Choice Weekly Update
July 10, 2020
Choice Certification Training
The Choice Certification Training Course for the 2020-2021 school year is now open in the Nonpublic School Community in Moodle. The instructions to join the Nonpublic School Community on Moodle can be found here.
The Choice Certification Training is 100% optional but strongly encouraged for those new to Choice. However, the training is a good refresher course for all that work with the Choice Scholarship Program. If you choose to take the Choice Certification Training Course you will have to complete all items with a passing score. At the end of the training, if passed, the participant will receive a certificate and the participant will earn five Professional Growth Points (PGP). In order to get the certificate and five PGP, the school must complete the course by July 14, 2020. After the 14th, the course will be closed but the materials will be posted in Moodle for anyone in the Nonpublic School Community to review.
To enroll in the Choice Certification Training Course, you will need to go to Moodle and search “Choice” in the “Search courses” field. Once you click on “Choice Scholarship Program Certification Training” you may have to log back into Moodle and enter the enrollment key of “Certification2020”.
Please send any questions to ChoiceSchool@doe.in.gov.
2020-2021 Nonpublic School Curricular Material Reimbursement
The window for nonpublic schools to submit student level and claim data for curricular material reimbursement is October 1 to October 29. Information on curricular material reimbursement for the 2020-2021 school year can be found here. Reimbursement should not be claimed for students eligible for free and reduced meals and participating in the Choice Scholarship program if the cost of curricular materials is included in the tuition and fees amount covered by the Choice Scholarship. If you have any questions, please email doetextbooks@doe.in.gov.
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.
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.
The Office of Special Education (OSE) is offering a virtual Writing Effective Annual Goals Workshop for nonpublic schools who will be offering special education services this fall. Please take this survey to help OSE determine when will be the best time to hold the workshop.
2020-2021 Calendar and Attendance
The 2020-2021 calendar guidance has been published. Please input your 2020-2021 calendar into DOE Online as soon as possible. In addition, IDOE released guidance regarding expectations for more detailed attendance tracking for the 2020-2021 school year. Both guidance documents can be found in the folder labeled “2020-2021 Calendar and Attendance Guidance” in our Moodle community The enrollment key for the School Accountability and Accreditation Community is "AccountabilityCommunity".
5 Year Graduation Rate
We are now accepting voluntary audits for the 2018 5 year graduation rate. This rate will be used to generate bonus points in the calculation of the 2019-2020 State A-F grades for high schools. Please see the guidance document in our Moodle community entitled 2018 5 year Graduation Rate Audit.
Please send all accountability and accreditation questions to schoolaccountability@doe.in.gov.
Marketing, Recruitment, Enrollment Course
For the 2020-2021 school year, an 8-week course will be offered through which school leaders will learn how to develop their own school enrollment system. The course will consist of 45-minute sessions twice a week, and participants will actively learn and practice skills, strategies, and tactics that are required to build an effective enrollment system for their school. Please click for a description of the course, A Comprehensive Approach to Driving Enrollment at Charter Schools & click here to submit an application (link is external) to participate in the course. Please note that submitting an application for the course does not guarantee enrollment in the course, as only 20 spots are open. Find more information on the website.
The #INspirEDgrants newsletter has been released for July. It can be viewed here.
Complete information related to COVID-19 is updated regularly here. See COVID-19 Impact on Schools FAQ.
Recently Posted Documents and Layouts:
- DOE-EM 2021 v03.05.20
- 2021 Exit Codes Appendix A - note code 33
- 2021 Determining Accountability and Responsibility for IEP Access
- 2021 STN v03.09.20
- 2021 SPN v03.11.20
NEW: Enrollment Mobility Exit Code Updates
Exit Code 33 - Serving Expulsion: Beginning with the 2020-2021 reporting year, exit code 33 may only be used to identify ONLY students that are serving an Expulsion from school . Out of school suspension (OSS) should not be exited on enrollment data.
There is no change; however, in the way EXP and OSS days are reported to IDOE. EXP and OSS days are not counted in day attended or absent for Attendance but are reported ONLY on the ES (Discipline) data.
New Code for Membership for Vouchers (MV)
Due to the fluidity of the COVID-19 situation a new code has been created in order to identify students participating on count day in virtual instruction in response to COVID-19. MV 2021 layout is now posted.
Membership for Vouchers NEW Field #6-Virtual Student: Report code N=No for a student that is continuing to attend the same program with less than 50% virtual instruction as of the ADM count day.
Report code C=COVID-19 Virtual for students continuing to attend the same program with more than 50% virtual instruction as of ADM count day.
NEW: Guidance for Accurate Tracking of Student Attendance from the Beginning of the 2020-2021 School Year
Schools should accurately track daily student attendance from the start of the 2020-2021 school year through the local Student Information System (SIS). The SIS will be used to submit all daily student attendance records for the 2020-2021 school year to IDOE through the Data Exchange. The Data Exchange will provide attendance codes to assist in reporting student attendance data more accurately. Read the full memo here .
Data Exchange Guidance Available
IDOE will begin implementation of the Data Exchange System in the 2020-2021 school year. A training video has been released to help LEAs prepare for the new system. The training video “Getting Started with Data Exchange ” includes information on the Ed-Fi data standard, the Data Exchange System, Roles within Data Exchange, and guidance on how to prepare for implementation. The training video can be found here . IDOE will collect the Non-Certified Employees (NE), Attendance (AT), and Calendar (CL) information via Data Exchange next year. Additional information related to the implementation can be found here.
2020 Graduate Reporting
FAQ for Graduation Flexibility can be found here.
Given the flexibility from graduation requirements, 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.
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.
LINK Portal: An Update
Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) has updated the Security Access tool within the LINK Portal with new features which allow the Data Security Coordinators at each organization to set staff types for the LINK portal. We are asking all educational organizations’ security coordinators to update the Key Contact staff types for their organizations. Collecting, obtaining and maintaining these critical business contacts, now known as “Key Contacts” is important in IDOE’s effort to streamline communication processes. More information on the LINK Portal as well as instructions for setting the Key Contact staff types are located on the Unified Access Website. Questions can be directed to
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-DT 2020 (Dual Credit) - closes 9/25/20
- DOE-GR 2020 (Graduate) - closes October 5
- DOE-EM 2021 - closes 6/30/21
Report Opening Soon
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