Federal Programs: Game Plan for Next Year

By Kathy Dunn, CCOSA Federal Programs Consultant

Imagine the team in a championship battle that has been hardfought since the tip-off. Time expires in the third quarter, and all the players raise their hands to show four fingers signifying they will finish strong in the fourth quarter! Get ready to finish strong in FY21, Oklahoma Educators!

Planning starts now!

Assess Where You Are:

Assess students for learning gaps; assess your district’s professional development needs; and begin the required needs assessments for Federal Programs.

Set Goals to Move Forward:

From your assessments, target the most critical needs for student learning, for professional development, for technology, and for social-emotional (SEL) support.

Plan How to Address Your Needs and Reach Your Goals:

Plan for targeted summer learning opportunities; plan for intervention and enrichment opportunities for next school year; plan for Professional Development to be ready to meet students’ needs during the pandemic and post-pandemic; plan for purchases needed to support your goals.

Plan New ESSER II Projects:

Begin planning your projects in the new ESSER II stimulus allocations, Project Code 793.

Other things to think about while planning:

Remember to engage stakeholders in each program – students, parents, teachers, community partners, Native American tribal leaders.

How can each federal program meet needs that are identified through targeted professional development, targeted interventions, parent education, SEL, etc.?

Start; Stop; Continue – What changes do you need to make to improve academic achievement? What needs to continue to maintain success? What ineffective practices should be stopped to allow more time for the right work?

FEBRUARY AND MARCH 2021

Needs Assessments and Planning Committees are required for:

Title I, V

Title II and IV – At least two consultation meetings per year

Title III – Ongoing (more than one per year) parent and family engagement activities could include Planning Committees

Title VI – Tribal Consultation, including representation from all federal programs, and parent engagement

Homeless/McKinney Vento

The Comprehensive District Academic Plan (CDAP) is due to be rewritten this year for all Title I Schools. Learn the process for the new CDAP as revised and trained by the OSDE. All of your needs assessments and planning committees can feed this Comprehensive District Academic Plan. The CDAP will be due with the Consolidated Application September 30, 2021, but the planning will need to occur this spring. (They don’t call it “comprehensive” for nothing!”)

By February 8

The Equitable Services Packet is due from every school and can be found here https://sde.ok.gov/documents/2020-10-19/fy22-nonpublic-equitable-services-packet-10-2020.

Submit to equitableservicespac@sde.ok.gov. If you are transferring all funds from one project to another, submit Page 6 of the Equitable Services Packet directly to Naomi.Ward@sde.ok.gov.

By February 15

This deadline is for CARES Incentive Grant (Project 789) awardees only — the Mid-Year Grant Evaluation for Project 789. If all Incentive Grant funding is expended, file the final claim and close out Project 789. The CARES 789 Reporting Toolkit is located here https://sde.ok.gov/grants-and-opportunities/cares-act-incentive-grant-project-789.

February/March Consortium Meetings through CCOSA

February 9: Federal Programs and English Learner Consortium

February 11: Indian Education Consortium

February 16: Federal Programs and English Learner Consortium

March 1: Student Accounting Consortium

March 2: Federal Programs and English Learner Consortium

March 11: Indian Education Consortium

March 23: Federal Programs and English Learner Consortium

MARCH, APRIL AND MAY 2021

Many districts require all site spending in federal programs to be completed by late March or early April.

Check for financial responsibility in each Federal Grant Program during March and April.

Check balances in each Federal grant program to reconcile any discrepancies

Finalize any purchases that have not been ordered, including Summer School

Complete all open Purchase Orders and close them out

Contact any Private Schools that have not expended their funds

Be aware of any funds that will be going into Second Year Carryover funds that will need to be expended now or no later than September 30

Be certain the remaining carryover in Title IA is less than 15 percent of the allocation

Have an “in case” file of desired items that could be ordered and quickly closed out, in case you have projected wrong on final balances and find that you need to spend remaining balances quickly. This is particularly important for Title VI, Indian Education, and other programs in which no funds are carried over to the next fiscal year.

Check monitoring status for next year

If your district is to be monitored in the coming year, download the Federal Programs Monitoring Toolkit found here: https://sde.ok.gov/consolidated-monitoring. The three-year Monitoring Cycle document at the same website will tell you if your district is going to be monitored in the coming year. Review all required elements in the Monitoring Tool, particularly required Board Policies. If your district will need to develop policies and gain Board approval to satisfy elements of the monitoring checklist, begin that process now!

If your district is being monitored this year (FY21), the District Homeless Liaison is required to finish the required Homeless Education in the Kickstand platform by April 30, 2021. All other District Homeless Liaisons are required to complete the Kickstand training by June 30.

Continue to use the Professional Development Needs Assessment and Federal Programs Needs Assessments to develop your:

Comprehensive District Academic Plan

Title I Site Plans. Use the needs assessment data to work with Site Title I Committees to develop the Site Title I Plans for the coming school year.

Follow the same process for other Title programs (II, III, IV, V, VI, IX). Always plan based on identified needs, program guidance, and collaborative committee planning.

April/May Consortium Meetings through CCOSA

April 5: Student Accounting Consortium

April 6: Federal Programs and English Learners Consortium

April 8: Indian Education Consortium

April 20: Federal Programs and English Learners Consortium

May 3: Student Accounting Consortium

May 4: Federal Programs and English Learners Consortium

May 13: Indian Education Consortium

May 18: Federal Programs and English Learners Consortium

MAY AND JUNE 2021

Performance Reports due (many data points pulling from the WAVE). Be sure your Student Information System is up to date.

Title I, Part A: Single Sign On

Title I, Part D: Single Sign On (Title IA N & D no longer reports)

Title V, Part B: Single Sign On

Title III, Part A: Single Sign On > Grants Management and Expenditure Reporting

Migrant Credit Accrual Report: https://sde.ok.gov/title-ipart-c

CARES Incentive Grant Project 789, End of Year Report, due July 15

Homeless Census Report (will be pulled from the WAVE late in May): keep homeless data in your Student Information Systems up to date for both active and inactive students

If your Title I Comparability Report caused you to add a temporary employee to create required equity, evaluate that situation to see if the same position will still be needed in the coming year before renewing the contract for that position

Prepare new Purchase Orders for all contracts and materials that can be held in queue and released July 1 for expenditures from the new fiscal year’s funds

Certify District Assurances in Single Sign On/Grants Management

District Homeless Liaisons are required to complete the Kickstand training by June 30. If your district is being monitored in the three-year monitoring cycle this year (FY20), the training is required by April 30. Call Tammy Smith (405-522-3260) at the SDE if you need help gaining access to the online training. (Allow time. It’s somewhat lengthy!)

JULY, AUGUST AND SEPTEMBER

Planning for Success

Begin to set up financial systems for the new fiscal year.

If adding a new Title I program, complete the application tab within Grants Management for Intent to Establish New Schoolwide or Targeted Programs by September 30.

New Comprehensive District Academic Plan (CDAP) will be due in GMS September 30 in your Consolidated Application.

Required Close Out Procedures for each of the Federal Grant Programs

By July 15 for CARES Incentive Grants, Project 789 – file the End of Year Report and Final Claim. Close out the project if you have expended all funds.

Around July 1, 2021, once an LEA has completely finished expending funds in FY21 and received reimbursement for the 2020-2021 fiscal year, the LEA will need to perform the closeout process in the Grants Management System (GMS).

Each federal program must be closed out. Title programs that receive transferred/contribution funds (i.e. REAP, CAC, and Schoolwide Consolidated for Funds etc.) must be closed before closing out the Title programs where those funds originated. Example: an LEA transfers Title I and Title II funds to Consolidated Administrative Costs (CAC). CAC would need to be closed out before Title I and Title II. Originating programs may be closed out in any order after the destination fund has been closed out.

More information at: https://sde.ok.gov/federalprograms

Once you reach this point in the year, keep your hand extended in the air just as it was to signify we were entering the fourth quarter. Now, make a fist and pump the air because, my Oklahoma educator friends, you will have made it! You will have stayed strong and weathered the storm that we will all remember as one of the “times that tried our souls!”

CCOSA Contact for Federal Programs Support:

Kathy Dunn

Federal Programs Consultant

Work: (405) 524-1191

Cell: (405)-615-0844

FederalPrograms@ccosa.org