Special Education Directors,

ADE/ESS is pleased to announce that the Compensatory Services Claims application is now open for the second wave of applications through the ESS Portal of ADEConnect and the cap for funds has been increased for each public education agency (PEA). Each PEA can now apply for one or multiple compensatory education claims up to $25,000 for each PEA.

ADE has been aware that PEAs may need relief when a free appropriate public education (FAPE) was unable to be provided during the Spring/Summer 2020 school closure while emergency remote learning was in effect. ADE/ESS, with the support of Superintendent Hoffman, advocated for $5 million of CARES Act funds to be dedicated to compensatory services relief for services already provided by the PEA to absorb some of the burdens.

Please visit the ESS Program Management website to review the Compensatory Services Claims materials and quick reference guide.

For questions about the application process, please contact ESS Program Management.

Special Education Directors,

Please review the October update from the ESS Program Management team and forward to your Business Manager. Thank you!

Completion Reports

The completion reports (CR) for FY20 IDEA Consolidated – Entitlement grants have been rolling in steadily since 7/1/2020. The official due date for these completion reports is 12/30/2020. Remember, this means the CR must be approved by your County Business Manager (if necessary) by that date. If you have questions about how to fill out sections of the CR, please contact your Program Management specialist.

Reimbursement requests

We have entered the fourth month of the FY21 project period. Our goal this year is to have public education agencies (PEAs) submit reimbursement requests more frequently. Reimbursement requests can be submitted for all grants that have been approved by the SEA Director.

Full allocation to FY21 IDEA Basic and IDEA Preschool grants

Program Management will place comments in the History Log of your application to notify you of the upcoming allocation adjustment as your full award is deposited into the GME. If your funding application is currently in an SEA Director Approved status, it will be placed into a revision status. If it is in any other status, you will need to initiate a revision. If your PEA has obligations for Proportionate Share or Coordinated Early Intervening Services (CEIS), you will note that those obligations have increased due to the full award.

Annual Financial Reports due to School Finance

The FY2020 Annual Financial Reports (AFR) are due to School Finance on October 15. Please remember the IDEA Maintenance of Effort Compliance test is based on the value your PEA reports on Page 8 of the AFR. To review information about the Maintenance of Effort test, please visit the ESS Operations website. View your PEA’s MOE comparison year data by logging into the Maintenance of Effort application through the ESS Portal of ADE Connect.

Upcoming Webinars

Program Management will launch a webinar series on the second Tuesday of each month from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

November 10 – Proportionate Share Calculations and the October Data Collection

December 8 – FY 2021 High-Cost Child Applications

January 19, 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. – Allowable Costs Under the IDEA Please note the change of date.

February 9 – FY2022 IDEA Consolidated – Entitlement funding application

March 9 – Maintenance of Effort Compliance

Help us plan for upcoming webinars, modules, and videos by filling out this training survey.

The ESS Program Management team is here to help you. Please email Program Management or contact your specialist directly: Alice Nunes, Tanya Rodriguez, or Candice Trainor. Sign up for the ESS Program Management listserv.

Special Education Directors and Business Managers,

Please review this posted memo for FY21 IDEA Consolidated – Entitlement grants.

The ESS Program Management team has also created a listserv, you can select the link and enter your information if you’d like to sign up.

For any questions or further guidance, please contact [email protected].

School District Special Education Directors,

Many questions have been received by Exceptional Student Services (ESS) regarding whether unused proportionate share funds can be reverted to other activities under the IDEA entitlement grant after a period of time. ESS has finally received feedback regarding how these funds can be flexible considering time frame and specific criteria. Although detailed requirements are still in development and should be disseminated in April 2020, this memo provides an overview of proportionate share flexibility.

For further questions, please contact ESS Program Management at [email protected].

Special Education Directors,

ADE/ESS is opening up the IDEA High-Cost Funding application for claims for the 2019-2020 school year on January 27, 2020. All applications will be reviewed and processed to determine if they meet the minimum requirements for any high-cost claim. Details about the criteria used for review are in this notification.

For any questions or concerns, please email ESS Program Management.

Directors of Special Education,

ESS Program Management is sharing the following important dates for IDEA Funding and IDEA Fiscal Related activities. Included in this memo is an announcement of a half-day, in-person training at ADE Central on April 15, 2019.

Please share these important updates with your PEA’s Business Manager.

If you have any questions regarding anything mentioned in this update, please contact [email protected] or call 602-542-4013 to speak to an ESS Program Management Specialist.