October 4, 2018

ATTENTION ALL NDE PORTAL USERS:

Please log onto your portal accounts and go to the “My Profile” tab and check to make sure your contact information (especially the email address) is up to date.  It is very important to keep this information updated as the Department of Education uses the email address that is in the users’ Portal account to send vital information.  Thank you!!

 

 

Clarification regarding GMS SPED IDEA Staff Retrieval and SPED Federal and State Reimbursement:

Contact:  Lori Adams – Finance & Organizational Services (402-471-2637 or lori.adams@nebraska.gov)

OR Suzie Pierce – Special Education (402-471-4333 or suzie.pierce@nebraska.gov)

 

For 2018-19 GMS IDEA Grants, the district Verified Staff list will not be available until after October 31.  Verified Staff information will only display with the appropriate SPED SPI codes from NDE Staff Reporting System as identified below.  When using federal funds, appropriate Time and Effort documentation must also support the NDE Staff Reporting System SPI codes “I” (IDEA-federal) and “7” (federal/local).

 

For 2018-19 Staff Reporting, GMS, and State and Federal Reimbursement, districts will need to use the Specific Position Indicator (SPI) as follows:

  • GMS IDEA 4406 (federal) – all SPED staff are to be reported with SPI “7” – birth to age five
  • GMS IDEA 4404/4410/4411/4412 (federal) – all SPED staff serving school age students are to be reported with SPI “I” and SPED staff serving below age five students are to be reported with SPI “7”
  • For SPED Final Financial reports (federal/state/local) – all SPED staff serving school age students are to be reported using the SPI “I” (IDEA-federal) and/or SPI “S” (state), and SPED staff serving below age five students are to reported using SPI of “7” (federal/local).

 

 

Teacher Vacancy Survey – 2018-2019 – NDE Portal CollectionDUE DATE: November 10

Contact: Karen Buller (402-471-4837 or karen.buller@nebraska.gov)

 

The annual Teacher Vacancy Survey collects statewide teacher vacancy information that is used to determine teacher shortage areas.  This information is used to qualify content areas eligible for a number of state and federal teacher loan forgiveness opportunities and to inform research regarding teacher supply and shortage initiatives.  Public districts, Nonpublic systems and Educational Service Units will find the Teacher Vacancy Survey – 2018-2019 in the ONLINE list on the NDE Portal under the Data Collections Tab.  An activation code is required. Check with your District Administrator to acquire the code.  Audit window close date: December 10

Collection to be completed by Public, Nonpublic, ESU

 

 

Support Services (Flexible Funding Option) APPLICATION DUE DATE EXTENDED:  November 16

Contact:  Pete Biaggio (402 471-4308 or pete.biaggio@nebraska.gov)

 

Support Services (Flexible Funding Option) projects provide the use of special education funding for the “preventative” support services targeting “students not identified or verified as having a disability… but who demonstrate a need for specially designed assistance in order to benefit from the school’s general education curriculum.”

Support Services -Flex Funding information and applications are now available in the Grants Management System (GMS).  NDE GMS Login

 

 

October 1 Counting Day

Contact:  NDE Helpdesk (Helpdesk Request from the NDE Portal or ADVISERHelp@nebraskacloud.org)

 

Reminder, October 1 is the counting day for Membership in 2018-2019.  Special Education has always had an October 1 counting day.  The due date for the Fall data is October 15 with the audit window being October 16-31.  The data for state aid and special education will be locked down at midnight October 31.

 

We strongly encourage you to start looking at the Fall reports in ADVISER VALIDATION through the NDE Portal after October 1, so you will have time to make corrections before October 15. NDE will be auditing data October 16 through 31, so it is important that your data be as accurate as possible by October 15.  As you know, some data such as Net Option may be dependent on other districts so you may need time to work with them to get your students reported correctly.

 

Look for Verification Reports with Fall listed as the Review time period, especially those listed under the categories of: State Aid, General and Miscellaneous, Membership and Attendance, and Special Education.  Reports may be duplicated under multiple categories to ensure they are reviewed.  You will want to review the “As of October 1st” Reporting Window option in these reports if a Reporting Window option is available.

 

We know there is a lot to do, so pull together a team to help you with this review.  If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us.

 

 

ADVISER – Early Childhood ProgramDue Date October 15

Contact: Tammi Hicken (402-471-3184 or tammi.hicken@nebraska.gov)

 

All public school districts that complete the Early Childhood Program for their prekindergarten students need to make sure they identify their Head Start Students using the Programs Name field.

    • Public Preschool – NDE Approved Early Childhood Education Program, not Head Start.
    • Early Head Start – This code should only be used in districts that are a Head Start grantee, a Head Start delegate or have a partnership with a Head Start agency and serve Head Start children in a collaborative classroom.

 

 

Rule 11:  Prekindergarten Program ReportDue Date October 15

Contact: Tammi Hicken (402-471-3184 or tammi.hicken@nebraska.gov)

 

All public school district and educational service units are required to complete a Rule 11 Prekindergarten Report.  Districts or ESUs operating prekindergarten programs are required to indicate on the Prekindergarten Report if they are in compliance or indicate areas of noncompliance for the 2017-2018 school year.

 

The Prekindergarten report was mailed out September 10. It is also available on the early childhood website under reports at the following web address https://www.education.ne.gov/oec/forms.html.

 

 

Notice about the Hispanic/Latino Summit

Contact:  Bety Wooster (402-471-2452 or beth.wooster@nebraska.gov)

 

The 2018 Hispanic/Latino Summit will be in Columbus on Tuesday, October 30!!  For more information go to:  https://latinosummitnebraska.org  Because space is limited registration for the Summit is being offered to High School Students only (9th-12th grade) until October 15.  After the October 15 it will be opened up to 8th graders until capacity is reached or registration closes, October 22.  Gallery of Stars nominations are due by October 2.  This is limited to 5 junior or senior nominations per building.  Leadership Scholarships applications are due October 2.  High school seniors or juniors who will graduate in May 2019, are representatives of the school’s “Gallery of Stars” (limit of five students per school) and meet the eligibility criteria may apply for one of the ten $1000 Leadership Scholarships being awarded at this year’s Summit.

 

 

Reviewing Cohort Graduation Rates and Data

Contact:  NDE Helpdesk (Helpdesk Request from the NDE Portal or ADVISERHelp@nebraskacloud.org)

 

Currently the Graduation Cohort Analysis Tool is only in the NSSRS Validation.  To review your final cohort numbers from the 2017-2018 school year, go to NSSRS Validation.  Even though the school year says 2019-06-30, there is no new student data, other than the 2017-2018 follow-up data in NSSRS so the dashboard you see for cohort will still be for the results of the 2017-2018 school year.

 

Review the following cohorts, look for unresolved issues.  Also check to see if you have students that are enrolled in another district, that will be noted in the Enroll Info column when you review the cohort roster from the dashboard.

2018, 4 year

2017, 5 year

2016, 6 year

2015, 7 year

 

 

    Check the CDC Substitute Teacher Collection to Ensure Certificated Substitutes

Contact:  Brad Conner (402 471-4355 or brad.conner@nebraska.gov)

 

The Substitute Teacher collection is located in the Consolidated Data Collection in the NDE Portal under Data Collections tab.  The data from 2017-2018 is preloaded for 2018-2019.  Review the substitutes for 2018-2019 and if any are listed with NOT FOUND, this means there is a certificate issue (i.e. certificate expired, or wrong staff ID reported, etc.).  If you intend to employ substitutes with NOT FOUND listed by their names, work with them to get their certificates updated BEFORE you use them for 2018-2019.  As you utilize new substitutes, NDE encourages you to add them to the CDC collection right away, if possible BEFORE you use them, to ensure they have an appropriate certificate and do not show up with the NOT FOUND Cert Status.

 

 

The following collections are currently open in the Consolidated Data Collection (CDC)

Contact:  NDE Helpdesk (Helpdesk Request from the NDE Portal or ADVISERHelp@nebraskacloud.org)

 

Please refer to the CDC Calendar which is located on the NSSRS Resources page at https://www.education.ne.gov/nssrs/Resources.html#Calendar and also review the instructions available in each of the CDC collections for further details about each collection.

 

Assessed Valuation and Levies Due Date:  October 15 (Audit Window Close Date:  October 31)

Assessed Valuation and levies.  Distance between high school attendance centers.

Collection completed by Public

For more information, contact Jen Utemark – jen.utemark@nebraska.gov (402) 471-3323

 

Elementary Site AllowanceDue Date:  October 15 (Audit Window Close Date:  October 31)

Districts that are applying for the Elementary Site Allowance.  This form to be completed by a school district with multiple elementary attendance sites.  A qualifying elementary site shall be an elementary attendance site, in a district with multiple elementary attendance sites, which (a) does not have another elementary attendance site within 7 miles in the same school district, or (b) is the only public elementary attendance site located in an incorporated city or village.

Collection completed by Public

For more information, contact Jen Utemark – jen.utemark@nebraska.gov (402) 471-3323

 

Estimated Expenditure for LEP/PovertyDue Date:  October 15 (Audit Window Close Date:  October 31)

 

Each school district shall designate a maximum Poverty and Limited English Proficiency Allowance.  The collection was previously completed in GMS and was named “LEP and Poverty Plan.”

Collection completed by Public

For more information, contact Jen Utemark – jen.utemark@nebraska.gov (402) 471-3323

 

Human Resources Director ContactsOpen All Year – (Audit Window Close Date:  June 30, 2018)
The Department of Education developed the HR Director Contact(s) to collect name and email address for correspondence.  The data is gathered with the purpose of using the email address for notices regarding teacher and administrative certificates, evaluation systems, surveys, and data.  The contact listed may have a similar role to an HR Director.

Collection completed by Public

For more information, contact NDE Helpdesk – (Helpdesk Request from the NDE Portal or ADVISERHelp@nebraskacloud.org)

 

Non-Certificated StaffDue Date:  October 15 (Audit Window Close Date:  October 31)

Report of Non-Certificated Staff.

Collection completed by Public, State Operated and ESU’s

For more information, contact NDE Helpdesk – (Helpdesk Request from the NDE Portal or ADVISERHelp@nebraskacloud.org)

 

Nonpublic DropoutsDue Date:  October 15 (Audit Window Close Date:  October 31)

Collects Nonpublic dropout data.

Collection completed by Nonpublic

For more information, contact NDE Helpdesk – (Helpdesk Request from the NDE Portal or ADVISERHelp@nebraskacloud.org)

 

Nonpublic Membership ReportDue Date:  October 15 (Audit Window Close Date:  October 31)

Collects membership data from Nonpublic Systems.

Due Date:  October 15 (Audit Window Close Date:  October 31)

Collection completed by Nonpublic

For more information, contact NDE Helpdesk – (Helpdesk Request from the NDE Portal or ADVISERHelp@nebraskacloud.org)

 

PK Instructional Program Hours/K ProgramDue Date:  October 15 (Audit Window Close Date:  October 31)

Instructional program hours including kindergarten program type.

Collection completed by Public

For more information, contact Tammi Hicken – tammi.hicken@nebraska.gov (402) 471-3184

 

School Age Final Financial Report (FFR)Due Date:  October 31

School District’s/ESU’s claim reimbursement for SPED School age expenditures.

Collection completed by Public and ESU’s

For more information, contact Lori Adams – lori.adams@nebraska.gov (402) 471-2637

 

Student Growth Adjustment Due Date:  October 15 (Audit Window Close Date:  October 31)

Districts applying for the student growth adjustment.  Districts must estimate their 2018/19 average daily membership and provide evidence supporting the estimate.  Estimated student growth is the difference between the 2017/18 fall membership and 2018/19 estimated average daily membership.

Collection completed by Public

For more information, contact Jen Utemark – jen.utemark@nebraska.gov (402) 471-3323

 

Substitute TeachersDue Date:  June 15 (Audit Window Close Date:  June 30, 2019)

Report all substitute teachers.  Open all year

Collection completed by Public, Nonpublic, State Operated, ESU’s and Interim

For more information, contact Kevin Peters – kevin.peters@nebraska.gov (402) 471-0738

 

Summer School Student UnitDue Date:  October 15 (Audit Window Close Date:  October 31)

Number of students by grade who attend summer school: 1) attending remedial Math or Reading, 2) students eligible for free lunch or free milk qualified for free lunches or free milk and attended a school that uses information collected from parents and guardians to determine such qualifications or attended (or is registered to attend for early childhood) at a school that provides free meals to all students pursuant to the community eligibility provision.

Collection completed by Public

For more information, contact Jen Utemark – jen.utemark@nebraska.gov (402) 471-3323

 

Title I Annual Caseload Count of Children In Local Institutions For Neglected or Delinquent

Due Date:  December 5 (Audit Window Close Date:  January 5, 2019)

The purpose of this annual caseload count is to provide the State Educational Agency with current information on the location and number of children living in institutions for neglected or delinquent children, or in local correctional institutions.  The information collected will be used in the Title I formula for computing allocations for local educational agencies.

Collection completed by Public

For more information, contact Pat Frost – pat.frost@nebraska.gov (402) 471-2478

 

Title III Professional DevelopmentDue Date:  October 1 (Audit Window Close Date:  October 15)

 

Title III subgrantees only

Districts or Educational Service Unit consortia that receive funds under Title III English Learner (EL) grant should complete this information.  It is designed to collect information on the types of professional development provided under Title III for the previous school year. Audit window closes on October 15

Collection completed by Public and ESU’s

For more information, contact Terri Schuster terri.schuster@nebraska.gov (402) 471-4694

 

Two-Year New School Adjustment ApplicationDue Date:  October 15 (Audit Window Close Date:  October 31)

Districts applying for a Two-Year New School Adjustment.  School districts applying for the two-year new school adjustment will need to provide estimated additional student capacity and provide supporting evidence.

Collection completed by Public

For more information, contact Jen Utemark – jen.utemark@nebraska.gov (402) 471-3323

 

 

    Rule 10 and Rule 14 – Assurance StatementDue Date:  Nov. 1

Contact:  nde.accreditation@nebraska.gov or 402-471-2444

 

All accredited (Rule 10) and approved (Rule 14) school systems are required to complete an Assurance Statement annually.  The Assurance Statement must be completed to reflect compliance or indicate areas of noncompliance as your school system starts the 2018-2019 school year.

 

The Assurance Statement for public school districts is web-based and has been made available on the NDE Portal under the “Data Collections” tab.  An activation code is required to add the collection to the NDE Portal account.  Please review the FAQ and instruction documents regarding completion of the web-based Assurance Statement through the Portal for public school districts.

 

Please note the following two public school changes to protocols in the Accountability, Accreditation, and Program Approval Office:

 

  1. In the online Assurance Statement, public school district administrators will be asked to check “Yes” or “No” for each Rule 10 item in the statement, indicating compliance or non-compliance. This is different from years past when a single checkmark indicated compliance with all items in the statement.
  2. In the past, public school district superintendents have received a Fall Mailing packet from the NDE Accreditation Office which has included a copy of Rule 10 and supporting documents. This year, superintendents were sent a letter and an email, both of which included links to the NDE website, where Rule 10 and supporting documents can be found.  If you have difficulties accessing the documents on the NDE website, please contact the Accreditation Office at nde.accreditation@nebraska.gov to request that printed documents be mailed to you.

 

All nonpublic (Rule 10 and Rule 14) school systems have received a Fall Mailing packet from the NDE Accreditation Office which includes the paper copy of the Assurance Statement to be completed and submitted to the Accreditation Office.

 

 

Time & Effort Logs for Federal Grants (ESSA, IDEA, & CTE)

Contact:  Shane Rhian (402-471-4313 or shane.rhian@nebraska.gov)

 

All staff paid with Federal grants through NDE must complete an acceptable time and effort log to adequately document the allocation of their salaries and benefits to that grant.  NDE Grants Management Staff will be requesting copies of time and effort logs when reviewing final reimbursement request for 2017-18 grants in the Grants Management System.  Please refer to the NDE State and Federal Grants Management Guidance (beginning on page 41) and sample logs at the following link:  https://www.education.ne.gov/federalprograms/time-and-effort-reporting/.

 

 

ADVISER 2018-2019 Fall Work Days

Contact: NDE Helpdesk (888-285-0556 or ADVISERHelp@nebraskacloud.org)

 

ADVISER workdays have been scheduled for the 2018-2019 Fall collection.  Please contact the ESU to register for these workdays.  They are from 9 am – 3 pm and most ESU’s provide lunch.  There will be no formal presentations at these workdays, they are scheduled to give you time to work on your data reporting with ESU and NDE staff onsite to assist.  We strongly suggest that you attend a workday.  You may go to any ESU that works best for your schedule.

 

18-19 FALL ADVISER WORKDAYS  NDE
ESU Date Day Registration Link
ESU 11 – Holdrege September 28 Friday http://esu11.org/
ESU 2 – Fremont September 28 Friday https://www.esu2.org/
ESU 15 – Trenton October 1 Monday register@esu15.org
ESU 16 – North Platte October 2 Tuesday https://www.blogesu16.org/
ESU7 – Columbus October 2 Tuesday https://www.esu7.org/
ESU 16 – Ogallala October 3 Wednesday https://www.blogesu16.org/
ESU 13 – Scottsbluff October 4 Thursday https://www.esu13.org/
ESU 1 – Wakefield October 8 Monday www.esu1.org/
ESU 8 – Neligh October 9 Tuesday www.esu8.org/
ESU 4 – Auburn October 11 Thursday www.esu4.org
ESU 17 – Ainsworth October 11 Thursday www.esu17.org/
ESU3 –  Papillion October 16 Tuesday https://goo.gl/forms/zbrvLpY4JFfuGlH02
ESU 10 – Kearney October 16 Tuesday https://odie.esu10.org/workshops
ESU 5 – Beatrice October 18 Thursday https://www.esu5.org/
ESU 2 – Fremont October 19 Friday https://www.esu2.org/
ESU 6 – Milford@SCC Dunlap Center October 22 Monday www.esu6.org