Summertime
🌞 Summer Greetings! 🌞
As we step into the sun-soaked days of summer, it's the perfect time to catch up on the latest updates regarding federal programs in our school district. In this edition of our newsletter, we're excited to share important dates, insights, and resources for your Summer prep. Happy reading! 📚🌟
We are here to help!
- Tami Knight, Mercedez Rassi, and Monica Diaz
ESSA LEA MOE: Final Determinations available for 23-24 School Year
TEA has completed the final ESSA local educational agency (LEA) maintenance of effort (MOE) determinations for school year 2022–2023.
If you'd like to view your determination letter, follow these steps to find your determination in the GFFC Reports and Data Collections secure application:
- Log on to TEAL.
- Select “GFFC Reports and Data Collections.”
- Select “ESSA LEA MOE Report” from the Report Title drop-down menu.
- Select “2022–2023” from the School Year drop-down menu.
The “Status” column of the determination indicates whether you are compliant or noncompliant. If you have questions, please contact us!
2024-2025 ESSA Entitlement Amounts
The 2024-2025 Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) Consolidated Federal Grant Application is now available in eGrants. Allocations for eligible applicants are available and can be viewed on the Entitlements page.
SC5003 — Formula Grants Consolidated Schedule
To view your Applicant Designation Form, you must first complete the SC5003 — Formula Grants Consolidated Schedule in eGrants.
Applicant Designation and Certification (ADC) Form
The ADC form must also be submitted before the grant application is available in eGrants. This form is also available in eGrants.
Gun-Free Schools District Report Due
As a reminder for the 2024-2025 ESSA Consolidated Grant Application, the PR6000 — Gun-Free Schools District Report must be submitted to TEA before a Notice of Grant Award is issued.
Application Due Date
The 24-25 ESSA Consolidated Grant Application is due by 5:00 p.m. Central Time, September 3, 2024, however you should submit the application before July 1 if you are paying 12 month employees out of ESSA funds. If you are an ESSA Support district, please note that Tami and Mercedez will complete all of the forms above and notify you when they are available to certify/submit. We have also reached out to schedule with you a time to plan your 24-25 ESSA application. Please contact either Tami or Mercedez for more information!
***Note: Planning amounts for Title I-C Migrant were updated, with notification sent out by TEA on May 24th. If you printed the entitlement amounts prior to May 24th, you may want to double check to make sure your amounts are still correct.
Closing out 2023-2024 and Preparing for 2024-25
It's almost time to complete your application for 24-25 ESSA funds! Check out the EOY Checklist linked below for a full list of to-do's. Here is are a few of the many things you should be finishing up or adding to your to-do list at this time (document your process):
- Contracting districts - sign up for a time to meet with Tami or Mercedez (they will send you a sign up sheet soon!)
- Program evaluation - before you make new plans, reflect on whether your 23-24 plans were followed with fidelity and if they were beneficial. Were they so successful that you will do the same activities again?
- Comprehensive Needs Assessment - use those program evaluation results, along with a variety of other data, to identify strengths & weaknesses; priorities your needs. Include a summary of the CNA in your D/CIP.
- District/Campus Improvement Plan - You've identified your prioritized needs (CNA). Now make a plan to address those needs and determine how you'll pay for them. Write this into a plan. YOU SHOULD AT LEAST HAVE A DRAFT OF YOUR D/CIP WRITTEN *BEFORE* YOU APPLY FOR ESSA FUNDS.
- Parent & Family Engagement Documents - evaluate your PFE program, then with your stakeholders, a) write a PFE policy (one for the district and one for each Title I campus); b) write a School-Parent Compact (one for each Title I campus).
- Supplement, Not Supplant Methodology/Exemption - create a new SNS methodology (or Exemption Statement if your LEA is exempt). You should have a new one for each school year.
- Policies & Procedures - review your Policies & Procedures Manual. With your team, make revisions to reflect your true practices and updated EDGAR guidance. Note: A new EDGAR is about to be published. Region 15 is purchasing a Policy/Procedure template for all Region 15 districts (and those outside of Region 15 who contract with us for ESSA Support). Watch for more info on this.
Friendly Reminder: Provisions and Assurances
This is a reminder that when you accept federal grant funds, you make a pinky promise to follow all the rules and guidelines associated with the grant program, including using them properly and running the program in accordance with statute. We do our very best to address these requirements in our trainings, but there are always some requirements that may go unmentioned.
So, how can you stay in the know when it comes to grant requirements? You can always find your grant's Program Guidelines and Provisions and Assurances on TEA's Grant Opportunities Page. Please make sure to read these and keep on top of any erratas that may come out.
These documents are super important when managing your federal grants because audits and random validations will surround items stipulated in these documents. If you have questions on these documents, please reach out!
ESSER III Required 20% Set-Aside: Important Reminders!
Please remember, you must set aside at least 20% of your ESSER III Final Amount for academic learning loss and SEL activities. This is documented and checked for compliance through the annual USDE reports, so you need to identify the amount your district has already reported in the set-aside section.
USDE will question if your district does not identify at least 20% of your funds as part of this set-aside, so please make sure you are coding them correctly in the USDE Report!
EDGAR Updates
USDE has proposed amendments to EDGAR in order to update regulations to better align with other USDE regulations and procedures. These rules are not yet published, but all LEAs will need to revise their local policies/procedures manuals accordingly.
Region 15 is purchasing a federal manual template from Brustein Manasavit (a law firm in Washington DC). This template will be available to all Region 15 districts plus the handful of non-Region 15 districts who contract with us for ESSA Support. Because we are waiting for the updated template (reflecting the new EDGAR rules) we anticipate it will be after July before it is available.
We are in the process of scheduling a training with a lawyer from the law firm to update our attendees in the EDGAR changes and how to best use the template. Watch for updates on this!
Grant Resources
In order to help schools implement compliant programs, TEA has published frequently asked questions for various program areas.
ESSA:
- Title I-A FAQ (06/23)
- Title II-A FAQ (06/23)
- Title IV-A FAQ (06/23)
- ESSA Private Nonprofit Equitable Services (07/23)
ESSER:
23-24 Title I District Compliance Checklist
23-24 Title II Compliance Checklist
23- 24 Title I Principal Calendar
23-24 Title I Principal Compliance Checklist
TEA Program Monitoring & Feedback Session
Tuesday, June 11 @ 1:30-3:30
TEA is proposing a redesign of the random validation process currently used for monitoring ESSA programs. This virtual session will provide an overview of the redesign, which will be piloted in 2024-2025, and is intended to solicit feedback from LEA and ESC staff administering the most of the ESSA programs.
We strongly encourage you to attend this session 1) to be informed about the way TEA may perform monitoring of your ESSA programs and 2) to provide feedback to TEA regarding this process on behalf of your district.
TEA: Statewide Workapp Training
Wednesday, June 26 @ 9:00-10:00
The Federal Fiscal Compliance and Reporting Division will be launching a WorkApp in June 2024. Within the WorkApp, LEAs and ESCs will be able to access information and resources related to the post award compliance application reviews and information about the IDEA-B LEA Maintenance of Effort eligibility standard random data validations. Click here to register.
2024-2025 Region 15 ESSA-ESSER Workshops Schedule
Region 15 ESSA/Title I Consultants
Email: federalprograms@esc15.net
Website: www.esc15.net/titlei
Location: 612 South Irene Street, San Angelo, TX, USA
Phone: 325-658-6571
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Region15ESC
Twitter: @Region15ESC
