September 20, 2019
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!!
Rule 10 Assurance Statement – Not Open at This Time – Watch for an Open Date
Contact: nde.accreditation@nebraska.gov
Public Schools Only
All accredited school systems (public and non-public) are required to complete a Rule 10 Assurance Statement annually. The Assurance Statement must be completed to reflect compliance or indicate areas of noncompliance as your school system starts the 2019-2020 school year.
The Assurance Statement for public school districts is web-based and will be available on the NDE Portal under the Data Collections tab. Watch for an open date later. An activation code is required to add the collection to the NDE Portal account. Public Schools must submit their Assurance Statement through the NDE Portal by November 1. Paper copies will not be accepted.
Note: Nonpublic, Special Purpose, Interim Programs, and ESUs must continue to submit paper copies of their Assurance Statements to the NDE.
Please note the following:
- 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.
- Superintendents will receive a letter and an email, both of which will include links to the NDE website, where Rule 10 and supporting documents can be found.
New for the 2019-20 school year,
- A Download PDF button is available again this school year at the bottom of the Assurance Statement for the purpose of downloading and saving a copy of your responses after submission to the NDE.
- Currently, when the NO response is checked, a text box opens to explain the NO response. A YES text box has been added at the end of the Assurance Statement for the purpose of explaining, defining, or expanding upon any YES responses.
For assistance in accessing the portal, please contact the NDE Helpdesk at: ADVISERHelp@nebraskacloud.org
Special Education Financial Reporting System (SPEDFRS)
Contact the following:
NDE Helpdesk (888-285-0556 or ADVISERHelp@nebraskacloud.org) for NDE Portal Assistance
Lori Adams (402-471-2637 or lori.adams@nebraska.gov) for Financial Assistance
Public Schools and ESU’s Only
It is official, the Special Education Financial Reporting System is scheduled to open for data collection on Monday, September 23. Available in the NDE Portal, under the Data Collections tab. An activation code is required to add this collection to users. Activation codes can be obtained from your District Administrator. For assistance with activation codes contact the NDE Helpdesk at ADVISERHelp@nebraskacloud.org or 888-285-0556.
This system combines final financial reporting for SPED Birth to Age Five, SPED School Age and SPED Transportation.
More information is available on the following website: Special Education Financial Reporting Information https://www.education.ne.gov/fos/special-education-reporting-information/
Join Zoom Meeting – to be recorded and available if you are not able to join on Monday.
Time and Effort Support – All Federal Grants
Contact: Tom Goeschel (402-471-4317 or tom.goeschel@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. Please have these records available for review. We will be reviewing these items during our on-site visits. Please refer to the NDE 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/
Federal Finding – All Federal Grants
Contact: Tom Goeschel (402-471-4317 or tom.goeschel@nebraska.gov)
The Nebraska Department of Education (NDE) has been contacted by the U.S. Department of Education regarding Nebraska’s FFY 2018 Single State audit which requires corrective action to resolve the finding at hand or repay the funding in question, see finding below.
“Finding
The auditors found that NDE did not have adequate support (i.e., time-and-effort logs, time certifications, or other payroll documentation) on file for 25 of 28 entity aid payments tested; thus determining questioned costs based on active grant years FFY 2015 through FFY 2017. We have noted the procedures and systems that NDE has developed and implemented since the finding originated to ensure its entities (local educational agencies (LEAs)) are in compliance with the Federal laws related to cost principles. However, we are trying to determine whether NDE can provide evidence that LEAs used Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) – Part B funds for allowable purposes and in accordance with the provisions under the Department’s General Education Provisions Act, as well as the Office of Management and Budget’s Uniform Guidance (2 CFR § 200). The questioned costs in the amount of $577,262 will need to be resolved through obtaining adequate documentation or the repayment of funding.”
Entities entering into a grant agreement agree to comply with all applicable state and federal grant requirements, listed in the Grant Award Notification. Subrecipents are required by state and federal regulations to have adequate supporting documentation and proper time and effort logs. The audit identified 25 aid payments tested did not submit adequate supporting documentation including: time-and-effort logs, time certifications, or other payroll documentation. The Department will soon be contacting entities to resolve these findings. In the event, an entity is unable to provide the required documentation, the Department will seek recovery for the known questioned costs. Recovered costs will be required to be repaid using general funds, NOT Federal funds.
This provides an opportunity for all entities to review internal grant management procedures, ensuring compliance with all subrecipient requirements of 2 CFR § 200.
Sign up to Get a Free Evidence-Based Behavior Improvement Strategy
OPEN: September 1
Contact: Sonia Sherman, NDE State Coordinator (soniasherman@me.com)
The Good Behavior Game (GBG) is a classroom management strategy that elementary teachers use to help students develop behavioral skills, including teamwork and self-regulation. In GBG classrooms, there is more on-task behavior, which means that teachers can dedicate more time to instruction. Thousands of teachers have implemented GBG, with effectiveness documented in dozens of published research studies.
GBG complements positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS), and NDE is supporting GBG at NO COST to schools and districts.
Contact Sonia if your elementary school is interested in learning more!
District ADVISER Monthly Meetings
Contact: NDE Helpdesk (ADVISERHelp@nebraskacloud.org or 888-285-0556)
The District ADVISER monthly meetings will take place the 2nd Wednesday of each month at 10:00 am CST. The Zoom meeting link is https://zoom.us/j/4024712288. Recordings can be found on the Meetings tab of the ADVISER Resource Google site- https://sites.google.com/a/education.ne.gov/adviser-early-adopter-program/.
No reminders are sent out as this is a standing meeting for all districts. Please add it to your calendar to create a reminder.
Support Services 2019-2020 (Flexible Funding Option) – DUE DATE: September 27
Contact: Suzie Pierce (402 471- 4333 or Suzie.Pierce@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 available in the Grants Management System (GMS). NDE GMS Login
2018-2019 Discipline Data is Due October 15
Discipline Reports are Available in ADVISER Validation Verification Reports for Review
Contract: Robyn Gonzales (robyn.gonzales@nebraska.gov)
18-19 Discipline data is due October 15. This data is submitted through your Student Information System (SIS) into ADVISER. Please review the Report of Suspensions & Expulsions, Special Education Discipline Report, and the Discipline Incidents Detail. You can also look up specific student incidents by Student Lookup by ID. Please ensure the necessary people have the Discipline activation code and for the Special Education Report the Special Education activation code, to review this data. If you have questions please contact Robyn Gonzales for Special Education related questions or send an email to ADVISERHelp@nebraskacloud.org.
If you are having trouble publishing 18-19 Follow-up Discipline Data, please contact your SIS vendor.
October 1, 2019 Child Count
Contact: Cole Johnson (cole.johnson@nebraska.gov) or Robyn Gonzales (robyn.gonzales@nebraska.gov)
In an effort to accurately make our October 1 child count reporting deadline, we are in need of collaborative data entry with your local districts. We are asking that the PRTs, the services coordination agencies, the ESUs, and the school districts collaborate to ensure that all EDN infants and toddlers are entered into ADVISER.
We have historically had discrepancies in the number of infants and toddlers entered into the services coordination CONNECT system, but not in ADVISER. It is vital, for federal reporting purposes, as well as local PRT determinations, that we ensure all infants and toddlers are entered into ADVISER.
Please note that while it is important to assign a Unique Identifier to each child, the district must ensure that student demographics and enrollment information is updated in the district’s Student Information System (SIS) and all student Special Education information is up to date in either the district’s SIS or SRS, whichever the district uses to submit Special Education data to ADVISER on October 1.
Please work with your local services coordination agency to reconcile open and verified EDN cases to ensure they are entered by the appropriate districts into ADVISER before the deadline. If you have questions, please contact Cole Johnson at cole.johnson@nebraska.gov.
Districts need to ensure all student demographic and enrollment information is updated in the Student Information System (SIS) and all student Special Education information is up to date in either SIS or SRS, whichever you use to submit Special Education data to ADVISER. If errors are found, please work with your SIS to rectify and if you have any questions, please contact Robyn Gonzales at robyn.gonzales@nebraska.gov.
NOTE: Please contact your SIS vendor or SRS, whichever the district uses for the SPED data, for information about when you will be ready to publish 2019-2020 ADVISER data.
ADVISER – Early Childhood Program – DUE 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.
NOTE: Please contact your SIS vendor for information about when you will be ready to publish 2019-2020 ADVISER data.
Rule 11: Prekindergarten Program Report – DUE 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 2019-2020 school year.
The Prekindergarten report was mailed out September 9. It is also available on the early childhood website under reports at the following web address https://www.education.ne.gov/oec/birth-to-age-5-programs/.
UPDATE on ADVISER 2019-2020 – Coming SOON!
NDE is currently working with the student information system vendors to certify that they can report the ADVISER student data for your district. Your vendor will keep you updated on when they are ready to begin publishing 2019-2020 data to ADVISER. Thank you for your patience.
The following collections will open in the Consolidated Data Collection (CDC) September 1
Contact: NDE Helpdesk (888-285-0556 or ADVISERHelp@nebraskacloud.org)
Please refer to the CDC Calendar which is located on the ADVISER Resources page at Consolidated Data Collection (CDC) Calendar and also review the instructions available in each of the CDC collections for further details about each collection.
Assessed Valuation and Levies – OPEN September 1
Assessed Valuation and levies. Distance between high school attendance centers.
Due Date: October 15 (Audit Window Close Date: October 31)
Collection completed by Public
For more information, contact – Kevin Lyons – kevin.lyons@nebraska.gov (402) 471-3323
Elementary Site Allowance – OPEN September 1
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.
Due Date: October 15 (Audit Window Close Date: October 31)
Collection completed by Public
For more information, contact – Kevin Lyons – kevin.lyons@nebraska.gov (402) 471-3323
Estimated Expenditure for LEP/Poverty – OPEN September 1
Estimated expenditure for next year’s LEP and Poverty.
Due Date: October 15 (Audit Window Close Date: October 31)
Collection completed by Public
For more information, contact – Kevin Lyons – kevin.lyons@nebraska.gov (402) 471-3323
Human Resources Director Contacts – OPENED August 1
The Department of Education developed the HR Director Contact(s) to collect name and email address for coorespondence. 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.
Open All Year – (Audit Window Close Date: June 30, 2020)
Collection completed by Public
For more information, contact NDE Helpdesk – (888-285-0556 or ADVISERHelp@nebraskacloud.org)
Non-Certificated Staff – OPEN September 1
Report of Non-Certificated Staff.
Due Date: October 15 (Audit Window Close Date: October 31)
Collection completed by Public, Special Purpose and ESU’s
For more information, contact NDE Helpdesk – (888-285-0556 or ADVISERHelp@nebraskacloud.org)
Nonpublic Dropouts – OPEN September 1
Collects Nonpublic dropout data.
Due Date: October 15 (Audit Window Close Date: October 31)
Collection completed by Nonpublic
For more information, contact NDE Helpdesk – (888-285-0556 or ADVISERHelp@nebraskacloud.org)
Nonpublic Membership Report – OPEN September 1
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 – (888-285-0556 or ADVISERHelp@nebraskacloud.org)
PK Instructional Program Hours/K Program – OPEN September 1
Instructional program hours including kindergarten program type.
Due Date: October 15 (Audit Window Close Date: October 31)
Collection completed by Public
For more information, contact Tammi Hicken – tammi.hicken@nebraska.gov (402) 471-3184
Student Growth Adjustment – OPEN September 1
Districts applying for the student growth adjustment. Districts must estimate their 2019/20 average daily membership and provide evidence supporting the estimate. Estimated student growth is the difference between the 2018/19 fall membership and 2019/20 estimated average daily membership.
Due Date: October 15 (Audit Window Close Date: October 31)
Collection completed by Public
For more information, contact Kevin Lyons – kevin.lyons@nebraska.gov (402) 471-3323
Substitute Teachers – OPEN September 1
Report all substitute teachers. Open all year
Due Date: June 15 (Audit Window Close Date: June 30, 2020)
Collection completed by Public, Nonpublic, Special Purpose, ESU’s and Interim
For more information, contact Clayton Waddle – clayton.waddle@nebraska.gov (402) 471-0738
Summer School Student Unit – OPEN September 1
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.
Due Date: October 15 (Audit Window Close Date: October 31)
Collection completed by Public
For more information, contact Kevin Lyons – kevin.lyons@nebraska.gov (402) 471-3323
Title I Annual Caseload Count of Children In Local Institutions For Neglected or Delinquent
OPEN September 1
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.
Due Date: December 5 (Audit Window Close Date: January 5, 2020)
Collection completed by Public
For more information, contact Pat Frost – pat.frost@nebraska.gov (402) 471-2478
Two-Year New School Adjustment Application – OPEN September 1
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.
Due Date: October 15 (Audit Window Close Date: October 31)
Collection completed by Public
For more information, contact Kevin Lyons – kevin.lyons@nebraska.gov (402) 471-3323
New PowerSchool ADVISER Google Group
Contact: Aimee Muehling alempkemuehling@esu5.org
Attention PowerSchool Public School Districts. The VST team has set up a Nebraska PowerSchool ADVISER google group. This group will be the primary way that you will receive information/announcements that are specific to PowerSchool regarding ADVISER such as updates, known issues, fixes, available trainings etc. We would like at least one person from each PowerSchool district to be a member of the group. In the next few weeks you may receive an invite to join, please accept. You can also ask to join by clicking on the following link https://groups.google.com/d/forum/powerschooladviser that will take you to the group page where you can click on the Apply for Membership Link. You need to be signed in to your Google account to see this link.
Student Unique Identifier (Uniq-ID) / ADVISER Person ID
Contact: NDE Helpdesk ADVISERHelp@nebraskacloud.org
Public Schools, Nonpublic Systems, Special Purpose Schools, ESU Head Start Schools, Post-Secondary
All students in Pre-Kindergarten – Grade 12 (Public, Nonpublic, Special Purpose Schools and ESU Head Start Schools) and Postsecondary students (Nebraska Community Colleges, State Colleges and University of Nebraska students) need their state IDs updated every school year with current school information. This includes all new AND returning students. Information to update includes items that have changed year over year (grade level, school building, and school year).
The Student Unique Idenitfier collection is found in the NDE Portal under the Student & Staff (NSSRS) tab. (An activation code is required.) Step-by-Step instructions for the Student Uniq-ID update process. (Public/Special Purpose Schools: These updates should be made prior to turning on your Ed-Fi submission in your Student Information System for 2019-2020 school year.)
ADVISER Person ID is still coming soon. This system will replace Student Unique Identifier (Uniq-ID). All information updated in the Student Unique Identifier (Uniq-ID) collection will be included in the transfer of data into ADVISER Person ID in the future. It is important to update Student Unique Identifier as soon as possible, so changes are included in the system transfer to ADVISER Person ID. IF you come to an NDE Fall workday, NDE can help you with this process. HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE!
Assessment & Accountability Key Dates
Contact: Jeremy Heneger (402-471-2495 or jeremy.heneger@nebraska.gov or Lane Carr 402-471-3138 or lane.carr@nebraska.gov)
Public and Special Purpose Schools Only
Below are key dates for the release of Accountability for a Quality Education System, Today and Tomorrow (AQuESTT) and Nebraska Student-Centered Assessment System (NSCAS) data. Published data elements can be found on the Nebraska Education Profile (NEP), the Nebraska Department of Education’s one-stop education data website. For more information, please visit: http://bit.ly/2019nep.
| August 5, 2019 | Printed NSCAS Alternate Individual Student Reports (ISRs) delivered to districts |
| August 12-20, 2019 | NSCAS District Preliminary Data Clean-up Window |
| August 30, 2019 | Printed NSCAS ACT Individual Student Reports (ISRs) delivered to districts |
| September 25, 2019
(Secure Release)
|
Assessment Performance, Attendance, Participation, Demographics, and AQuESTT Raw Classification data published to the NEP Secure Portal (district view only, not public), district data validity verification |
| September 27, 2019 | Notification of Evidence-based Analysis (EBA) adjustment-eligible schools
|
| October 9, 2019
(Public Release)
|
Full Data Profile and Snapshot published on NEP with AQuESTT Classification and Assessment data (full public view)
|
| October 14, 2019 | Evidence-based Analysis (EBA) evidence due to NDE (for adjustment-eligible schools) |
| October 15-November 1, 2019
|
Review of Evidence-based Analysis (EBA) evidence |
| October 21-25, 2019 | Printed NSCAS General Individual Student Reports (ISRs) delivered to districts |
| November 27, 2019
(Public Release) |
Final AQuESTT Classifications, including EBA adjustments, published on the NEP |
Nebraska Education Profile (NEP) Data Element Release Dates
Contact: Matt Hastings (402 471-2748) https://nep.education.ne.gov/contact.html
Public Schools Only
Below are the data element release dates for the 2019 Nebraska Education Profile (NEP). The NEP provides information and data about Nebraska public schools and student performance. The majority of Nebraska education data for the 2019-2020 school year will be released to the public via the NEP on October 9, 2019. Schools and districts can preview most data elements on September 25, 2019, ahead of the public release, through the NEP Secure collection, located in the NDE Portal under the Data Collections tab. (An activation code is required.) For more information, please visit: http://bit.ly/2019nep.
| Data Element | NEP Secure | NEP Public |
| AQuESTT Classification | ||
| AQuESTT Classification | 09/25/2019 | 10/09/2019 |
| AQuESTT Classification for EBA-Adjustment Eligible Schools | — | 11/27/2019 |
| Education Technology | ||
| District Tech Profile | — | 10/09/2019 |
| Snapshot & Full Data Profile | ||
| Demographics | ||
| Membership/Race Ethnicity | 09/25/2019 | 10/09/2019 |
| Teacher/Race Ethnicity | 09/25/2019 | 10/09/2019 |
| Teacher Experience | 09/25/2019 | 10/09/2019 |
| Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) | 09/25/2019 | 10/09/2019 |
| Program Participation | ||
| English Learners | 09/25/2019 | 10/09/2019 |
| Free & Reduced Lunch | 09/25/2019 | 10/09/2019 |
| High Ability Learners (Gifted) | 09/25/2019 | 10/09/2019 |
| Special Education | 09/25/2019 | 10/09/2019 |
| Special Education Performance Part B | 06/15/2020 | 06/15/2020 |
| Metrics | ||
| Attendance Rates | 09/25/2019 | 10/09/2019 |
| Dropout Rates | 11/27/2019 | 11/27/2019 |
| Performance | ||
| NSCAS ACT | 09/25/2019 | 10/09/2019 |
| NSCAS ELA/Math/Science | 09/25/2019 | 10/09/2019 |
| EDPA 21 | 09/25/2019 | 10/09/2019 |
| Results Matter Gold | 09/25/2019 | 10/09/2019 |
| National Assessment Instrument (NAI) | 09/25/2019 | 10/09/2019 |
| Achievement | ||
| Graduation Cohort Rates | 11/27/2019 | 11/27/2019 |
| College-going Rates | 09/25/2019 | 10/09/2019 |
| Financial | ||
| State Aid/Finance/Per Pupil Cost | 02/01/2020 | 02/01/2020 |
| Mobility | ||
| School Mobility/Highly Mobile | 11/27/2019 | 11/27/2019 |
| ESSA | ||
| ESSA Inexperienced Educators/Provisional | 09/25/2019 | 10/09/2019 |
| ESSA Out-of-Field Teachers | 11/27/2019 | 11/27/2019 |