Choice Weekly Update
June 5, 2020
June and July Certification Trainings
Due to COVID-19, the in-person certification trainings were canceled. The information will be recorded and posted in this newsletter and in the Nonpublic School Community in Moodle.
Annual Conference
The in-person Annual Conference has been canceled. More details will be available soon on how schools can access the information.
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.
#INspirEDgrants June Newsletter
The Title Grants & Support’s June Newsletter, #INspirEDgrants, is now available. It contains helpful information related to Title Grants. We invite you to take a moment to review and subscribe at https://www.smore.com/24ptn.
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.
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.
NEW: EV (Initial Evaluation) Tool
For this year’s DOE-EV (Initial Evaluation) submissions, a pre-verification tool will be available to preview timeline compliance reporting and to report circumstances for late evaluations to the Office of Special Education. This tool will be sent to special education directors via email the week of June 1 for distribution at the directors’ discretion. For questions reach out to the Office of Special Education at specialeducation@doe.in.gov.
NEW: EE (Educator Evaluation) Canceled
The DOE-EE report has been removed from required reporting. Beginning with the current school year, 2019-2020, Educator Evaluation data will no longer be reported. DOE-ER (Educator Evaluation Ration) data will continue to be reported.
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.
ER 2020 Opened Early
ER 2020 Education Evaluation Rating is open. The ER 2020 layout v04.20.20 has been posted to the Data Reporting Layouts grid. Review this document for detailed guidance. A new code has been created for Field # 4-Employee Evaluation Reason.
New Code 7 = 2018-2019 Evaluation Rating Option may be reported for staff receiving the same evaluation rating reported in the2018-2019 school year.
Field #3- Employee Evaluation Rating: Report Code 0 = Not Applicable (not evaluated) if Field #4 is reported with New code 7 =2018-2019 Evaluation Rating Option.
NOTE: The ER Source File is provided as a courtesy starting point for creating the ER data file. Be aware that if you have not already reported CE 2020 period 2 data, any changes to staff will not be reflected on the source file. It is suggested that CE data be completed for period 2
before accessing the ER Source File in order to download all employees for a rating submission. If the source file will be downloaded prior to reporting period 2 CE data, be sure to add additional staff that may have been hired during period 2.
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