Choice Weekly Update
June 19, 2020
Choice Certification Training
In response to COVID-19, the Choice Certification Trainings will not be done in person but will be posted as a Moodle course in the Nonpublic School Community. The recordings for the Choice Certification are tentatively set to be posted on July 1, 2020 and the course will be open until July 14, 2020. After the 14th, we will post the slides in Moodle but only those that take the course will receive credit for taking the training.
Annual Choice Conference
In response to COVID-19, the Annual Choice Conference will not be done in person but will be posted as a Moodle course in the Nonpublic School Community. The recordings for the Annual Conference are tentatively set to be posted on July 15, 2020 and the course will be open until July 24, 2020. After the 24th, we will post the slides in Moodle but only those that take the course will receive credit for attending the Annual Conference.
K-3 Reading Plan Submission
Indiana Code requires all elementary schools with kindergarten through third grade students at state accredited schools to submit a reading plan to the Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) by June 30th. New this year, the submission has been streamlined with a Jotform instead of submission through DOE Online. We understand that this is a new process so IDOE has created a how-to video for schools that will walk through how to submit the reading plan.
Please make sure to get this information submitted by the end of the month, June 30th. If you have any questions or concerns please contact Joe Risch at jrisch1@doe.in.gov.
Choice Student Applications
Please continue to be conscientious when submitting the student information on student applications. Review carefully the Summary Sign Off Form and make any changes. The deadline to submit student applications is September 1. The Student Folder Checklist was created to assist with collecting required documentation for student Choice folders.
Choice Income Qualifications During COVID-19
The Choice Scholarship Program office has received requests for guidance regarding how schools should calculate household income for 2020-2021 school year. Please review the memorandum from the Office of School Finance, Indiana Department of Education.
Choice School Applications
In order to participate in the 2020-2021 Choice Scholarship Program, a school application must be submitted. The Choice School Application Packet should be completed and attached with all required information. The complete file should be submitted as a single PDF to ChoiceSchool@doe.in.gov. The deadline to apply is September 1.
COVID-19 Questions
- For health questions please email backtoschool@isdh.in.gov.
- For school operations questions please email IDOECOVID-19@doe.in.gov.
- For Superintendent McCormick’s webinar from 6/16/20 please visit COVID-19 Weekly Webinar for School Leaders.
Calendar
Please certify your calendar as soon as your last day of instruction occurs. You may receive a warning message if you do not have 180 days of instruction. This is fine this year. We are reviewing the calendars to make sure that they comply with the Governor's Executive Order that schools conduct 160 days of Instruction or at least 20 days of Remote Learning after April 2, 2020. If a school does not meet either of these requirements, we will contact the school leadership.
Attendance
Please submit your attendance report as soon as possible after the conclusion of your school year. The attendance report has a column labeled Instructional Days. This is so that in a normal year, schools can ensure that we are showing them having at least 180 days of Instruction. Again, we are not holding schools to the 180 day requirement for the 2019-2020 school year. Instead, we are making sure that schools conduct 160 days of Instruction or at least 20 days of Remote Learning after April 2, 2020.
Graduates
Please submit your Graduates on the GR collection as soon as the students complete the graduation requirements. Please review the GR layout for changes for 2019-2020 graduates.
Please send all accountability and accreditation questions to schoolaccountability@doe.in.gov.
ISTEP+ Summer 2020 Retest Window is Canceled
The ISTEP+ Summer 2020 Retest Window is canceled to support health and safety concerns, and to consider needed instructional support for students related to the impact of COVID-19. Refer to this memo for details.
2020-2021 Formative Assessment Grant Approved Assessment Programs
The Indiana State Board of Education approved assessment programs for use with the 2020-2021 Formative Assessment Grant. Review this memo for details. Approved assessment programs and contact information for Indiana representatives may also be accessed on the Formative Assessment Grant webpage.
Interim Assessments: Recommendations for Professional Development and Provider Collaboration
As students return to school this fall, interim and formative assessment data can provide much-needed information about where students are academically and how schools can best respond to student needs. The Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) offers these Recommendations for Professional Development and Provider Collaboration to support best practice with the use of these data. School data leaders are also invited to attend a virtual discussion with IDOE regarding the use of interim assessment data this fall.
Complete information related to COVID-19 is updated regularly here. See COVID-19 Impact on Schools FAQ.
Reminder: Reports closing June 30
The following reports all close Friday, June 30:
- EM (Enrollment Mobility)
- STN (Student Test Number)
- SPN (School Personnel Number)
- CE (Certified Employee)
- CP (Certified Position)
- CC (Course Completion)
- AT (Attendance)
- LE (Federal Flexibility)
STN Application Center End of Year
The Application Center will not be available for data submission from July 1, 2020 through July 5, 2020. The App Center will reopen for reporting Monday, July 6, 2020. Real Time and Enrollment Mobility data for the 2021 school year may be submitted for the 2020-2021 reporting year beginning on July 6, 2020.
Enrollment Mobility End of Year Reporting
All students that were in attendance or expected to be in attendance on the last day of school for the 2019-2020 school year should be reported with a final RT or EM enrollment record that includes the exit date of the last day of school and exit code 50.
For students that will not be returning for the 2020-2021 school year, report a single day record for the 2020-2021 school year using any date after July 1 but before your first day
of the new school year as the entry and exit date. Report the appropriate exit code for the
student. The Application Center will not allow reporting for the 2020-2021 school year
until Tuesday, July 6.
CC Known Issue : Reporting Elementary/Middle School Courses w/ Completion Status
It has come to our attention that Elementary school courses reported for Course Completion were failing on submission if Course Completion Status was reported as Incomplete, code 4 and HS Credits/Applied Units was reported as 9.0. Please see the following guidance for this Elementary or Middle School circumstance.
The new Course Completion Status code 4=Incomplete is to be reported for courses students were not able to complete due to COVID-19. When reporting Course Completion Status = 4 the HS Credits/Applied Units field must be reported with code 0.0 whether the course is a High School course or Elementary/Middle School course.
For Elementary/Middle School courses that will be reported as Completion Status code 4=Incomplete, the CC file extracted from a local SIS or created using CC template will need to be manipulated to manually change Field #8-HS Credits/Applied Units from 9.0 to 0.0.
All other Elementary/Middle School courses reported with Completion Status codes 1=Passing, 2=Failing Grade or 3=No grade awarded should report 9.0 in the HS Credits/Applied units field as usual.
REPORTS CURRENTLY OPEN
The data layouts and templates are posted in the Data Layout Resource in the Nonpublic Schools Community. Please be sure to download the most recent version when creating your data file.
- DOE-CE 2020 Period 2 (Certified Employee) - closes June 30 at 4:00 p.m. EDT
- DOE-CP 2020 Period 2 (Certified Position) - closes June 30 at 4:00 p.m. EDT
- DOE-CC 2020 Period 2 (Course Completion) - closes June 30 at 4:00 p.m. EDT
- DOE-AT 2020 (Attendance) - closes June 30 at 4:00 p.m. EDT
- DOE-GR 2020 (Graduate) - closes October 5 at 4:00 p.m. EDT
Report Opening Soon
- DOE-DT 2020 (Dual Credit) - opens July 6
Help US Help YOU
Data Reporting Support Ticket :
- To contact STN support HelpDesk, click this LINK to create a work order. Please provide correct email address and phone number in the work order.
- Data Reporting Support is also available by phone at 317.232.0808
Choice Scholarship Program Contacts
Assistant Director of Nonpublic Schools
Senior Choice Specialist
Choice Specialist
Senior Support Choice Specialist
Email: choiceschool@doe.in.gov
Website: doe.in.gov/choice
Location: 115 West Washington Street, Indianapolis, IN, USA
Phone: 317-233-2200