FY15 CFPA Training FAQs

Transcription

1 OFFICE OF FEDERAL PROGRAMS FY15 CFPA Training FAQs Note: To ease document navigation, each topic heading and question in the Table of Contents is hyperlinked to the appropriate page within this document. Table of Contents Title I Questions... 5 Can you provide some examples of District-run programs that may be included under "set asides"?... 5 If my district is planning to reconfigure schools and grade spans for next year... is it best for me to create my application on the current configuration and make the amendment later?... 5 Do you have a succinct statement that we can use for the difference between rewards and incentives?... 5 All of our schools have a 75% or above poverty level. Can we still rank by grade span?... 6 How can Title I funds be used to meet Performance Goal 4?... 6 What is State Board Policy (SBP) 7802?... 6 Homeless Questions... 7 Do I have to set aside a homeless amount in the CFPA if I receive a McKinney-Vento Grant?... 7 On the school budget pages, the school name is entered for the page of that school. What would be the name placed on the page with, for example, the homeless set-aside? Would it be Homeless Set-Aside?... 7 Are districts and schools still obligated to provide services to Homeless students once permanent homes are found for those students?... 7 On what function line should the Homeless set-aside be budgeted?... 8 How feasible is it to pay someone to be a homeless liaison for part of the year and then use that same person as the parent liaison for another part of the year? Or should one person be a homeless liaison and another 1 P a g e

2 be a parent liaison? Or can one person be paid from parent involvement and homeless and do both jobs? In this instance, is a PAR needed?... 8 General Questions... 8 To whom are the accountability charts for each school sent?... 8 Our district will merge from nine schools to five. Can I prepare the plan and submit the project based on the five schools?... 8 When will new federal programs director's training take place?... 9 Focus & Priority Questions... 9 If QDI-Low is replaced with growth of low 25%, how will this be used to determine which schools are Focus schools? Has a benchmark number been set for the percentage of low 25% that must grow in order to not be a Focus school?... 9 Will A or B rated schools for the coming year have to write SOARS plans?... 9 So nothing specific has to be documented for Approaching Target schools on CFPA?... 9 Budget/Fiscal Questions Is it optional for what indirect cost rate to use on an amendment? My business manager tells me to use the rate based on the year the funds were received My FP Director just informed me that I need to give her a breakdown of how I use indirect cost she pays to the district. This is not required on any level. The purpose for MDE assigning a rate to each district in the first place is that federal programs benefit greatly from district services that can't be measured (utilities, space provided, Business office and other personnel services, etc.) and the amount received through indirect cost helps to recoup some of those costs What can indirect cost be spent on? Am I required to "do" cost-pooling if I am working with both Title I and Title II? Is it acceptable to take the administrative costs totally from Title I and elect to not do cost-pooling? Does the 90% of our previous year s allocation pertain to Title II as well as Title I? If we do not take the administrative cost from Title II because we only write the plan and make amendments as necessary FP director doesn't train staff do we place the 20% administrative cost in the special area administration function in Title I on the central office budget page ( in example and the indirect cost) in the cost pool budget? P a g e

3 If we transfer Title II funds to Title I are those funds still only allowed for professional development? How can we provide training, registration fees, conference, travel and per diem to train educational leaders at central office or principals, especially if they are entry level admins using federal funds? What is the difference between carryover vs. carry forward? What are the rules governing these monies? What percentage of the allocation can this be applied to? Does this require an amendment, or can these funds be addressed on the new year's CFPA? Once the school year is over, can unused set-aside funds, Parental Involvement, Homeless, District-wide Initiatives, be transferred to other areas for carryover purposes? Or, must these funds be left in their original budgeted function and object codes? I have three schools with F/R greater than 75%. I want to serve the two schools with the greatest F/R lunch % and not serve the 3rd. Tiffany Winters indicated that we don't have a choice, if greater than 75% F/R, then the school must be a Title I school. If we are required to serve the third school (middle school), we will not have viable programs at our other two schools (Primary school and Elementary school). Can the district choose not to serve the third school? If we do not apply for CEP, may we still use the CEP process to determine poverty level and to rank poverty level of all schools in the district (for CFPA)? Parental Involvement Questions Should the parental involvement set-asides be put on the individual school pages? Reservations of fund page: should our reservation reflect the entire amount spent in parent involvement? If a school is not utilizing the entire Parental Involvement allocation can the funds be held at the district level? What documentation is needed? 15 Private School Question What do you do when you have a private school in your area who opts to receive benefits of Title II but doesn't utilize those benefits allocated to them in the project? Title II Questions In the Title II plan must questions still be answered even though all funds are being transferred to Title I? When transferring all Title II funds into Title I will districts still provide equitable services to private schools? If we transfer Title II funds to Title I are those funds still only allowed for professional development? How can we provide training, registration fees, 3 P a g e

4 conference, travel and per diem to train educational leaders at central office or principals... especially if they are entry level admins using federal funds? How are Title II funds tracked for reimbursement when transferred to Title I? Is the hold harmless for one year (current year) in the current waiver proposal to the USDE? Have any states been awarded a waiver that includes one year of hold harmless during assessment/curriculum transition? MSIS Questions In a schoolwide program are districts required to mark all students in MSIS? Are districts required to print holding reports before and after? Should the Federal Programs director have access in MSIS to reports to copy (holding area)? I get these reports from the clerks from individual school MSIS clerks. Can I print this myself? Are students counted as homeless in Months (1) and (2)? What does it mean to turn an indicator "on" in MSIS? How are students that are identified as migrant at the end of last year and still showing on the current report removed? How are students verified in MSIS? Which holding reports should be printed and why? How are ELL names deleted from files that are no longer needed? Should ELL students who are reported in Month (1) remain on the roster? P a g e

5 Title I Questions Can you provide some examples of District-run programs that may be included under "set asides"? You can make an off the top reservation. You can have a professional development reservation. The federal government does not specifically list examples for the set asides. After-school programs, summer programs, programs which target subject matter such as literacy, mathematics, etc. If my district is planning to reconfigure schools and grade spans for next year... is it best for me to create my application on the current configuration and make the amendment later? No actions should be taken until your district's Board approves the reconfiguration of the schools. However, for planning purposes submit the FY15 CFPA based on the projected school configuration. Do you have a succinct statement that we can use for the difference between rewards and incentives? These factors should be considered in making the decision to use Title I funds for student incentives. First, the LEA has flexibility to use Title I funds and other federal funds to finance items or activities that will enhance student achievement. However, these items or activities must be necessary and reasonable for proper and efficient performance and administration of the grant; therefore, items or activities must be reasonable and tied to program objectives. Second, incentives must also be nominal, meaning they have no cash value. Gift cards, money, etc. are not allowable. Instructional supplies (such as pencils and books), certificates, trophies or pizza parties are allowable. Third, you should be able to link the items or activities to the goals and strategies in the Title I Plan and or school improvement plan. Therefore, they should be measurable. Student incentives cannot be based on participation or attendance. Expenditures should be of nominal value. Items such as MP3 player, bicycles or school trips without an academic purpose are prohibited. OMB Circular A-87 specifically prohibits the use of 5 P a g e

6 federal funds for entertainment, including amusement, diversion, and social activities, and related costs, such as tickets to shows or sport events, meals, lodging, rentals, transportation, and gratuities. All of our schools have a 75% or above poverty level. Can we still rank by grade span? LEAs must rank all schools exceeding 75% poverty without regard to grade span. Only then can grade span grouping be applied to schools at or below 75% poverty if funds remain under 1113(a)(3)(4). The statute is as follows: (3) RANKING ORDER- If funds allocated in accordance with subsection (c) are insufficient to serve all eligible school attendance areas, a local educational agency shall (A) annually rank, without regard to grade spans, such agency's eligible school attendance areas in which the concentration of children from low-income families exceeds 75 percent from highest to lowest according to the percentage of children from low-income families; and (B) serve such eligible school attendance areas in rank order. (4) REMAINING FUNDS- If funds remain after serving all eligible school attendance areas under paragraph (3), a local educational agency shall (A) annually rank such agency's remaining eligible school attendance areas from highest to lowest either by grade span or for the entire local educational agency according to the percentage of children from low-income families; and (B) serve such eligible school attendance areas in rank order either within each grade-span grouping or within the local educational agency as a whole. How can Title I funds be used to meet Performance Goal 4? A comprehensive needs assessment would need to be addressed (surveys, baseline data, and identified needs for performance goal 4). Example(s) of what activities the district could be promoting for student activities are SADD, PBIS, SMARTRACK, or Character Education programs. These programs would help address bullying, provide a zero tolerance policy and create a safe environment for students. What is State Board Policy (SBP) 7802? DESCRIPTOR TERM: Title I Administrative Limit 20% 6 P a g e

7 CODE: 7802 ADOPTION DATE: March 22, 1996 REVISION: March 16, Title I Administrative Limit 20% School districts shall spend no more than twenty-percent of annual Title I budgets on administrative expenses. The purpose of this state rule is to ensure that maximum Title I funds be spent directly on students to enable them to achieve high standards. Administrative costs are defined as those costs spent on Title I Administrative activities at the district and school level. These activities include salaries, benefits, travel, and office costs of Title I coordinators, clerks, bookkeepers, and maintenance personnel, cost of audits, and indirect cost. Homeless Questions Do I have to set aside a homeless amount in the CFPA if I receive a McKinney-Vento Grant? If you operate a school-wide program, you do not have to reserve an amount as a set side. If homeless students show up, then you must be able to assist those students. On the school budget pages, the school name is entered for the page of that school. What would be the name placed on the page with, for example, the homeless set-aside? Would it be Homeless Set-Aside? Yes, it would be the Homeless Set-Aside. Are districts and schools still obligated to provide services to Homeless students once permanent homes are found for those students? Yes. Homeless students must remain identified, in MSIS, as Homeless for the remainder of the school year whether they actually receive services or not. 7 P a g e

8 On what function line should the Homeless set-aside be budgeted? The Homeless reservation or set-aside should be budgeted on the Central Office budget page, function 1250, object 900. Please ensure this code is acceptable for your business manager. How feasible is it to pay someone to be a homeless liaison for part of the year and then use that same person as the parent liaison for another part of the year? Or should one person be a homeless liaison and another be a parent liaison? Or can one person be paid from parent involvement and homeless and do both jobs? In this instance, is a PAR needed? A district could logically use Title I to fund a person who functions as both parent and homeless liaison, if all schools in the district are Title I schools. However, complications arise if the person is working in both Title I and non-title I schools functioning as a parent liaison. Each district and circumstance should be handled on a case-by-case basis. General Questions To whom are the accountability charts for each school sent? Accountability Reports are posted to the District Access portal on SharePoint in the district s Accountability folder. This folder is accessible by the Superintendent or designee. The FPC, if not the designee, should work with the Superintendent and/or designee to get the reports in a timely manner in August. Our district will merge from nine schools to five. Can I prepare the plan and submit the project based on the five schools? No actions should be taken until your district's Board approves the merger of the schools and the educational system of the district is official. However, for planning purposes submit the FY15 CFPA based on the projected school configuration. 8 P a g e

9 When will new federal programs director's training take place? The new federal programs directors training will begin in August. Our current plan is to include monthly opportunities for all coordinators with two or fewer years of experience to network. Focus & Priority Questions If QDI-Low is replaced with growth of low 25%, how will this be used to determine which schools are Focus schools? Has a benchmark number been set for the percentage of low 25% that must grow in order to not be a Focus school? The growth of the lowest 25% is not replacing the QDI-Low for determining which schools are Focus Schools; therefore, no benchmark number has been set for growth. However, according to the state s performance descriptors, D and F school generally do not earn at least 50 points in the Reading or Mathematics growth component for the lowest 25% subgroup. Will A or B rated schools for the coming year have to write SOARS plans? A or B schools will not have to write a plan, pending ED approval of Mississippi s ESEA Flexibility Request Extension. So nothing specific has to be documented for Approaching Target schools on CFPA? Approaching Target schools need to be included, at a minimum, in three sections of the application: (1) needs assessment summary, (2) activities and strategies for schools not meeting AMOs, and (3) Differentiated Accountability status (i.e., Approaching Target) should be noted on the Demographics Page. 9 P a g e

10 Budget/Fiscal Questions Is it optional for what indirect cost rate to use on an amendment? My business manager tells me to use the rate based on the year the funds were received. No, it is not optional for what indirect cost rate to use on an amendment. The current restricted indirect cost rate should be used for amendments. The rate could vary from one fiscal year to the next. My FP Director just informed me that I need to give her a breakdown of how I use indirect cost she pays to the district. This is not required on any level. The purpose for MDE assigning a rate to each district in the first place is that federal programs benefit greatly from district services that can't be measured (utilities, space provided, Business office and other personnel services, etc.) and the amount received through indirect cost helps to recoup some of those costs. OMB Circular A-87 requires "(3) each governmental unit, in recognition of its own unique combination of staff, facilities, and experience, will have the primary responsibility for employing whatever form of organization and management techniques may be necessary to assure proper and efficient administration of Federal awards." The Federal Programs Director (FPD), Superintendent, and School Board are responsible for every penny of federal funds expended. It has always been the recommendation of the Office of Federal Programs that the FPD evaluate every expenditure before approving. That is inclusive of Indirect Cost expenditures. During preparation of the Consolidated Federal Programs Application, a spreadsheet calculates the allowable amount of Indirect Cost based on a predetermined restricted rate, which is used for budgeting purposes. It is the recommendation of OFP that at the close of each school year (June 30), the FPD and Business Manager should sit together and review the actual federal expenditures from July 1 through June 30 used to calculate the indirect cost. Then, the overhead costs (utilities, space provided, business office and other personnel services, etc.) should be evaluated to determine that Federal Programs is not paying more than its "fair share." 10 P a g e

11 What can indirect cost be spent on? Indirect costs represent the expenses of doing business that are not readily identified with a particular grant, contract, project function or activity, but are necessary for the general operation of the organization and the conduct of activities it performs. In theory, costs like heat, light, accounting and personnel might be charged directly if little meters could record minutes in a crosscutting manner. Practical difficulties preclude such an approach. Therefore, cost allocation plans or indirect cost rates are used to distribute those costs to benefiting revenue sources. Looking at it another way, indirect costs are those costs that are not classified as direct. Direct costs can be identified specifically with particular cost objectives such as a grant, contract, project, function or activity. Direct costs generally include: 1. Salaries are wages (including vacations, holidays, sick leave, and other excused absences of employees working specifically on objectives of a grant or contract i.e., direct labor costs). 2. Other employee fringe benefits allocable on direct labor employees. 3. Consultant services contracted to accomplish specific grant/contract objectives. 4. Travel of (direct labor) employees. 5. Materials, supplies and equipment purchased directly for use on a specific grant or contract. 6. Communication costs such as long distance telephone calls or telegrams identifiable with a specific award or activity. Source: Am I required to "do" cost-pooling if I am working with both Title I and Title II? Is it acceptable to take the administrative costs totally from Title I and elect to not do cost-pooling? When administering numerous federal grant programs, the LEA must distinguish costs among all the individual federal programs. According to OMB A-87 Attachment B 8.h (4) where employees work on multiple activities or cost objectives, a distribution of their salaries or wages will be supported by personnel activity reports or equivalent documentation which meets the standards in subsection (5) unless a statistical sampling system (see subsection (6)) or other substitute system has been approved by the cognizant 11 P a g e

12 Federal agency. Such documentary support will be required where employees work on: (a) More than one Federal award, (b) A Federal award and a non-federal award, (c) An indirect cost activity and a direct cost activity, (d) Two or more indirect activities which are allocated using different allocation bases, or (e) An unallowable activity and a direct or indirect cost activity. Does the 90% of our previous year s allocation pertain to Title II as well as Title I? Yes If we do not take the administrative cost from Title II because we only write the plan and make amendments as necessary FP director doesn't train staff do we place the 20% administrative cost in the special area administration function in Title I on the central office budget page ( in example and the indirect cost) in the cost pool budget? If Title II does not contribute to the cost pool, the district should maintain its Title I administrative costs in the Title I budget and not the cost pool fund If we transfer Title II funds to Title I are those funds still only allowed for professional development? How can we provide training, registration fees, conference, travel and per diem to train educational leaders at central office or principals, especially if they are entry level admins using federal funds? No. Once Title II funds have been transferred into Title I, the funds take on the identity of that program. Section VIII. Impact of Transferring Funds into Title I of Thompson s The New Title I: The Changing Landscape of Accountability, 6th Edition page 174 states the following: Funds may be transferred into Title I but may not be transferred out of this program. Page 175 continues stating the statute requires transferred funds be spent in accordance with all rules and requirements of the program to which funds were transferred. Therefore, any funds transferred into Title I must be spent in accordance with the rules on distribution of funds under section 1113 of Title I. Because transferred funds are subject to the district set-asides, it is important to understand how this 12 P a g e

13 affects the calculation of these reservation amounts. According to ED s non regulatory guidance on transferability, an LEA would calculate its mandatory Title I set-asides, such as the required 1% for parental involvement, and its carryover limit, using a base amount that includes the transferred funds. What is the difference between carryover vs. carry forward? What are the rules governing these monies? What percentage of the allocation can this be applied to? Does this require an amendment, or can these funds be addressed on the new year's CFPA? Carryover is a provision in the Title I law that mandates only 15% of the allocation may be carried over for an additional 12 months. Eighty-five percent of the allocation must be expended within the first 15 months (Example July 1, 2013 through September 30, 2014). Fifteen percent can be carried over for an additional 12 months (Example October 1, 2014 through September 30, 2015) and liquidated within 90 days (December 31, 2015). Carry forward is the portion of all Title program funds not expended within the 12 month school year it was originally awarded. (Example Award made during SY : July 1, 2013 through June 30, 2014). Funds not expended will be "carried forward" to the upcoming school year (Example SY at July 1, 2014 through June 30, 2015). Neither carryover nor carry forward funds should be addressed on the new CFPA, as the funds have already been approved on the original CFPA for the particular school year the award was made. In the event the funds are needed in different areas during the "carry forward or carryover" periods, follow the amendment procedures. Ask the question, "Is this a change in scope/objective and/or budget change greater than 10%?" If necessary, prepare a Letter or Formal Amendment. No amendments are required as long as the funds are still being expended as approved in the original CFPA for the particular school year the award was made. 13 P a g e

14 Once the school year is over, can unused set-aside funds, Parental Involvement, Homeless, District-wide Initiatives, be transferred to other areas for carryover purposes? Or, must these funds be left in their original budgeted function and object codes? Parental Involvement: Yes and No. The 1% Obligated amount that is distributed to each school, must be used only for Parental Involvement. If a LEA has chosen the option to reserve additional funds above the 1% then those funds can be transferred to other areas for carryover purposes. Parental Involvement Funds distributed to schools (1%) must remain in their original budgeted function. I have three schools with F/R greater than 75%. I want to serve the two schools with the greatest F/R lunch % and not serve the 3rd. Tiffany Winters indicated that we don't have a choice, if greater than 75% F/R, then the school must be a Title I school. If we are required to serve the third school (middle school), we will not have viable programs at our other two schools (Primary school and Elementary school). Can the district choose not to serve the third school? LEAs must rank all schools exceeding 75% poverty, as directed under 1113(a)(3)(A)(B). In order to fully answer this question, more detail is needed to clarify why the other two schools will not have viable programs if the middle school were served. For more information, the statute is as follows: (3) RANKING ORDER- If funds allocated in accordance with subsection (c) are insufficient to serve all eligible school attendance areas, a local educational agency shall- (A) annually rank, without regard to grade spans, such agency's eligible school attendance areas in which the concentration of children from low-income families exceeds 75 percent from highest to lowest according to the percentage of children from low-income families; and (B) serve such eligible school attendance areas in rank order. 14 P a g e

15 If we do not apply for CEP, may we still use the CEP process to determine poverty level and to rank poverty level of all schools in the district (for CFPA)? If your district does not apply the Community Eligibility Provision, then you must rank and serve the Title I schools according to the Title I, Part A rank and serve guidelines. Parental Involvement Questions Should the parental involvement set-asides be put on the individual school pages? The required 1% amount must go on each school s budget page. If the district is obligating more than the 1%, then only the additional amount will be placed on a set-aside page. Reservations of fund page: should our reservation reflect the entire amount spent in parent involvement? Yes. The Entire Amount Reservation Page should reflect the amount that is over and above the 1% Obligated Amount. If a school is not utilizing the entire Parental Involvement allocation can the funds be held at the district level? What documentation is needed? Of the 1% obligated for Parental Involvement, 95% (or the LEA may choose to give the entire 1% to the schools) must be given to the school. The LEA should provide technical assistance to each school to ensure that the funds are being utilized. Parent input on workshops and/or activities they would like to have is a big part in expending these funds. 15 P a g e

16 Private School Questions What do you do when you have a private school in your area who opts to receive benefits of Title II but doesn't utilize those benefits allocated to them in the project? The LEA is responsible for ensuring that private school students and teachers receive equitable services and the requirements of the statue and regulations are met. However, guidance below speaks of how carryover is handled. TITLE IX, PART E, UNIFORM PROVISIONS SUBPART 1 PRIVATE SCHOOLS In general, if an LEA provided equitable services for private school students in any given year, any carryover funds for services to private school students would be considered additional funds for that program for public and private school students in the subsequent year. Those funds then would be used, along with any other carryover funds, for both public and private school students on an equitable basis. This situation might occur, for example, if private school students and teachers did not fully participate in the ESEA program (e.g., private school teachers opted out of a proposed professional development activity), even though an equitable program was planned and offered for those students and teachers. However, if the LEA did not provide equitable services for private school students in a given year and, as a result, there are funds remaining that should have been expended for equitable services for private school students, the LEA should use those carryover funds for private school students in the subsequent year. Those funds would be in addition to the funds that the LEA uses for private school students out of the subsequent year s allocation. This situation might occur, for example, if the LEA failed to notify or consult with private school officials about the availability of the ESEA program, or if there was a delay in the implementation of an equitable program. 16 P a g e

17 Title II Questions In the Title II plan must questions still be answered even though all funds are being transferred to Title I? Yes, the Title II plan questions must be addressed even though all funds are being transferred into Title I. When transferring all Title II funds into Title I will districts still provide equitable services to private schools? Yes, the district cannot transfer all Title II funds into Title I without first providing equitable service to private schools. From the ED s Improving Teacher Quality State Grants Non- Regulatory Guidance (Item G-5): If a school district exercises Title VI transferability authority and moves funds from Title II, Part A to another covered program, is the district required to provide the hold harmless amount for private school teachers professional development? Yes. Part A funds it must reserve for professional development provided to private school teachers, the LEA must assume that it is spending at least as much Title II, Part A funds each year for professional development as it did with FY 2001 funds under the former Eisenhower Professional Development and Class-Size Reduction programs [Title IX, Section 9501(b)(3)(B)]. Hence, the district must provide equitable services based on this minimal amount to private school teachers and other educational personnel even if the LEA transfers some Title II funds to other programs. Do the Dwight Eisenhower funds still apply? If yes, how do we calculate the amount? Yes. The LEA must meet its Title II, Part A hold-harmless when applicable. When calculating the hold-harmless, page 17 from nonregulatory guidance at the link below states, Under section 2121(a)(2) of the ESEA, an LEA s Title II, Part A hold-harmless is the total of its FY 2001 allocation under the former Eisenhower Professional Development (Eisenhower) and Class-Size Reduction programs. For further guidance, hold-harmless is discussed in section D-5 on pages of the Improving Teacher Quality State Grants ESEA Title II, Part A Non-Regulatory Guidance at the following link: 17 P a g e

18 The actual proportion for the hold-harmless may be found on the bottom of page 21 of the guidance. If we transfer Title II funds to Title I are those funds still only allowed for professional development? How can we provide training, registration fees, conference, travel and per diem to train educational leaders at central office or principals... especially if they are entry level admins using federal funds? Once Title II funds are transferred into Title I, the funds are now used as any other Title I funding. Therefore, the Title I reservation will increase as with the required set-a-sides. Identified needs such as professional development, training, registration fees, conference travel etc. can be addressed using Title I funds as written in the CFPA. How are Title II funds tracked for reimbursement when transferred to Title I? For audit and monitoring purposes, the funds will still appear separate in the School Payment System and in the district's accounting software. Upon approval of the CFPA with a completely filled out Transferability page and related budget pages, the district have the authority to use the Title II funds in accordance with the Title I regulations. Is the hold harmless for one year (current year) in the current waiver proposal to the USDE? Have any states been awarded a waiver that includes one year of hold harmless during assessment/curriculum transition? The one year hold harmless is what Mississippi calls the Transitional timeline. It is in the current waiver proposed to the ED. To date, no other states have been awarded any hold on accountability, except in the context of the field test waivers offered last fall. 18 P a g e

19 MSIS Questions In a schoolwide program are districts required to mark all students in MSIS? No. Ensure the Title I Schoolwide indicator on the School Demographics page in MSIS is set to Y. Be sure the Targeted indicator is set to N. Are districts required to print holding reports before and after? Should the Federal Programs director have access in MSIS to reports to copy (holding area)? I get these reports from the clerks from individual school MSIS clerks. Can I print this myself? Yes. The Holding Area Reports are available in MSIS prior to submitting the monthly student data. To access the reports, select MSIS, Reports, Student Data, Holding Area. Are students counted as homeless in Months (1) and (2)? Yes. Select the indicator as soon as the students are identified each month, beginning with Month 1, if applicable. Once a student is identified, the indicator does not change the students identified are counted for the entire school year. What does it mean to turn an indicator "on" in MSIS? The student indicator must be selected to Y (i.e., yes or on ) in the Student Administrative Package. Other indicators (such as school demographics) are set to Y in MSIS. How are students that are identified as migrant at the end of last year and still showing on the current report removed? According to sections 1115(b)(1)(A) (incorporated into the MEP program by virtue of sections 1304(c)(2)) and 1309(2) of the statute and (e) and (a) of the regulations, a child is a migratory child and is eligible for MEP services if all of the following conditions are met: The child moved within the preceding 36 months in order to seek or obtain qualifying work, or to accompany or join the 19 P a g e

20 migratory agricultural worker or migratory fisher identified in paragraph 3, above, in order to seek or obtain qualifying work; and A Migrant child maintains his or her eligibility/status for a total of 36 months. However, if a qualifying move isn t made the status/eligibility will change at the end of the 36 month period. ***Note: If the child is no longer in your district please notify the MS Migrant Education Service Center at How are students verified in MSIS? Students are verified in MSIS<Modules<Federal Programs. Select the program, make the appropriate selection next to the student s name, and click the yellow diskette icon to save the selection. Which holding reports should be printed and why? Print the Holding Area Report before the district submits the monthly student data. This reports gives a count of the students being submitted along with any indicators identifying them for a particular program or service. How are ELL names deleted from files that are no longer needed? If a student is no longer qualifies as ELL (services or monitored), then the corresponding indicator in the Student Administrative Package should be set to N. Should ELL students who are reported in Month (1) remain on the roster? Yes, if students qualify as ELL they should remain on the roster. However, if a student is no longer qualifies as ELL (services or monitored), then the corresponding indicator in the Student Administrative Package should be set to N. 20 P a g e

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