ESSA/ESSER Newsletter

There's lots going on in the federal programs world! Luck is on your side! We have all the resources and information you need to keep up with deadlines and finish off your school year strong. As always, we're here to help!

- Tami Knight, Mercedez Rassi, and Monica Diaz

www.esc15.net/titlei

We told you in our last newsletter that the timeline for implementation of the new federal grant regulations (Uniform Grant Guidance, UGG) has been revised. Well, it's been revised again!

Earlier this year, we hosted TEA in their presentation of EDGAR updates (the Top Gun themed presentation in October). Originally USDE said these changes would go into effect July 1, 2025. They then changed their mind and made them effectively immediately. However, they've changed again! Changes to UGG and EDGAR will go into effect for new grants on July 1, 2025.

Nevertheless, the changes are coming! Please review those changes and make plans to update your administrative procedures and policies as appropriate.

TEA federal monitoring has said it will issue findings with no questioned costs this year for findings solely related to the changes implemented early by this new USDE notice and LEAs must retain this letter as documentation for your own auditor in case of future findings.

TEMPLATE - as a reminder, Region 15 purchased a UGG/EDGAR manual template for Region 15 LEAs last summer from the BruMan Group. You should have received a copy of this from Mercedez or Tami. Let us know if you need us to send it again.

It's time to disseminate your Federal Report cards!

At a minimum, the LEA must—

• Post direct links to the State, LEA and campus report cards on its website;
• Notify parents of all students about the availability of the report cards and the options for obtaining them;
• Provide appropriate translation (either oral or written) upon request;
• Make hard copies available to parents upon request; and
• Make hard copies available for viewing in public locations.

As per recent guidance from the U.S. Department of Education, the expectation is that each LEA shall have the federal report cards posted on its website for a minimum of 3 years.

Sample parent notification letters in English and Spanish that LEAs may customize are available on the TEA Federal Report Card Web Page. TEA strongly encourages LEAs to translate the sample letter into a language and format that all parents can understand.

LEAs are not required to use the sample parent notification letters, but they must make the federal report card information readily accessible to the public, and LEAs must notify parents of the availability of the federal report card information no later than Monday, March 3, 2025.

Note: the links posted to your website must be the actual PDF for each report (in other words, do not simply link the TEA webpage and expect parents to search for your report).

Final amounts for programs in the 2024–2025 Title V, Part B Rural and Low-Income School Program and ESSA Consolidated Federal Grant Application are now available on the Entitlements page.

Grantees must start an amendment to their applications in eGrants to budget their final amounts, 2023–2024 carryover amounts, and any applicable reallocation amounts. Once an amendment has been initiated, these updated amounts will populate on the BS6001 — Program Budget Summary and Support schedule. Grantees will complete the program and budget schedules as appropriate, then certify and submit the amendment.

The deadline to submit an amendment for RLIS is 5:00 PM. Central Time, June 2, 2025 and for the ESSA Consolidated Application is 5:00 p.m. Central Time, June 3, 2025.

*** If you are one of our ESSA Support Contracting Tami or Mercedez will reach out to you to initiate these amendments. Please look out for communication!

Phase 1 of Year 5 USDE ESSER Reports is behind us! Most of our Region 15 districts have actually already completed Phase 2, as well! Fantastic work!

Phase 2 is due 3/21/25 (revised due date) and includes ESSER I, ESSER II, & ESSER III reports. See the GovDelivery on 9/3 from TEA. for details.

Do you need some help with your USDE ESSER Reports? Mercedez and Tami will be offering office hours to lend a hand!

Office Hours - most Tuesdays at 2:00-3:00 (see specific dates below).

Zoom link

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 (RECENTLY REVISED! 09/24)
• Title IV-A FAQ (067/24)
• ESSA Private Nonprofit Equitable Services (08/24)

ESSER:

• ESSER FAQ
• ESSER Side-by-Side Comparison

All of our resources have been updated for the 24-25 school year! Click the items below to download!

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!

Our 24-25 ESSA/ESSER PD sessions have been tentatively scheduled! Keep in mind, our PD dates are always subject to change because of required trainings that we may be asked to attend.

Our 2025-2026 ESSA Workshops have also been tentatively scheduled. Please note that these dates are subject to change! We often receive notice of trainings we are required to attend after we create our PD schedule. We do our best to communicate changes promptly and we appreciate your understanding!

Join us for our Federal Programs Coffee Chats! These are very informal Zoom meetings where participants log in, hear a few updates, and ask questions. Click the picture below to access the flyer and a live link to our Zoom meeting.

These cluster sessions are intended to be a convenient way for teachers, parent liaisons, and administrators to enhance their communication skills to strengthen family partnerships! Lots of choices in dates and locations - choose the one that works best for you! Registration costs $50.

Although registration and additional information for the 2025 Parent and Family Engagement Conference will not be available until April 1, 2025, the application to present is now open!

If you or someone you know is interested in presenting at this conference, please visit the PFE Statewide Initiative website HERE for more information. Before applying, you will have to review the Application to Present Guidelines document linked on our website here.

Presenters are not limited to Title I, Part A or PFE. We are looking for presenters on any of the following:

• Title I, Part A
• ESSER
• Title I, Part C (Migrant)
• Title II, Part A
• Title III, Part A - ELA and Immigrant
• Title IV, Part A
• Title IV, Part B - 21st Century Schools

The application closes at 5pm (CST) on Saturday, March 29, 2025, so hurry and get yours in ASAP.

The Anita Villarreal Innovation in Engagement Award recognizes schools and Local Education Agencies (LEAs) that have demonstrated exemplary efforts in enhancing parent, family, and community engagement for the betterment of their students. This award aims to highlight best practices that actively involve stakeholders in the planning, execution, and evaluation of programs or events that foster a collaborative learning environment.

Deadline is March 7th! Apply here

We’re excited to announce an upcoming Best Practices Expo that is free to attend and full of valuable insights for educators, families, and community members!

April 10: Dr. Stefanie Rodriguez from Behavior Savvy Solutions will share strategies for building stronger, healthier school environments.

You’ll find more information on the flyer below and on region 16 website at https://pfetexas.net/bestpractices.

We hope you’ll join us!

What are we talking about?

The 3rd Quarter of "The Family Learning Connection" published by the Title I, Part A Parent and Family Statewide Initiative, is now available on our website here and on our Smore page here.

What do I do with the newsletter?

We encourage you to share this newsletter with all parents, families, and community members by whatever form(s) and languages are best for your unique schools and/or district. By incorporating these newsletters into communication channels with all stakeholders, you can empower parents, guardians, caregivers, and families to play an active role in their child's educational journey.

What's in this quarter?

The newsletter covers a range of topics, including childhood depression, increasing empathy, a college application timeline, how grandfamilies can engage with schools, and so much more. We believe that by sharing this information, we can contribute to creating a more collaborative and supportive learning environment for students.

We look forward to working together to strengthen the partnership with the families you serve.

Is there anything we can do to help you with your ESSA programs? Please let us know if there is anything we can do for you. Our contact information is below.

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