ESSA/ESSER Newsletter

Welcome to the May edition of the Region 15 ESSA/ESSER Newsletter! As we gear up to say goodbye to one school year and prepare to greet another, our newsletter is here to offer guidance to help you along the way. Our Region 15 team has your back! Let's get this month started!

We are here to help!

- Tami Knight, Mercedez Rassi, and Monica Diaz

We announced last month that projected entitlement amounts for 24-25 SRSA & RLIS were available to view on USDE's website: 2024 Master Eligibility Spreadsheet. Additionally, a spreadsheet that is filtered to only show Region 15 schools was shared in March. Click here to view the filtered spreadsheet.

Note: Though you may be eligible for both programs, you can only submit for one of these two grants annually. If you qualify, look at your entitlement projections and decide which grant you’d rather receive.

RLIS: If you choose to apply to RLIS, no action is currently required. We will send out more information as soon as the RLIS grant application becomes available in eGrants.

SRSA: If you decide to apply for SRSA, the primary contact (see spreadsheet) at each SRSA-eligible LEA received a link to apply for the grant in late March from no-reply.survey@connect.gov. The application is due by May 10, 2024. If you need to update your LEA’s primary or secondary contact (noted in the attached spreadsheet), please email reap@ed.gov.

We anticipate 2024-25 ESSA Planning amounts will become available on May 10. We'll share the info when it becomes available.

Note: Special Ed Consolidated (federal) funds will also be made available on 5/10. Perkins planning amounts are already available. For more info, contact Connie Neal (SpEd) or Traci Terrill (Perkins).

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):

1. Contracting districts - sign up for a time to meet with Tami or Mercedez (they will send you a sign up sheet soon!)
2. 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?
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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).
6. 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.
7. 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.

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!

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!

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!

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:

• ESSER FAQ
• ESSER Side-by-Side Comparison

In your ESSA application, your district is required to reserve funds to serve students identified as homeless (even if you currently do not have any students identified as such).

The amount you reserve should be based upon a *documented* needs assessment. TEA has provided a very useful tool to help you with this process. Check out the document linked below!

TEA is seeking input from public educators across the state to report on the quality of service offered by the agency. You voice is important to TEA.

Please take 5 minutes to complete their Customer Satisfaction Survey. The survey will close Wednesday, May 15.

The Region 15 End of Year Checklist has been revised for Spring 2024. It is a bit more comprehensive than the highlights list included in the newsletter above. Click the image below to access a printable copy.

Be sure to carefully review and address each task that is relevant to your district. If you aren't sure, reach out to Tami, Mercedez or Monica and we can help!

Tuesday, May 28 @ 9:00-4:45

Note: If your LEA contracts with Region 15 for ESSA Support, we complete this application for you. You are always encouraged to be informed, but we will walk you through this content during our individual summer meetings.

The Federal Program Compliance Division, in collaboration with the Federal Fiscal Compliance and Reporting Division Post Award Compliance Unit, Grants Administration Division, and Division of Emergent Bilingual Support, are providing a comprehensive full-day virtual training on the 2024-2025 ESSA Consolidated Application on Tuesday, May 28, 2024, from 9:00 am CST to 4:45 pm CST.

This full-day, comprehensive training will provide attendees with information on how to prepare for the submission of the 2024-2025 ESSA Consolidated Application and step-by-step instructions on how to complete all the schedules within the Application. Time will be set aside at the end of the presentation for responses to questions submitted during the presentation.

Click here to read the TEA bulletin, see a tentative agenda and access the registration link.

Tuesday, June 4 @ 9:00-12:00

Note: If your LEA contracts with Region 15 for ESSA Support, we complete this schedule for you. Though we always encourage you to be informed, if you have a lot on your plate around this time, just rest assured that we've got this schedule covered for you. :)

The Federal Program Compliance Division is hosting a Title I, Part A Within-LEA Allocations and SC5000 virtual training for Local Education Agencies, Education Service Centers, and the public.

The training will provide attendees with the processes associated with Title I, Part A within-LEA allocations. Participants will learn about the statutory requirements related to determining poverty counts, identifying Title I, Part A eligible schools, and allocating funds to eligible schools. Participants will also learn about changes to the SC5000 – Title I, Part A Campus Selection schedule in the 2024-2025 ESSA Consolidated Federal Grant Application and how to complete the schedule. Time will be set aside at the end of the presentation for responses to questions submitted during the presentation.

Click here to register for this free virtual training

This training will be recorded and posted on TEA's website after the training.

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.

Click here to register.

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.

Instead of a May coffee chat, please attend our Spring 2024 federal update scheduled for Tuesday, May 7. Our last 2023-24 coffee chat will be Tuesday, June 4 @ 9:00 at this link.

Registration is open for our 2nd annual Federal/Finance retreat! This will be held in Fredericksburg July 17-19. Check out the flyer below for a tentative schedule at a glance. Click here (or the banner below) to register!

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