Choice Weekly Update
April 10, 2020
Enjoy your Easter holiday!
Continuous Learning Plans
Choice schools are required by Executive Order 20-16 to submit Continuous Learning Plans to the Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) by April 17. The memo regarding Executive Order 20-16 regarding Continuous Learning Plans can be found here.
A guidance document, template and rubric have been provided to help schools complete their Continuous Learning Plans. Once you have developed a Continuous Learning Plan, you should add your Continuous Learning Plan to your school’s website and complete the JotForm by April 17.
Questions regarding the Continuous Learning Plan, documents, or JotForm should be sent to Robin LeClaire or Melissa Blossom.
Special Education for Vouchers (SV)
Today, April 10, is the last day of the Submission Only Phase for SV. Schools can begin resolving conflicts and signing off starting April 11 through April 17. Only schools who were selected as the service provider for qualified Choice Scholarship students on the Choice application may report students for SV. Additional guidance regarding SV during school closures and eLearning days can be found here.
- SV Clean Up: April 11-17
- SV Sign Off: April 18-April 24
Choice Student Application
The student application window for the 2020-2021 school year is now open. Only schools who have been approved to participate in the Choice Scholarship Program for the 2020-2021 school year will have access to the application. The 2020-2021 Student Application Guide is available here.
Choice School Application
An application to participate in the Choice Scholarship Program must be submitted each school year, even for schools who are currently participating. The window for schools to submit applications to participate in the Choice Scholarship Program for the 2020-2021 school year is open.
Required information and instruction on submitting the application are detailed on the Choice School Application Memo. The School Application Packet is available in the Nonpublic School Community on Moodle.
Calendars
Calendars and End of School Year
Pursuant to Executive Order 2020-16 issued by Governor Holcomb last week, schools should remain closed for the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year. Schools are expected by the executive order to conduct remote learning to complete the school year. Schools should either conduct a total of 160 days of instruction during the entirety of the 2019-2020 school year or conduct at least 20 remote learning days between April 2 and June 30 In addition, schools need to complete a continuous learning plan and submit it to the department. Instructions for completing the continuous learning plan can be found here.
Lastly, schools should make sure their calendars are up to date in DOE Online and utilize the 2 new date types. The “COVID-19 Closure” code should be utilized for any day where instruction was cancelled due to COVID-19. These days may have been used for professional development for staff, teacher work days, or closures. The “COVID-19 eLearning” code should be utilized for any day where instruction occurred due to COVID-19, whether the instruction occurred through an eLearning platform or through other remote learning opportunities. A link to the updated calendar guidance can be found here.
Graduation Requirements for the 2020 Cohort
The graduation requirements for the 2020 cohort have been revised in response to COVID – 19. The document describing the changes can be found here. Please note that these changes only effect the 2020 cohort of students.
2021 Accountability
On March 20, Governor Holcomb also announced that there would be no state testing for the 2019-2020 school year. The cancelled state assessments include, but are not limited to, ISTEP 10+, ILEARN, and I AM. These state assessments are used for school accountability purposes. IDOE has requested and received a waiver from the United States Department of Education waiving not only the requirement to test during the 2019-2020 school year, but also waiving the requirement to rate schools pursuant to the Every Student Succeeds Act Amendment. Given the legislation passed during the recently ended session of the General Assembly, the Department is working with Governor Holcomb, the State Board of Education, and the General Assembly to continue to hold schools harmless for the 2019-2020 school year.
Please send all accountability and accreditation questions to schoolaccountability@doe.in.gov.
Although Title Con 20/20 has been canceled, the Planning Team has been working to provide as much content as possible to you. The first of these ways has been working to post slide decks, and supporting materials, on the Title Con website. These slides are now available.
A Moodle course is being developed to allow you to earn PGP points. Watch for an announcement stating the course has gone live. Videos by presenters, including Keynote Speakers, will also be posted on the Title Con 20/20 website. However, in order to earn the PGP points, completing Moodle course sessions and a short quiz are required to receive a Certificate of Completion.
Please do not hesitate to contact your Federal Grants Specialist with any questions related to Title Con or any of your Federal Grants.
ISTEP+ Spring 2020 Retest Final Results and ILEARN Winter 2020 Biology ECA Preliminary Results Available April 6
Final results for ISTEP+ Spring 2020 Retest and preliminary results for ILEARN Winter 2020 Biology ECA are available beginning April 6 in the Online Reporting System (ORS). Schools should prepare a plan to securely share results with students and families when possible.
2020 Assessment Cancelled
The Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) announces the cancellation of the upcoming Spring 2020 assessment windows. Please note this guidance applies to all corporations and schools responsible for delivering state assessments within Indiana. For complete information, please review the memo here.
DOE-TA (Testing Accommodations) Cancelled
Because of the cancelled 2020 assessments, there is no need to submit testing accommodations data. This report has been closed in the STN Application Center.
DOE Online Calendars
Please update school calendars in DOE Online as soon as the corporation has decided to finish the school year. Schools should make sure their calendars are up to date in DOE Online and utilize the new date types. A link to the updated calendar guidance can be found here.
- The “COVID-19 Closure ” code should be utilized for any day where instruction was cancelled due to COVID-19. These days may have been used for professional development for staff, teacher work days, or closures.
- The “COVID-19 eLearning ” code should be utilized for any day where instruction occurred due to COVID-19 whether the instruction occurred through an eLearning platform or through other remote learning opportunities.
Educator Evaluation (EE) Report Collection for 2019-2020 School Year Cancelled
The Department utilizes the DOE-EE collection to link the student achievement and growth
data to educators for use by school corporations in educator evaluations. With the
cancellation of spring statewide assessments for the 2019-2020 school year, the DOE-EE is therefore cancelled.
Updated Graduation Requirements for the 2020 Cohort
Guidance pertaining to graduation requirements for the 2020 cohort have been finalized and can be found here . Please direct all questions to Robin LeClaire .
Advanced Placement (AP) Updates from the College Board
College Board has released the new spring 2020 exam dates and times including more detailed information regarding the changes to the exams, exam tasks and the rationale
behind them, and additional testing information.
● Click here for the exam and course updates from College Board.
● Click here for a quick reference guide on how to support student learning during school closures.
Enrollment and Mobility (EM) during COVID-19 School Day Modifications
- For corporations providing in-session instruction during eLearning Distance Learning, if the data reporting personnel are able to submit data, weekly reporting would be expected. For corporations that are closed and not providing instruction, no weekly reporting is expected.
- Entry dates for new enrollments for corporations during eLearning Distance Learning should be the first day the student is expected to participate in instruction. For corporations that are closed and not providing instruction, the entry date will be the first day the student is expected to be enrolled and in attendance once the corporation is in session.
Additional Calendar Day Types
Two additional calendar day types have been added in Indiana IEP (IIEP) as of March 19. IIEP now includes "E-Learning Day" and "Canceled- COVID-19" in light of recent changes to school calendars. Please visit the Indiana IEP Resource Center and look at New & Trending announcements.
Special Education for Vouchers (SV) April 1 Count Day
- Students are to be counted if they are receiving services on April 1. This includes students who are enrolled and receiving ongoing services, but are absent on this date.
- If the school is in session on April 1 or participating in eLearning, the student can be counted for SV.
- If a school is closed on this day, the last instructional day prior to April 1 should be used to determine which students to report. If a student withdrew from the school prior to April 1, the student should not be counted.
- IDOE will be monitoring school closures during the following weeks. Local education agencies (LEAs) will be notified if extensions of the reporting period is necessary.
- Please refer to the DOE-SV layout and the Office of Special Education Community on Moodle for guidance related to COVID-19. The enrollment key is idoesped.
Exit Code for Withdrawing Foreign Exchange Students Regarding COVID-19
Exit code 27 is to be used when withdrawing a student to their home country as usual at this time.
2018-2019 Annual Performance Report
The 2018-2019 Annual Performance Reports (APR) are available now or schools to review in DOE Online. The report is accessible to Corporation Administrators under the Annual Performance Report menu item. The report will be released publicly through InView on Monday, March 16. More information on the report, including publication requirements can be found here. Questions on the report can be directed to datarequests@doe.in.gov.
Reports Currently Open
- DOE IR 2020 (IRead-3 Exemption)
Reports Opening Soon
- DOE CE 2020 Period 2 (Certified Employee)- Opens May 1
- DOE CC 2020 Period 2 (Course Completion)- Opens May 1
- DOE CP 2020 Period 2 (Certified Position)- Opens May 1
- DOE AT 2020 (Attendance) - Opens May 1
- DOE LE 2020 (Federal Flexibility) - Opens May 1
- DOE GR 2020 (Graduate) - Opens May 1
- DOE TI 2020 (Title 1) - Opens July 6
- DOE DT 2020 (Dual Credit) - Opens July 6
Help Us Help You
STN Support:
- To contact the HelpDesk, click this link to create a work order.
- Please provide correct email address and phone number in the work order.
- STN Support is also available by phone at 317.232.0808.
IDOE Website Created For Schools to Support Participation in the Upcoming Census
The upcoming U.S. Census will determine federal funds schools receive. Click here to access IDOE's Census resources for superintendents, principals, teachers, and families.
Choice Scholarship Program
Kathryn Roth, Senior Choice Specialist
David Ryan, Choice Specialist
Brittany Elliott, Choice Senior Support Specialist
Email: ChoiceSchool@doe.in.gov
Website: doe.in.gov/choice
Location: 115 West Washington Street, Indianapolis, IN, USA
Phone: 317-233-2200