Working with OSBA and other education stakeholders, the Oregon Department of Education has amended the Student Success Act process.
Districts must still submit their Student Investment Account grant applications by April 15, but they don’t have to be complete.
On Friday, ODE and OSBA released Online Engagement Guidance for virtual meetings to satisfy act requirements, with best practices for making those meetings effective and valuable.
On Thursday, ODE offered guidance to clarify some issues with the long-term closure.
The bulletin listed its purposes as:
“Clarification of responsibilities under Governor Brown’s Executive Orders to close schools through April 28 and for Oregonians to “Stay Home, Save Lives”
“Guidance on the delivery of out-of-school supplementary education and learning supports
“Survey: Additional Resources and Supplementary Supports
“Resources for mental health and social emotional support
“ODE’s suspension of ESSA Assessment and Accountability requirements for the 2019-20 school year
“Guidance on tracking costs related to COVID-19
“Information on ADMw calculations for purposes of State School Fund (SSF) distribution under the school closure
“Guidance regarding virtual charter schools
“New resources and COVID-19 website improvement”
The extensive guidance answers many questions raised by school board members. This guidance is in addition to ODE’s COVID-19 Frequently Asked Questions page. ODE has been exceptionally responsive to school district information needs, and the FAQ page is updated as often as twice daily.
ODE also offered Student Investment Account guidance on March 20. That document details changes to some procedures in light of the coronavirus disruptions and the removal of some requirements.
Districts can submit applications initially without school board approval. Board approval and public comment opportunities will still be necessary to complete the grant planning steps.
ODE has also canceled the volunteer Quality Assurance and Learning Panels to review the applications.
