Updates on Title IV Funding

The latest update from Betsy DeVos gives districts great latitude with Title IV funding. Note the waivers that will be available in the bullets. Of course, MDE must request a waiver for all of this, but I’m sure they will do so. However, to date no one has heard from MDE Office of Federal Programs … Read more

MDE Federal Programs Office Information

The MDE Federal Programs Office keeps saying they will be putting out a timeline shortly regarding planning and other FP guidelines. Until then, I guess we will just be in a holding pattern. In the meantime, periodically check the MDE website COVID-19 message and click on Federal Programs for any information they have put out. … Read more

Services for EL, Homeless, and Foster Students

There was a question about providing services to EL, homeless, and foster students. The only guidance I have found so far has to do with making sure the students’ civil rights are protected. This is what was stated about EL. “Effective Communication and Language Assistance: When school officials provide information to students, parents, and the … Read more

Questions about Federal Funds During COVID-19

Since we don’t know how long this COVID-19 social distancing may last, many are thinking we won’t go back to school this year. That raises a lot of questions about federal funds and grant requirements. A few of my questions were Can we pay federally funded personnel for not coming to work as we are … Read more

Quarantine Stories

Hi Friends! How are you doing in the midst of this COVID-19 quarantine? Let’s support one another here. Check in and tell us what you are doing these days. I’ll start… I’m homeschooling two children, my 3rd grade grandson and 5th grade daughter of my son’s fiancee. Today was our first day, and it went … Read more

MDE Monitoring Visits

Forrest County and Petal have completed their monitoring visits with MDE. It really wasn’t too bad. We had visits from a team of 4 people who stayed for 2 days. The teams were very professional and polite. They asked for evidence if they didn’t see what they were looking for and allowed us to provide … Read more

Comprehensive Needs Assessment Surveys

Has everyone begun running their comprehensive needs assessment surveys? This is a great time to add questions for Title IV and Homeless; you can knock out those requirements at the same time. Any suggestions for getting more parent responses to the surveys?

Deadline Extended for FY20

So…. MDE extended the deadline for FY20 plans. It all seems to hinge around the revised allocation amounts. MDE appears to be having a hard time getting the correct reallocation amount back in the funding page after making adjustments for December draws. How are you handling this?

2020 Fiscal Spending Bill

I don’t think we will have to worry about funding cuts next year….🤔 Even though President Trump’s proposed budget had cuts for the Department of Education, he signed the fiscal 2020 spending bill into law that increased education funding. “The fiscal 2020 spending bill Trump just signed provides $72.8 billion in discretionary funding to the … Read more

CNA Time of Year

We are entering that CNA time of year when most of us are getting ready to administer surveys to all stakeholders. When you create your surveys, don’t forget to include questions about Title IV. Remember it is mandatory to do a Title IV survey every 3 years. Why not make it a part of your … Read more

What Are Your LEA Plans

How are your LEA plans looking? There are some districts who had their plans returned due to a kink in the system. Most of these districts were those who had transferred funds from Title II and/or Title IV to Title I. It appears MDE had to return the reallocated amounts back to the original allocation … Read more

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! As we enter the last half of the 2019-2020 school year, may your days be richly blessed! May you and your loved ones stay healthy and safe. May your LEA plans, schoolwide plans, and school improvement plans be approved quickly! May your monitoring visits be stress-free with no findings. But most importantly, … Read more

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