Choice Weekly Update
May 22, 2020
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.
May Regional Meetings
The information for the May Regional Meeting is now available. In order to record your attendance for the meeting, complete the form that is included with the video with your information and then enter the submit button. You should also click on the recorded video and view the presentation in order to receive recognition for attending. The deadline to receive credit for attending the May Regional Meetings is Friday, May 29.
School Health Report – Vision and Hearing Screening and Immunization Verification
The School Health Report, which collects data regarding student vision, hearing, and immunization results, is open each year from March 1 to June 15. In response to COVID-19, Governor Holcomb has issued Executive Order 20-20 to address the issue that schools may not have had the opportunity to complete the required vision and hearing screenings for this school year. A guidance document regarding Executive Order 20-20 can be found here.
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.
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.
Title Grants & Support CARES Act Webinars
Don’t forget to tune in for the last CARES Act Webinar hosted by Nathan Williamson, Director of Title Grants & Support - Thursday, May 21, 2020 at 1:00 p.m. (EST) – click here.
Please do not certify the calendar in DOE Online nor submit Attendance data until after your last day of school. The concept of calendar certification is to certify that the calendar shown in DOE Online accurately reflects instructional days for the school, and as such should not occur until after the last day of instruction. Likewise, accurate attendance data cannot be submitted until after attendance is taken on the last day of instruction.
Please send all accountability and accreditation questions to schoolaccountability@doe.in.gov.
WIDA ACCESS Final Data Available May 27
WIDA ACCESS final results data will be available in WIDA AMS on Wednesday, May 27. Updated reports will be posted for students with data discrepancies identified and corrected during post-reporting data validation completed on May 8.
COVID-19 Updates
Complete information related to COVID-19 is updated regularly here. These items provide information regarding Curricular Material guidance, vision/hearing screenings, and risks associated with preparing and distributing paper-based educational packets.
Update: DOE-IR for Spring 2020 Grade 3 Student Cohort
The DOE-IR will be temporarily turned off to ensure no one submits a Good Cause Exemption related to the current Grade 3 cohort of students. Further policy guidance related to retest opportunities and matriculation of students will be communicated as it becomes available.
Reminder: 2020 Graduate Reporting
Given the flexibility from graduation requirements announced last month, the Application Center will not be checking the Graduation Qualifying Exam status of students in the 2020 or prior cohorts. Therefore, students in the 2020 or prior cohorts should only be submitted with one of the non-waiver diploma types. If the student completed a graduation pathway, that data can be provided, but it is not necessary. Please keep in mind that the data validations that were implemented last year regarding CTE Concentrators and Industry Certifications are still in place. To reiterate, students in the 2020 or earlier cohort can be submitted with a non-waiver diploma without graduation pathways, regardless of Graduation Qualifying Exam Status. The DOE-GR 2020 (v05.15.20) layout has been edited and posted to
include this updated flexibility.
NOW OPEN: 2019-2020 Corporation/School Profile Amendment Submission Process
Please read this memo regarding the school and corporation amendment process for the 2020-2021 school year. Please email the Office of School Accountability with any questions.
Updated and Expanded Flexibility for Graduation
The Flexibility from Indiana Graduation Requirements in Response to COVID-19 guidance document applies to the spring/summer 2020 graduation cohort and to students in prior cohorts who were on track to graduate in the spring/summer of 2020 pursuant to said guidance. This expands the flexibility to include fifth-year seniors and adult education students . The FAQ for Graduation Flexibility can be found here. Please contact Robin Leclaire with questions.
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 IR 2020 (IREAD3 Exemption) - closes June 30 at 4:00 p.m. EDT
- 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-LE 2020 (Federal Flexibility) - 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-TI 2020 (Title I) - opens July 6
- 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