motor Vehicles-Traffic Safety Program, and the Department of Justice to bring the survey to you and to continue providing this valuable information to the State of Montana.

The application should be live by November 1^st, 2022 at https://opi.mt.gov/Leadership/Data-Reporting/Youth-Risk-Behavior-Survey. Genie Zeeck, the YRBS coordinator for the Office of Public Instruction will also be sending out individual e-mails to school officials to notify them of important information.

A friendly reminder for all: the scheduled survey dates for the YRBS are February 20-24, 2023.

Pursuant to section §20-9-326, MCA, annual inflation-related adjustments are required for BASE while preparing and submitting the agency budget. Currently, these inflationary rates are set at 2.70% for FY2024 and 3.00% for FY2025.  This basic amount for school equity (BASE) is the largest state funding component for our public school systems and supports the school district’s general fund.  This present law adjustment not only includes growth associated with the statutorily required inflationary increase but also includes estimated increases associated with enrollment, adjustments for taxable valuation, and other non-levy revenue estimates.  Including costs associated with these “other” variables allows for ancillary formulaic funding needs beyond the inflationary requirement. The table below provides a general breakout of increases for the upcoming biennium.

Through the federal congressional Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA) of June 2022, the Montana Office of Public Instruction was awarded $4.8 million in additional funding for Title IV, Part A of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). This one-time funding is in addition to the Title IV, Part A funding already allocated to the Montana OPI and 95% of these funds will be made available to Local Education Agencies (LEAs) through a competitive subgrant application. We anticipate the competitive subgrant application to open in the spring of 2023 for program activities to be implemented in the 2023-25 school years.

The BSCA bill language includes a requirement for states to distribute funds on a competitive basis to “high need” LEAs to implement allowable Title IV, Part A activities aligned with the Safe and Healthy Students program purpose.  There are multiple opportunities to provide public comment on the Montana “high need” criteria and to provide input on the DRAFT Montana SCG competitive subgrant process.

1. Please join us for one of the following Zoom Public Comment Session sessions to provide feedback:
1. November 3 @ 1:00-1:30 pm
2. November 9 @ 4:00-4:30 pm
3. November 10 @ 10:00-10:30 am

Zoom Link to Public Comment Sessions

Zoom Meeting ID: 860 8283 6074

Passcode: 608466

             2. Complete this form to submit feedback no later than November 15, 2022.

             3. Send comments via email to: OPIStrongerConnections@mt.gov no later than November 15, 2022.

Structured interviews are being conducted with 15 districts that meet the participation criteria of any interest in Early Warning Systems to identify students at risk of dropping out. We will include districts that represent varying degrees of implementation of the OPI Early Warning System. If your schools engaged the OPI Early Warning System only a few times, we’d still love to hear from you. Based on counts of users with secure logins, we anticipate that we anticipate we will interview 3 individuals/districts in a group interview. However, if it is only convenient for one person to participate, we’d be happy to have you.

We will incentivize participation with a $2000 mini-grant to the school, which should be directed toward dropout intervention efforts. One school is using its mini-grant to pay teachers for their lunch hour when they normally volunteer time to mentor at-risk students. There are many ways you can use this grant to support your students who may be struggling.

Interviews will be conducted over the phone or via Zoom which easily allows the recording of audio. We will obtain informed consent from the individuals pursuant to our IRB application with Montana State University. Individuals should rest assured that their privacy will be secured to the greatest degree possible by the technology being used, and all responses will remain anonymous (both the participant and their school) unless participants would like to use their names.

The OPI is partnering with the Montana Meth Project, the worldwide leader in Meth prevention, to launch 2023 Paint the State. Paint the State is Montana’s largest public art contest with the goal to engage young Montanans in on-the-ground drug prevention outreach and inspire vibrant drug-free lives.

All Montana 7 – 12 grade teachers are invited to sign up for Paint the State and lead student participation in this exciting art contest. The first 250 educators to sign up will hold their spots to receive a $250 stipend from the Meth Project to be used toward art supplies for your student team entries.

The contest is appropriate for classes and student groups across subjects and interests. Students who participate will be entered to win up to $3,000 in cash prizes from the Meth Project and its partners.

Thank you for engaging in this important drug prevention effort. Your leadership is invaluable in inspiring Montana’s new drug prevention ambassadors.

Get inspired and sign up at PaintTheState.org.

Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen and Superintendent of Public Instruction Elsie Arntzen are proud to announce the 2022 Montana Youth Vote election will be conducted Monday, October 31 to Friday, November 4.

Secretary Jacobsen and Superintendent Arntzen encourage all Montana students in grades K-12 to participate in the election to gain practical experience in the democratic process.

The 2022 Montana Youth Vote election will allow middle school and high school students to vote for candidates and ballot issues which will appear on the ballot in November’s General Election. Elementary students will vote for Montana’s two congressional races and a variety of other interests to younger children.

For more information, teachers and students may visit https://civics.sosmt.gov. Results will be shared on Monday, November 7, in advance of the midterm General Election.