data training summer [email protected] –207.624.6696 • paula gravelle –school...
TRANSCRIPT
Data Training
Summer 2019
2019-20 MDOE Data Training
➢ August 6th – Caribou High School
➢ August 7th – Brewer High School
➢ August 8th – Ellsworth Elementary-Middle School
➢ August 12th – Cony School
➢ August 13th – Mt. Blue High School
➢ August 14th – Mt. Ararat Middle School
➢ August 15th – Buxton Center Elementary School
MDOE Staff here today
• Ryan Cunningham – Data Systems Helpdesk Manager
• Charlotte Ellis – Data Manager
• Paula Gravelle – School Finance Manager
• Kathy Warren – Data Systems Manager
• Drew Mitchell - Helpdesk Analyst
• Michael Mikrut – Helpdesk Analyst
• Trevor Burns – Student Data Coordinator
• Sarah Adkins – Student Assistance Coordinator
• Gayle Erdheim – McKinney-Vento TDAE Coordinator
Topics for the day
• Why Data Matters – Charlotte Ellis
• Purpose, A.C.T. & Data Security – Ryan Cunningham
• Web Page and helpful resources – Ryan Cunningham
• What's New for 2020 – Ryan Cunningham
• DC&R – Kathy Warren
• Maine Schools/Approvals – Kathy Warren
• NEO Staff Module & MEIS – Drew Mitchell
• Synergy – Michael Mikrut
• Graduation/Student Reports – Trevor Burns
• Behavior/Bullying and RAS – Sarah Adkins
• Truancy – Gayle Erdheim
• Questions, Comments and Concerns
Purpose
• The purpose of this training session is to assist districts in
understanding and reporting staff and student data in
an accurate, complete and timely manner.
• The data requested by the state is data required by
state statute, rule and/or federal law and plays an
important role in funding.
• Districts can utilize this data for school, educator and
student improvement purposes.
Why Data Matters 2019
Maine Department of Education
School Finance and Operations Team
Charlotte Ellis – Education Data Manager
Paula Gravelle – School Finance Manager
Why MDOE Collects Data
# - Accountability and/or Required Reporting
$ - EPS
$F – Federal Funding
§ - Statutory Requirement
Data Collections
• Attendance - $F, #
• Behavior - §, #
• Career and Technical Education (CTE) -
$, $F, §, #
# - Accountability and/or Required Reporting, - $EPS, $F – Federal Funding,
§ - Statutory Requirement
Data Collections
• Certification - §, #
• Incorrect data entry could also have
potential personal costs and/or frustrations for
your staff
• Dropouts - §, #
• Economic Status - $, $F, #
•
# - Accountability and/or Required Reporting, - $EPS, $F – Federal Funding,
§ - Statutory Requirement
Data Collections
• English Learners - $, $F, #
• Graduation - §, #
• Maine Schools/School Approval - $,$F,§,#
• Special Education - $,$F,§,#
# - Accountability and/or Required Reporting, - $EPS, $F – Federal Funding,
§ - Statutory Requirement
Data Collections
• Staff - $,$F,§,#
• Incorrect data entry could also have
potential personal costs and/or frustrations for
your staff
• Student Enrollment - $,$F,§,#
# - Accountability and/or Required Reporting, - $EPS, $F – Federal Funding,
§ - Statutory Requirement
Data Collections
• Student Personal $,$F,§,#
• Truancy - §,#
# - Accountability and/or Required Reporting, - $EPS, $F – Federal Funding,
§ - Statutory Requirement
Equity versus Equality
EPS Per-Pupil Rates – ED 279 Page 1
Elementary and secondary per-pupil rates are calculated for each
school district. Elements used in this calculation:
❖ Number of students attending the schools in the district
❖ EPS Staff Positions:
• Experience and education level of staff
• Ratios of students to staff
• Salary matrixes
❖ Percentages for benefits
❖ Other Support Per-Pupil Costs • Substitute Teachers; Supplies & Equipment; Professional Development; Instructional
Leadership Support; Co- and Extra-Curricular Student Support; System Administration/Support;
Operations & Maintenance
❖ Regional Adjustments
Operating Cost Allocations – ED 279 Page 2
Key components for operating allocations
❖ Subsidizable student counts:
• PreK, K-8, and 9-12
• Adult Ed course counts for 16-20 year olds
• Equivalent instruction
❖ Weighted student Counts:
• Economically Disadvantaged
• English Learners
❖ Additional Targeted Funds:
• Assessment
• Technology Resources
• PreK and K-2
• Economically Disadvantaged
❖ Isolated Small School Adjustments
• EPS October 1 Student Counts Summary Example
Other Allocations – ED 279 Page 3
Key components for other allocations
❖ Other Subsidizable Costs
• Approved Gifted & Talented programs
• Special Education – EPS Allocation
• Special Education – High Cost Out-of-District Allocation
• Transportation Operating – EPS Allocation
• Approved Bus Purchases
❖ Teacher Retirement – Normalized Cost (employer share)
❖ Debt Service Allocations
• Principal & Interest Payments approved for subsidy purposes
• Approved Leases
• Insured Value Factor
State and Local Shares – ED 279 Page 4
Key components for determining State and Local shares
❖ Subsidizable Student Counts
❖ Total Allocations
• Operating Allocation
• Other Subsidizable Cost Allocation
• Teacher Retirement Allocation
• Debt Service Allocation
❖ Fiscal Capacity – State Valuation by Town
• Beginning in FY 20, Lesser of 3-Year Average Valuation or
Previous year Valuation
❖ State Appropriation
Data Errors from FY 20 Subsidy Calculation
Data Error – Staff Subsidy $
1 FTE Ed Tech not identified as Special Ed $735.35
3 FTE Health Staff incorrectly identified as Special Ed $24,230.11
.5 FTE Librarian & .2 FTE Health did not count for EPS $10,831.52
Teacher incorrectly listed with Bachelor’s Degree,
actually has Master’s Degree
$5,661.60
Data Error – Students Subsidy $
34 Students not identified as English Learners $113,044.05
3 Students not identified as Economic Disadvantaged $1,473.84
24 Students not identified as Economic Disadvantaged $42,512.27
132 Students not identified as Economic Disadvantaged $1,093,873.50
58 Adult Education Courses missing from EF-M-39 A & B $42,780.80
Data Errors from FY 20 Subsidy Calculation
Data Error – Financials Subsidy $
Gifted & Talented Expenditures not uploaded in MEFS $2,755.00
Gifted & Talented Expenditures not uploaded in MEFS $20,000.00
Special Education High Cost Out-of-District Reporting Error $4,995.92
Data Error – CTE Subsidy $
Supplies incorrectly listed as Equipment in budget $15,000.00
Additional Square Footage not reported $56,739.95
If you have questions or ideas on how we
can help you ensure accurate and
complete data - Please contact us!
• Charlotte Ellis – Education Data Manager
[email protected] – 207.624.6696
• Paula Gravelle – School Finance Manager
[email protected] – 207.624.6792
#WhyDataMatters
A.C.T.- Accurate, Complete & Timely
• State and federal reportable data submissions need
be accurate, complete and timely and in order to
be of use to:
– District and school administrators
– Educators
– Policymakers & Lawmakers
– Program-decisionmakers
– Parents
– Community members
Data Security
• FERPA-Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act
• Sending identifiable student information over
unsecured email is a Federal FERPA violation.
• If sending anything other than a student or staff ID
number please request a secure email.
• Requesting a Secure Email is as easy as sending the
helpdesk an email asking for a secure email.
Current Web Page
• https://www.maine.gov/doe/data-reporting/collection/helpdesk
NEO, Synergy and MEIS Access
• Users must first have an active staff assignment in
NEO Staff
• Superintendents MUST approve access
• ONLY Superintendents may have Superintendent
access rights
• Rights/views will look different depending on access
– not everyone sees the same
• Online access request forms are located on the
Helpdesk web page
https://www.maine.gov/doe/data-reporting/collection/helpdesk
What's New for 2019-2020
Student Data
What's New for 2019-2020 – Student Data
• Start Status field has been added to the Student
Personal upload to avoid duplicates
• 4YO’s and Early Kindergarten to be merged into
one grade – Pre-Kindergarten (PK)
• Exit code 01918 has been changed from home
school to home instruction to align with statute
• Exit code 01917 has had Arthur R Gould added to
the description
What's New for 2019-2020 – Student Data
• Updated Alternate Economically Disadvantage
Survey
• Not for nutrition purposes and should not be collected or
entered by your nutrition staff
• SAUs) that do not collect school lunch information because
they have chosen to implement the Community Eligibility
Provision (CEP) for the federal school nutrition funds purposes,
or for some other reason; are still required to report individual
student information
• The State Department of Education will utilize the Economic
Status to determine the Economically Disadvantaged
percentage for each school administrative unit’s subsidizablestudents.
What's New for 2019-2020 – Student Data
What's New for 2019-2020 – Student Data
• NEO Home Instruction Module
• Monthly Data Team Webinars
• Web Service/API (Application Programming Interface)
• JIT (Just in Time) Videos
What's New for 2019-2020 – Student Data
• Non-Maine School will now hold concurrent
enrollments with the responsible district holding the
primary enrollment.
• Responsible districts that do not operate a school
with the students grade level will need to work with
other districts to find a school to hold the primary. If
this becomes an issue then the responsible district
should contact the MEDMS helpdesk for assistance.
Changes to Truancy Collection for 2019-
2020
• The following fields have been removed from
Truancy upload and data entry screens:
– End Date
– End Status
– End Comment
– Pause Date
– Pause Code
– Pause Note
– Resume Date
– Resume Note
Changes to Truancy Collection for 2019-
2020
• Truancy incidents will auto-close and end date
when enrollments are exited with the following exit
reasons:01908 Transferred to a public school in a different local education agency in the same state
01909 Transferred to a school in a different state
01916 Transferred to a school outside of the country
01917 Transferred to an institution
01918 Transferred to home schooling
01919 Transferred to a charter school
01921 Graduated with regular, advanced, International Baccalaureate, or other type of diploma
01923 Died
01925 Expelled or involuntarily withdrawn
01926 Reached maximum age for services
01927 Discontinued schooling
73060 Officially withdrew and enrolled in ABE, adult secondary education, or adult ESL program
73061 Officially withdrew and enrolled in a workforce training program
00027 Transfer to a Maine private school
Changes to Truancy Collection for 2019-
2020
• Notes are no longer required for the following actions:
– Superintendent notification
– Parent notification
– School Board notification
– Official Parent Meeting
• While there is no longer a dependency between
Intervention plan (1) and Notification of
Superintendent (2) and there is no longer a
dependency between Parent Notification (3) and
School Board notification (4)
• Intervention plan and Notification of
Superintendent MUST be done before Parent
Notification and School Board notification
Changes to EL Data Collection for 2020
• Addition of an “EL Reentry Date” online form
https://mainedoe.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0S
oEvVrkhi4mzYN
• Removal of Sign Language as Language Option
• The Removal of 37 Antiquated Languages
• Removal of the Following from Enrollment Upload
and Manual Entry:
➢ShelteredEnglish
➢HeritageLanguage
➢BilingualEducation
Changes to EL Data Collection for 2020
• Addition of the Following English Learner Program
Types:
• Transitional Bilingual
– Instruction begins in the students’ primary/home
language, in order not to delay content learning.
Students develop English proficiency as quickly
as possible so that all instruction may then be in
English.
Changes to EL Data Collection for 2020
• Dual Language or Two-way Immersion
Instruction is in the students’ primary/home
language part of the time and in English the rest of
the time, with the goal of developing proficiency
and academic skills in both languages. Two-way
immersion programs include students from each
language group.
Changes to EL Data Collection for 2020
• English as Second Language (ESL) or English
Language Development (ELD)
Instruction is in English only. Students learn
academic content through English while
developing proficiency in English. Typically, ESL/ELD
programs involve direct pull-out or push-in
instruction from an ESL-endorsed teacher.
Changes to EL Data Collection for 2020
• Content Classes with integrated ESL support
Instruction is in English only. The ESL-endorsed
teacher supports the content teacher in delivering
effective instruction for English learners, and/or the
content teacher is ESL-endorsed.
Changes to EL Data Collection for 2020
• Newcomer programs
Recently-arrived immigrants, especially those with
limited or interrupted formal schooling, are
provided with intensive language, cultural, and
academic skills programming to prepare them to
enter the mainstream. Typically, students remain in
newcomer programs for no longer than one year,
per federal guidance.
Changes to CTE Data Collection for 2020
• Displaced Homemaker title has been changed to
Out-of-Work Individual.
➢ Has worked primarily without remuneration (no pay) to care
for a home and family, and for that reason has diminished marketable skills; or
➢ Is a parent whose youngest dependent child will become
ineligible to receive assistance under part A of title IV of the
Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) not later than 2
years after the date on which the parent applies for
assistance under such title; and
➢ Is unemployed or underemployed and is experiencing
difficulty in obtaining or upgrading employment.
Changes to CTE Data Collection for 2020
• New field being added – 700 Institutional Hours per
Year (The student is receiving at least 700
instructional hours in the CTE program in one year).
• The 700 hour field will be used rarely and is for
students who are registered in the same program
and same school twice within a given year (a
student taking 2 years of instruction in 1 year).
Changes to Military Connected Student
Indicator for 2020
What's New for 2019-2020
Staff Data
What's New for 2019-2020 – Staff Data
• Educator ID added to the Certification Application Look-up
What's New for 2019-2020 – Staff Data
• Educator ID added to the NEO Staff Search
What's New for 2019-2020 – Staff Data
• Private schools no longer required to enter staff
FTE’s or salaries.
What's New for 2019-2020 – Staff Data
• New Staff Position – JMG Skills Instructor
• A JMG Skills Instructor is a contracted staff member
employed by Jobs for Maine Graduates that
teaches courses aimed at building student’s post-
secondary career skills. Required certifications,
endorsements and/or licenses: None*.
What's New for 2019-2020 – Staff Data
• New Staff Position – Visiting Teacher
A teacher from a country other than the United States
who is participating in a visiting teacher program
established and administered by the Department or a
locally established sister-school exchange may teach
in a school in Maine. The teacher is authorized to act
as an adjunct to existing staff and may not be used to
avoid the hiring of professional, certified teachers.
Required certifications, endorsements and/or licenses:
None*.
Data Collection &
Reporting (DC&R)Kathy Warren
Data Collection & Data Quality
To ensure that DOE is able to provide districts with
complete, accurate & timely reporting and funding all
school level data needs to be submitted within the filing
windows.
This allows DOE to:
➢ Complete data validation
➢ Ensure early identification of problems and accurate
processing of any needed corrections
➢ Provide processing of any approved exceptions in a
timely manner.
Data Collection & Reporting
Calendar
The purpose of the DC& R Reporting Calendar is for SAU’s
to:
1) Identify Reports needing to be submitted
2) Look up dates that filing windows begin and end
3) Verify data submission and certifications have been
received by DOE for use in providing school funding and
meeting state and federal reporting requirements.
➢ Focus on the Filing Window Open Date
➢ Standardized Reporting dates:
1st , 15th & 30th
➢ Category Change:
Not Submitted replaces
Overdue
➢ Reordered:
• Current
• Not Submitted
• Future
• Completed
Data Collection & Reporting - 19-20 Changes
➢ Statuses Revised:
Accepted/Approved changed to Accepted
Past Due/Submitted changed to Accepted-Past Due
Data Collection & Reporting - 19-20
Changes
DC&R Reporting Calendar – Details link
Maine Schools &
ApprovalsKathy Warren
Maine School Details & School Approval
All activity for the new school year is dependent on the submission and
completion of the Organization data in this report and the statutory approval of the schools in your district.
For 19-20 Maine Schools opened on May 1st and was due on June 30th. By completing this report in the Spring schools ensure summer work can be completed on time.
NEO Staff opens July 1st and Staff Certification is due October 31st
Student Enrollment entry and validation began on August 1st.
Student Enrollment Certification opens on October 1st and closes on October 31st .
Where Data Matters …
The Data Team has to have our statewide staff & student count completed and validated by November 1st and finalized by November 15th, passing high quality data on to the School Finance team to ensure accurate allocation of state subsidy.
The School Finance Team must then calculate EPS and provide the Bureau of Budget complete and accurate estimates by December 15th so that they are prepared for the legislative session that begins in early January. These are statutory requirements.
February 1st we must be ready to publish preliminary 279’s to be used in the preparation of your local budgets
NEXT Stops … Assessment rosters (March, April, May)
Accountability (MMSS) (May)
Graduation (June, July & August)
NEO Staff ModuleDrew Mitchell
Online NEO Staff Resources
What is NEO Staff?
• The NEO Staff system is an application to record
data on all staff members.
• The NEO Staff System is NOT a personnel system.
– There is no association with the NEO Staff data
and the data Maine PERS retirement system may
collect.
– NEO Staff simply lists staff members who are
actively employed at any moment in time during
a school year.
• Data entered in NEO Staff is used for both EPS and
Certification needs, and as needed reports for state
and federal programs.
Who needs to be entered?
• All staff persons employed by the school
administrative unit must be entered into NEO Staff. In
addition, all contractors employed in a position
required for EPS reporting and/or in a position with
sustained direct unsupervised access to students must
be entered into NEO Staff.
• Include contracted staff for work that is
considered part of the regular operations; Examples
may include bus drivers, school nurses, psychologists,
and physical therapists.
Who needs to be entered?
• Include staff employed by another entity that
is contracted to provide work that can be
considered part of the district’s regular operations.
– These staff work within the district but are
employees of the entity with which the district
contracts.
– The district does not pay retirement or other
benefits.
– Examples may include staff of the school; school
security personnel provided by a private firm; or
outsourced Pre-K programs.
Who needs to NOT be entered?
• Do not include employees of contractors who
provide a non-regular service; these are staff furnished
by the contractor, on- or off-site, to provide the
service.
– Examples may include carpenters or electricians
working for a firm hired to refurbish school
building(s).
SAU Search Screen
• The SAU Search screen is ideal to search all currently employed
staff in your district.
• This is also an easy way to access staff on one screen to see who is
in “pending” status. Filtering the Pending field will bring Yes’s to the
top.
Staff Search Screen
• The Staff Search screen is used to locate any staff person in
Maine. One must know the SSN of the staff person in order to
associate the person to the school district.
• The person lookup looks for any person that may potentially be in
NEO already through the current NEO modules instead of
duplicating a person.
Edit Staff Record Screen
• This screen is where you can make name changes to Highest Degree Earned or Name.
• In order to make a change you need the SSN or the Educator ID (Acquired from MEIS) of the staff member.
• SSN and DOB edits require you to call the helpdesk
Assignment Grid
• Lists all assignments for a staff member including ones from other districts
- Districts can only edit data for their own district but can view all data
entered.
- If there is a previous district’s assignment listed, that should be exited
before entering your assignment to avoid errors related to EPS totals
• Total EPS FTE cannot exceed 1.0 for any staff person in a given year
- Total FTE can exceed 1.0
Add or Edit Assignments
Year of Experience
• Zero if brand new to the position (IE: Ed tech going
to a teaching role, or teachers going to a Principal
role).
• Previous experience in the position, regardless if it’s
within the district or out of state is entered into this
field (having 6 years experience teaching would be
entered if they’re entering a teaching role).
• CTE has two experience fields – Year of Experience
and Professional Experience. Professional
experience would be experience in whatever field
you’re licensed in (IE: Welding, Carpentry,
Plumbing).
FTE and Salary
• If a classroom teacher teaches two subjects
then they will have two assignments each
with an FTE of 0.5 and each assignment
should have 50% of their salary. In the past
we have had staff members with multiple
assignments and their full salary was entered
under each assignment.
Doing this will skew the data.
Staff – Special Education Question
• If personnel work part of their time with children
without disabilities, and other times with children with
disabilities (IDEA), report only the proportion of their
FTE that the related services personnel works
specifically with children with disabilities (IDEA)
receiving special education and related services.
• This is a separate FTE calculation just for IDEA
– It is used for EFS- 05 - Pt 2 reporting
Staff –
Special Education Question & Calculation
• The questions now located in Staff will help to replace the old MEDMS EFS-01 part 2
• Position FTE requires estimation akin to… “about 1/3 of the students I work with have
disabilities and I work half time, so I work (1/3)*.5 = 0.166666 = 17% FTE with students with
disabilities”.
Calculations need to be entered as a %
Job Titles Impacted
• Athletic Trainer
• Audiologist
• Board Certified Behavior Analyst
• Counselor or Rehabilitation Counselor
• Director of Guidance
• Ed Tech I, II, III
• Employment Coordinator
• Guidance Counselor
• Interpreter
• Nurse
• Occupational Therapist
• Orientation and Mobility Specialist
• Recreation/Therapeutic Recreation Specialist
• Physical Therapist
• Psychometrics/Psychological Ex
• School Psychiatrist
• School Social Worker
• Sign Language Interpreter
• Special Education Consultant
• Special Education Teacher
• Speech & Hearing Clinician
• Speech-Language Pathologist
• Certified Assistive Tech Professional
• Certified Employment Specialist
• Interpreter or Translator for the Deaf
• Licensed Clinical Professional Counselors
• Licensed Marriage and Family Therapists
• Occupational Therapy Aides
• Physical Therapists Assistant
• Speech – Language Pathology Aides and Assistants
• Physician/Doctor
• Health Assistant
• Other Special Education Service Provider
Creating a Long Term Sub & how to return the
original teacher
• In order to add a “Substitute Teacher – Long
Term” assignment, you must designate a
current active Classroom Teacher and set
the Classroom Teacher to be “On Leave”.
• When the Classroom Teacher returns from
leave, the assignment is set to “Return from
Leave” and the application will
automatically end the assignment of the
Long Term Sub.
Creating a Long Term Sub & how to
return the original teacher
• Creating the assignment for the Long Term sub will look similar to this once you select the long term sub position
• This is for classroom teachers only.
Creating a Long Term Sub & how to return the
original teacher
• Note that once you select the school, additional information
appears displaying all current Classroom Teachers in the
school which you selected.
• You must select a name from this list in order to continue. This
one-to-one relationship will continue until the teacher that
went on leave returns.
– It is permissible to create more than one Long Term Sub
position for each Classroom Teacher position going on a
Leave of Absence as long as the cumulative totals of the
EPS FTE for the Long Term subs do not exceed the EPS FTE of
the Classroom Teacher.
– The remainder of the assignment must be completed and
the record submitted. By entering the Long Term Substitute
before the Classroom Teacher, it will automatically put the
Classroom Teacher on leave by saving the Long Term Sub
assignment.
Creating a Long Term Sub & how to return the
original teacher
• You may also put a person on leave without actually
replacing them with a Long Term Substitute. Find the teaching
assignment in question then from the Actions menu, select
“Leave of Absence”.
– Once this is selected, you will be asked to enter the Leave Date, check the confirmation box and click Leave.
• To return the Classroom Teacher from Leave of Absence,
locate the staff person’s record, then from the Actions Menu,
select “Return from Leave”. This will automatically end the
assignment of the Long Term Substitute (If there is a sub) and
end the Leave of the Classroom Teacher.
– Please note that the original assignment of the Classroom
Teacher will not be re-created. You must complete the
Add Assignment section for the Classroom Teacher.
Staff Certification
Staff Certification
• Prior to the superintendent’s certification all current
staff must be given an active assignment(s) for the
current school year
• The staff certification will not be accepted if the
certification report contains any pending records or
if there is any missing data in the designated roles
section of the certification report
– SAUs without a librarian or nurse can select the
superintendent as the district role without
actually giving them a staff assignment for that
role.
Staff Certification
• There are five columns on the staff certification
report
• Number of Active Staff – the number of active staff
members with this position
• Number of Active Positions – the number of active
positions with this position
• Total FTE – this is the total FTE count for staff
members in this position district wide. Total FTE
equals EPS FTE plus non-EPS FTE
Staff Certification
• Total EPS FTE - this is the total EPS FTE count for staff
members in this position district wide. EPS FTE is only
listed if there are staff assigned to EPS Positions
• Number of Pending Positions – the number of staff
members in this position that have pending
assignments within the district. If there are any staff
assignments pending, the superintendent will not be
able to certify the staff data
Staff Certification
• The district roles section is where you indicate
which staff members perform critical roles within the
district.
• Anyone with SAU admin access to the staff module
within NEO can update the designated roles for
their district throughout the school year. It is
important that this is done because the designee
you list is the one that is listed in all public reports. It
is not necessary for the superintendent to recertify if
changes are made after December 1st
Staff Certification
These roles should
be filled by
whomever is
performing these
functions, and
updated
whenever this
changes during
the year.
Tips for 2019 Staff
• 2018 saw the creation of the Staff Job Position
Description Document.
• The Staff Job Position Description Document gives
general descriptions and indicates what
endorsements, certifications and/or professional
licenses are required.
– https://www.maine.gov/doe/data-
reporting/collection/helpdesk/resources/staff-
dataentry-guides
– Example of “fits in the bucket” would be someone with a
title such as “K-12 Risk Assessment/Mental Health Specialist”. They would be entered as “Other Special
Education Services Provider” in NEO.
Tips for 2019 Staff
• CTE CIP codes are now tied to schools that offer
the class, which means you will no longer be able to
add an unapproved CIP to your students.
– A useful tool for entering CTE staff is the School
CIP List, which lists all the schools and the CTE
classes linked to that school
– https://www.maine.gov/doe/data-
reporting/collection/helpdesk/resources/staff-dataentry-guides
Maine Educator
Information System
(MEIS)Drew Mitchell
What is MEIS?
• MEIS is a system used primarily for Certification &
Credentialing of Maine Educators
• This is an online process that is handled by the
Certification team
• MEIS works in conjunction with NEO to properly
depict staff positions
• MEIS can also provide useful information about
your staff - Educators and staff that are up for
renewal or are in violation
What is MEIS?
• The Certification report shows educators and
admins who are in violation
• The Educators up for renewal reports shows those
who are due to renew their credentials
– Both reports are accessible via the Maine
Educator Information System (MEIS).
– The reports are available to Superintendents,
Chair Persons, and those with the District Human
Resources role.
MEIS Online Resources
• Creating a MEIS account - This document provides
step by step instructions on how to create your
online account
• New Superintendent assignment – Explains how to
create a Superintendent MEIS account
• Designating Chair Persons – How to designate a
district chair person
MEIS Online Resources
• Assigning District Human Resources role – Steps on
assigning a staff member with the ability to access
the Certification Report (Violations list)
– The MEIS Access Request form is found here on
the MEDMS Helpdesk
• Accessing the Certification Report – Specifically for
Human Resource (DSTHR) role.
• Resetting your password – This document goes over
how to reset your MEIS password in the event you
forget it
Certification Report
These are the three roles for report access as they appear when you sign in
Certification Report
• If you’re unsure why someone appears in violation we
recommend you contact us at the MEDMS Helpdesk.
• If we’re (The helpdesk) unable to find an issue we will send you
to Certification.
Educators up for renewal
These are the three roles for report access as they appear when you sign in
Educators up for renewal
• The top portion of this report shows those you have recommended for renewal
• The bottom portion of this report shows those who are due to renew• Educators can appear on this report for up to six months after they leave the district
How can we help?
• The MEDMS helpdesk can assist with creating
accounts and assigning permissions to accounts
(District Human Resource role). We should also be
the initial contact for issues with staff showing in
violation on the Certification Report.
• If you need assistance with anything beyond
accessing your account (logging into MEIS), how to
assign roles within MEIS (Chair person, DSTHR role), or
questions regarding a staff member appearing in
violation then please contact the Certification
Department.
– [email protected] or 207-624-6603.
SynergyMichael Mikrut
Synergy Introduction: 5 W’s
What?
Where?
Who?
When?
Why?
➢ Web Application that collects student data.
➢ https://me-mdoe.edupoint.com/Login.aspx
➢ Student Enrollment & Data Specialists.
➢ Frequently, as student enrollments change.
➢ All State (ergo Federal) reporting is based on a foundation of accurate, complete, and timely
Synergy data.
Introduction
How? • MANUAL – one student at a time, directly
into each Synergy module on the website.
• UPLOAD – multiple student records at once,
your local SIS exports a .TXT or .CSV file.
• WEB SERVICE – Local SISs can talk directly
with Synergy through an API.
• Guides are available on the Helpdesk >
Synergy Instructions page:
https://www.maine.gov/doe/data-
reporting/collection/helpdesk/resources
/synergy_instructions
State ID
State ID
• A student needs to have a State ID before any
other upload or data entry can occur.
• IDs are created for students’ first entry to a Maine
School.
• The same ID follows the student as they move
around the state; or leave and return to the state.
State ID: Upload
Student Enrollment
Enrollment
• Most data in Synergy is dependent on a student’s
primary enrollment.
• Without a primary enrollment a student can’t:
-Be enrolled at a CTE/Day Treatment school…
-Have an economic status…
-Have a truancy/behavior incident…
Enrollment: Start Dates
Enrollment Concurrent
Economic Status
=
It’s no longer possible for start dates of secondary records to exist
outside the primary enrollment…:
Enrollment: Start Dates
Enrollment Concurrent
Economic Status
=
• Enroll a student in Synergy for the day they set foot in the building
for instruction*.
• The primary enrollment start date determines when other records
can start.
Enrollment: Concurrents
• Same process as Primaries.
• Uploads will use an ‘S’ for the “Enrollment Type’.
• Cannot enter a student’s Resident District, Town,
Grade, or Fiscal Responsibility. Pulled automatically
from the Primary.
• Only certain schools are allowed to do Concurrents:– CTE Schools
– Special Purpose Private Schools
– Regional Programs
• Remember: Concurrents can only exist within the
bounds of other Primary enrollments!
-Primary schools may be asked to enroll earlier
so Concurrents may enroll.
Enrollment: Manual & Upload
Student Personal
Personal
Required:
• Race – Hispanic Y/N + Race
• Sex – legal gender
• DOB
As Needed:
– Immigrant Status
– Refugee Status
– English Learner - Home Language & US School
Start
*Refer to the Student Data Standards document for
definitions and clarification.
Personal: Upload
Economic Status
Economic Status
• Used to indicate if a student is "economically
disadvantaged".
• Done for all students.
• Can be determined a few different ways:…
Economic Status Determination
• Student is listed on the Direct Certification list from
the Maine Department of Health and Human
Resources (DHHS), or
• Student's parent or guardian has completed
an Application for Free/Reduced Lunch Meals and
the family income falls within the program
guidelines, or
• Student's parent or guardian has completed a form
requesting economic status information and the
family income falls within the program guidelines.
Economic Status: Manual & Upload
Special Education
Special Education
• Entered into Synergy by the Attending School.*
– Refer to the Enrollment Guidance document on the
Helpdesk Site for a list of all scenarios.
• Each SAU is responsible for verifying and certifying
the accuracy of the student count for
all Responsible students. (October EFS-05-Part 1)
Special Education: Manual & Upload
Special Education : Exits and Dates
• Parents refuse Services is Preschool only.
• Exit to Regular Ed is used after PR
o Keep in mind Synergy is not an entire historical
record.
o We are essentially only collecting who is receiving
Special Education services for a reporting period.
Student Career Technical Education - CTE
Career Technical Education (CTE)
• Students concurrently enrolled at a CTE School
should also have their CTE programs entered into
Synergy.
• Each CTE School is approved for certain CIPs
(Classification of Instructional Programs), Synergy
checks this upon entry.
• Approved CIP lists are available on the Helpdesk >
Synergy Uploads page.
CTE: Upload & Manual
English Learners - EL
English Learners (EL)
• English learners are students with a primary or home
language other than English and have not proven
proficiency.
• Reports determine status by EL Start Date under
Student > Demographics.
– Make sure to also specify their Home Language +
US School Start Date (in Student Personal upload)• If unknown, use the student’s enrollment start date
English Learners: Manual & Upload
Student Attendance
Attendance
• Days Enrolled : Number of days the student should have been
receiving instruction with the school.
• Days Present : Number of days the student was present for
50%+ of their instructional day.
• Days Excused Absences : Number of days the student had a
legitimate reason to not have been in attendance.- Does Not count towards Truancy.
- Does count towards Chronic Absenteeism.
• Quarter : Which quarter the attendance is tied to.
• Program Days: Number of instructional days the district has this
quarter.
Attendance : Concurrent Schools
• All Attending schools track their own attendance.
Primary Concurrent= 10 days = 11 days
Attendance: Manual & Upload
Truancy
Truancy: Definitions
• A student aged 7 or above who hasn’t completed
6th grade and has 5 or more consecutive
unexcused absences.
• A student aged 7 or above who hasn’t completed
6th grade and has 7 or more cumulative unexcused
absences.
• A student who has completed 6th grade but is not
yet 17 and has 7 or more consecutive unexcused
absences.
• A student who has completed 6th grade but is not
yet 17 and has 10 or more cumulative unexcused
absences.
Truancy: Manual & Upload
Student Behavior
Student Discipline/Behavior
• Quick rules:
– Student misses class time as a disciplinary result
– Alcohol related
– Drug related
– Weapons related
– Violence related
• Defintions and Guidance:
https://www.maine.gov/doe/sites/maine.gov.doe/fi
les/inline-files/BehaviorGuidanceSynergy_1.pdf
Discipline: Manual & Upload
Graduation &
Dropout ReportingTrevor Burns
Graduation Reporting
Located in NEO-Graduation Module:
https://neo.maine.gov/doe/neo/graduation
Since last year, graduation and dropout reporting has been
separated into three reports and four steps.
The steps that make up this process are as follows:
Graduation Phase I, End of year exits, Graduation Phase II and
Dropout reporting
Dates
Graduation Phase I: Opens- Apr. 1st Closes- May. 15th
End of year Exits: Open- All Year Close- Mid July
Graduation Phase II: Opens- Aug. 1st Closes- Aug. 30th
Dropouts: Opens- Nov. 1st Closes- Nov. 30th
Graduation Reporting
Phase I
This phase of the report is to allow district’s
to modify/correct the first three years of the
current cohort’s historical start and exit statuses that
have occurred under their district.
Once this phase ends, you will no longer be allowed
to edit the first three years of start/end codes.
Graduation Reporting
Phase I
Navigation:
Once logged in to NEO, go to Graduation Data, then
hover over the Graduation tab to select
“Graduation Phase I”
If required, select your district from the drop down.
Graduation Reporting
Phase IThings to note:
• Column Definitions
• Validate scenarios(dropout, currently enrolled)
• Can only edit where there’s ownership
• Year Dropped out 2019
• Comments required
Validate = School Cohort + Transfer-Ins - Transfer-Outs – Early Grads
- Dropouts
A breakdown of the Transfer counts from start and exit codes can be found
on the helpdesk’s webpage, located under ‘Data Resources’ and ‘Data
Reporting Instructions’. The document is labeled ‘Graduation & Dropout
Reporting Instructions’ and the implications are included at the bottom of
the instructions.
https://www.maine.gov/doe/data-reporting/collection/helpdesk/resources/data-
reporting-instructions
Start/Exit Codes
Start Codes
Start
CodeStart Reason Transfer In Conditions
01821Transfer from a public school in the same local education agency
Yes w/
Conditions
To be granted the transfer in: Needs a previous
enrollment
01822
Transfer from a public school in a different local education agency in the
same state
Yes w/
Conditions
To be granted the transfer in: Needs a previous
enrollment
01823 Transfer from a public school in a different state Yes
01830 Transfer from a school outside of the country Yes
01831Transfer from an institution
Yes w/
Conditions
To be granted the transfer in: Needs a previous
enrollment
01832Transfer from a charter school
Yes w/
Conditions
To be granted the transfer in: Needs a previous
enrollment
01833 Transfer from home schooling Yes
01835 Re-entry from the same school with no interruption of schooling No
01836
Re-entry after a voluntary withdrawal (from same school)Yes w/
Conditions
To be granted the transfer in: Was last exited as
Discontinued schooling, Withdrawing to Adult Ed, or
Withdrawing to Workforce Program and student
received dropout for this exit
01837
Re-entry after an involuntary withdrawal (from same school)Yes w/
Conditions
To be granted the transfer in: Was last exited as
Expelled and student received dropout for this exit
01838 Original entry into a United States school Yes
00015 Transfer from an approved Maine private school Yes
00041Re-entry after a voluntary withdrawal (from different school)
Yes w/
Conditions
To be granted the transfer in: Needs a previous
enrollment
00051Re-entry after an involuntary withdrawal (from different school)
Yes w/
Conditions
To be granted the transfer in: Needs a previous
enrollment
Exit Code Exit Reason Dropout Transfer Out Condition
01907 Transfer to a Maine public school in same LEANo w/
Conditions
Yes w/
Conditions
To be granted the transfer out:
4th year HS student - An enrollment will need to be created before October 1st of the following school year,
with the same LEA.
Non-4th year HS student - An enrollment will need to be created by the end of the following school year, with
the same LEA.
01908Transferred to a public school in a different local
education agency in the same state
No w/
Conditions
Yes w/
Conditions
To be granted the transfer out:
4th year HS student - An enrollment will need to be created before October 1st of the following school year,
with a different LEA.
Non-4th year HS student - An enrollment will need to be created by the end of the following school year, with a
different LEA.
01909 Transferred to a school in a different state No Yes
01916 Transferred to a school outside of the country No Yes
01917 Transferred to an institutionNo w/
Conditions
Yes w/
Conditions
To be granted the transfer out:
4th year HS student - The student must be committed to an institution by October 1st of the following school
year. This does not include detained students.
Non-4th year HS student - The student must be committed to an institution by the end of the following school
year. This does not include detained students.
01918 Transferred to home schooling No Yes
01919 Transferred to a charter schoolNo w/
Conditions
Yes w/
Conditions
To be granted the transfer out:
4th year HS student - An enrollment will need to be created before October 1st of the following school year,
with a charter school.
Non-4th year HS student - An enrollment will need to be created by the end of the following school year, with a
charter school.
01921Graduated with regular, advanced, International
Baccalaureate, or other type of diplomaNo No note: once a student is exited with this code, they cannot return the following year.
01923 Died No Yes
01925 Expelled Yes No
01926 Reached maximum age for services No No note: student must be 20 years of age as of July 1
01927 Discontinued schooling (student formally withdraws)Yes w/
Conditions
No w/
conditions
To be granted the transfer out:
all students - An enrollment will need to be created before October 1st of the following school year.
01930Enrolled in a postsecondary early admission program,
eligible to returnNo Yes
01931 Not enrolled, unknown statusYes w/
Conditions
No w/
Conditions
To be granted the transfer out:
4th year HS student - An enrollment will need to be created before October 1st of the following school year.
Non-4th year HS student - An enrollment will need to be created by the end of the following school year.
03502 Not enrolled, eligible to returnYes w/
Conditions
No w/
Conditions
To be granted the transfer out:
4th year HS student - An enrollment will need to be created before October 1st of the following school year.
Non-4th year HS student - An enrollment will need to be created by the end of the following school year.
03503 Enrolled in a foreign exchange program, eligible to return No Yes
03504Withdrawn from school, under the age for compulsory
attendance; eligible to returnNo No Note: This code should only be used for students under the age of 7.
73060Officially withdrew and enrolled in ABE, adult secondary
education, or adult ESL program
Yes w/
Conditions
No w/
Conditions
To be granted the transfer out:
all students - An enrollment will need to be created before October 1st of the following school year.
73061Officially withdrew and enrolled in a workforce training
program
Yes w/
Conditions
No w/
Conditions
To be granted the transfer out:
all students - An enrollment will need to be created before October 1st of the following school year.
00027 Transfer to a private school No Yes
23099 Update of EPS Related Data No No Note: should never be used as a final exit.
Exit Codes
Graduation Reporting
Phase I
Once all of the ‘Validate’ statuses have been cleaned
up, you are now ready to complete Graduation Phase I.
Graduation Reporting
Phase IINavigation:
Once logged in to NEO go to Graduation Data and
hover over the ‘Graduation’ tab, then select
‘Graduation Phase II’.
If required, select your district from the drop down box
Graduation Reporting
Phase II
The graduation reports are broken down into 4
sections. All need to be completed.
Completers: All students who graduated in 18/19 school year
4-Year: Students who are a part of the 18/19 cohort year(expected
graduates)
5-Year: 5th year students who were a part of the 17/18 cohort year
6-Year: 6th year students who were a part of the 16/17 cohort year
Graduation Reporting
Phase II
This phase of the report is to allow district’s to validate that the
information in their 4-Yr, 5-Yr and 6-Yr reports is correct and
accurate.
During Phase II, only the student’s final current year exit may be
edited.
Students must meet graduation requirements on or
before Aug. 15th, to be considered on time graduates(4-year).
4-Year Grad ReportFrom the landing page click on ‘view’ for the 4-YR
Graduation to view all student records in the
current cohort.
4-Year Grad ReportOnce all of the data has been verified, press the ‘Complete’ button located at the bottom of the report.
5th- and 6th– year
The 5th-year report is the 17-18 Cohort
The 6th-year report is the 16-17 Cohort
Completers Report• Lists all students that were exited with the Graduation
status(01921) during the 2018-19 year regardless of
cohort.
• Students with a count of 0 were once marked as
graduates
Graduation Reporting
Phase II
Once all of your reports have been marked ‘Completed’, you
will now be able to submit the report to the DOE via the submit
button at the bottom of the page.
Graduation Reporting
Phase II
If accepted, your Superintendent will need to
‘certify’ the report.
*Need picture of certify screen when it opens*
Dropout Reporting
Opens November 1st
Can only be completed only after all enrollments for
your schools are done, otherwise you will have a
large number of incorrect dropouts.
Submission is due on or before November 30th
Dropout Reporting
Things to know:
• Dropouts• Students who are part of the 2018/19 Cohort, who were enrolled in
your school in 2018/19 and were exited with a code that we expected
them to return in 2019/20 and there are no enrollments for this student
in 2019/20.
• Students who were exited in 2018/19 who are in grades 7 through 12
with a code that correlates to being a dropout.
• Future Dropouts• Students who were exited in 2018/19, who are part of a future cohort
beyond 2018/19 and who are in grades 7 through 12 with a code that
expects them to return in 2019/20. If no enrollments appear in 2019/20
for them, they will receive and dropout count during the next reporting
period.
• Issues with duplicate student Ids
Dropout Reporting
Navigation:
Once logged in to NEO go to Graduation Data and hover
over the ‘Dropouts’ tab, then select
‘School Admin Summary’.
If required, select your district from the drop down box
Dropout Reporting
Similar to graduation reporting, we ask that you verify that all
of the information in the report is correct and accurate.
The only changes that can be made are corrections to the
final end statuses of students in a cohort year after the 18/19
cohort.
Once completed, similar to phase II of graduation,
you will need to submit the report to the DOE and
await for approval from the DOE.
Dropout Reporting
Certification Screen:
Dropout Reporting
Student ReportsTrevor Burns
Quarterly Reporting
➢Quarterly Reports include attendance, truancy,
behavior, and bullying.
➢Q1 Open October 1 (includes Jul. – Sept.) Due Oct. 15
➢Q2 Open January 1 (includes Oct. – Dec.) Due Jan. 15
➢Q3 Open April 1 (includes Jan. – Mar.) Due April 15
➢Q4 Open June 1 (includes Apr. – Jun.) Due June 15
Quarterly Reporting
While these reports are due quarterly, the title of the report
remains the same (e.g. Truancy Report) but will have four
schedules for the year.
Each quarter (schedule) will need to be verified by on or
before the due date. All quarters will need to be certified
by the superintendent.
Definitions
➢ Attending District - The SAU where student attends.
➢ Resident District - The SAU associated with the
town where the student’s parents or guardians
reside.
➢ Responsible District - The SAU which is responsible
for the student financially and for accountability. ➢ See “Enrollment Guidance Document” found on our Helpdesk page
located here.
Student Reports
• Once you have logged into NEO you will need to
go to the student data tab
• Click on Student reports
• Student reports are listed here
• Select the reporting area from the dropdown
• This will allow you narrow your search by area
Out of District Placement Report (ODP)
• No Certification or submission needed
• ODP lists all students that are residents of your District, that are
attending school somewhere else.
• This report is set up to show all enrollments that have occurred under
your district in the current school year that was attending another
school. If an outplaced student has moved to a new district, their
outplaced enrollment that occurred under you will still be listed, but
not their new enrollments at the new district.
• If a change was made to their enrollment
(e.g. Special Education status, Fiscal Responsibility, Resident SAU,
Econ Status, or town change) they will be listed multiple times.
Under Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), Maine is required to
report Chronic Absenteeism. A student is considered absent if
that student is present for less than 50% of his or her instructional
day. Less than half is counted as zero; half or more is counted as one. A student is considered chronically absent if they are
enrolled for a minimum of 10 days and are absent 10% or more of
their days enrolled, regardless if the absences are excused or
not.
Student Attendance Certification
Student Attendance Certification
Student Attendance Certification
Student Attendance Certification
Student Attendance Certification
• This report gives the total number of students
enrolled in your CTE programs, as well as the count
of students within each program.
• It is extremely important that all enrollments, primary
and concurrent, are uploaded in Synergy State
Edition prior to the certification due date of
October 30.
CTE October Student Count
CTE October Student Count
• Required for: Public Schools, 60% Publicly Funded Schools & Public
Charter Schools.
• These counts are used in the Essential Programs and Services (EPS)
School funding formula.
• The EPS Reports only reflect data from students as of October 1st, so if
a student’s start date is Oct 2nd or later, they will not appear on any
EPS Reports or if a student was exited prior to October 1st, they will
also not appear on the EPS Report.
• All corrections must be entered/uploaded into the Synergy State
Edition by the school where the student is attending. These changes
will be reflected in the EPS Report after the next automatic update of
the EPS Report. Changes made to enrollments after the automatic
refresh period has ended will not be reflected in the EPS Report.
October EPS Student Count
• Landing Page
• Some errors are informational
October EPS Student Count
Trevor Burns 2076246678
October EPS Student Count
• After clicking view
Trevor Burns 2076246678
October EPS Student Count
Count Summary Details - Shows details for Attending/Subsidy counts
Error Report - Shows errors for student enrollments
SPED Child Count Details - Details of the EFS-05 part 1
ODP - lists all students who are your residents, that attend elsewhere.
Attending Student Report - Shows details of the attending students
enrollment
October EPS Student Count
• Click on Review to get to the EPS report:
• Top Portion is EF-S-05:
October EPS Student Count
• Bottom Portion is for the EPS Oct. 1 Summary.
• Double check counts. Economic Status.
• Equiv Instruction FTE
October EPS Student Count
There are a few buttons located on this report’s page.
• Uncertify/Refresh - This button is used to push any
changes made in enrollments, over to the EPS
report
• Submit to DOE - Once you have verified the
information is correct, use this to submit the report to
the DOE
• Certify - Once the report has been approved, your
Superintendent will need to certify the report
April Attending Counts
• This count will not be used for the Essential Programs and
Services (EPS) School funding formula, but it’s still necessary for
calculating the tuition rates. This report refreshes every hour
until April 15th or until submitted.
Trevor Burns 2076246678
April Attending Counts
• After clicking View:
April Enrollment (Attending) Counts
Like October EPS, this is where you will submit the
data.
Trevor Burns 2076246678
EF-M-39 Adult Education
• The EF-M-39 Report of Adult Education is a resident-based report
aggregating the count of students from each School Administrative
unit who have students (age 16 to 20) that reside in their district but
and are no longer enrolled in "Regular Education" and are taking
academic courses in a Maine Adult Education program somewhere
in Maine, not necessarily in their school administrative unit.
• All you need to report are the counts of students, the number of
courses and credits taken.
• 20-A MRSA, section 8605(2) states "A secondary school age person
who is not attending a public school and who is enrolled in an adult
education course must be treated for state subsidy and tuition
purposes as follows."
EF-M-39 Adult Education
EF-M-39 Adult Education
• In the instance of a bomb threat, schools are required by
law to notify the Commissioner of the threat within two
business days.
• Report available in NEO under ‘Bomb Threat Reporting’
module
• Must report each threat individually
Bomb Threat Reporting
Bomb Threat Reporting
• Accountability Certification o The data for this report is for students enrolled on May 3rd, based
on what’s in Synergy
o It’s used to determine student demographics for assessment
and accountability; as well as which students are “district full
year” and required the district to test.
• SPED Exit reporto This report tracks the numbers of different Special Education
exits used in your district.
Located under ‘Student Data’ and ‘Student Reports’
End of year reports
Accountability Certification
Accountability Certification
Special Ed Exit Certification
• Detail instructions for all of the student reports
mentioned in this section of the slideshow are available
on the Helpdesk’s ‘Reporting Instructions’ page
DOE Website: https://www.maine.gov/doe/home
Instructions page direct link: https://www.maine.gov/doe/data-
reporting/collection/helpdesk/resources/data-reporting-instructions
Helpdesk Instruction Page
Student Behavior,
Truancy and
AttendanceSarah Adkins and Gayle Erdheim
Student Behavior Data includes:
• Violent and Harmful Behavior (Synergy)
– Statewide Standards for Behavior (2001)
– Student Code of Conduct
– School Discipline Policy
• Positive and Restorative Interventions
• Bullying (NEO)
– Anti-bullying law
– Maine DOE's model policy
• Restraint and Seclusion (NEO)
– Chapter 33
Behavior: Purpose of Reporting
• Identify student behavior that is disruptive (harmful,
violent, unsafe)
• Identify interventions and best-practices that are
designed to improve relationships and repair harm
caused through misbehavior.
• Comply with federal requirements:
offenders' race, ethnicity, special education status,
and disciplinary action taken.
The Department will use this data in its efforts related
to school improvement under ESSA.
Behavior (includes bullying): When to Report
Still not sure? Ask!
Behavior: Discipline Incident Definitions
Incident Definition
Illicit drug related Drug-related incidents are incidents involving possession or use of
substances that include tobacco or illicit drugs. Will include illicit drugs
possession on school grounds, being under the influence of illicit drugs
on school grounds, tobacco possession or use on school grounds,
trafficking or possession for sale of illicit drugs on school grounds.
Alcohol related Incidents where students possessed or used alcohol on school grounds
or were under the influence of alcohol while on school grounds.
Weapons possession Weapons possession is the possession of the following or similar items:
handgun, shotgun or rifle, other type of firearm (e.g. devices designed
to expel a projectile, grenade, explosive), knife, other sharp object (e.g.
razor blade, ice pick, Chinese star), other object (chain, brass knuckle,
billy club, stun gun), or substance used as a weapon (mace, tear gas).
Violent Incident (with
Physical Injury)
Any physically violent incident with injury where one or more students,
school personnel, or other persons on school grounds require
professional medical attention.
Violent Incident (without
Physical Injury)
Incidents involving violent behavior or the threat of violent behavior but
that did not result in the need for professional medical attention.
Other Other - NOT related to illicit drug, alcohol, weapons possession, and/or
violence is the reason why the student was disciplined.
Behavior: Weapons
• Handgun - Any firearm which has a short stock and is designed to be
held and fired by the use of a single hand.
• Shotgun - A weapon designed or redesigned, made or remade, and
intended to be fired from the shoulder and designed or redesigned
and made or remade to use the energy of an explosive to fire
through a smooth bore either a number of ball shots or a single
projectile for each single pull of the trigger.
• Rifle - A weapon designed or redesigned, made or remade, and
intended to be fired from the shoulder and designed or redesigned
and made or remade to use the energy of an explosive to fire only a
single projectile through a rifled bore for each single pull of the
trigger.
• Other firearm – Title 18 USC §921
• Multiple firearms - Multiple firearms were used in the incident
• Other weapon - The incident involved a weapon other than those
described above.
Suspension and Expulsion
• Expulsion – include the expulsion consequence,
including number of days, either at the conclusion of the
school board's hearing or when student returns to school
• Suspension needs to be entered when there is an
expulsion
– In-school and out-of-school
• Expulsion = not to exceed total # of instructional days for
current school year OR unspecified amount of time
provided that there is a reentry plan
• Suspension = no services for at least half a school day
Additional discipline, resolutions
Positive and Restorative interventions
• Community Service
• Juvenile Justice Referral
• Law Enforcement Referral
• Restitution
• Substance Abuse Counseling
• Substance Abuse Treatment
• Conflict Resolution or Anger Management
• Counseling
Refer to 20-A §1001 sub§15-A School disciplinary policies
Substantiated
incidents of Bullying
Definition of Bullying
“Bullying” includes, but is not limited to, a written, oral or electronic expression or a physical act or gesture or any combination thereof directed at a student or students
that:
Has, or a reasonable person would expect it to have, the effect of: Physically harming a student or damaging a student's property; or Placing a student in reasonable fear of physical harm or damage to the student's
property; OR
Interferes with the rights of a student by: Creating an intimidating or hostile educational environment for the student; or Interfering with the student's academic performance or ability to participate in or
benefit from the services, activities or privileges provided by a school; OR
Is based on a student’s actual or perceived race, color, national origin, ancestry, religion, physical or mental disability, gender, sexual orientation, or any other
distinguishing characteristic, or is based on a student’s association with a person with one or more of these actual or perceived characteristics, and that has the effect described above.
Bullying
• Substantiated incidents of bullying must be reported
to the Maine DOE in the Bullying Reporting System
(BRS) in NEO
• JICK –E3 is the remedial procedure
– Use info found on JICK-E3 to complete BRS
reporting form in NEO
NEO – Bullying Reporting System
• On the home screen, scroll down to:
• Your district will appear:
Fill out form for each student/offender
date on JICK-E3
Review and Certify
Don't Forget...
If the substantiated bullying incident
resulted in a suspension or expulsion
for at least half a day, it MUST to be
entered in Synergy as Other
Restraint & SeclusionChapter 33
Restraint and Seclusion (RAS)
Submitted and certified annually to the Maine DOE, by August 1
• Cumulative report to Supt or Chief Admin done quarterly
• Key definitions
– Covered entity – receives public funds from Maine DOE
– Serious bodily injury:
• Substantial risk of death
• Extreme physical pain
• Protracted and obvious disfigurement
• Protracted loss or impairment of any bodily function
– Seclusion – involuntary confinement in room or clearly
defined area from which student is physically prevented from leaving
– Restraint – restricts student's freedom of movement or
normal access to their body
NEO
RAS Year End Reporting
What to report in RAS
Cumulative numbers of:
• physical restraints (uses of and students placed in)
• Seclusions (uses of and students placed in)
• serious bodily injuries to students and staff
SAU reports should NOT include the restraints and
seclusions of their resident students that occur at an
out-of-district placement. Those restraints and
seclusions must be reported by the out-of-district
placement.
RAS Annual Report form
Contact Us
• Gayle Erdheim
▪ Integrated Student Supports, Team Coordinator
▪ 624-6637
• Sarah Adkins
▪ Student Assistance Coordinator
▪ 624-6685
Attendance and
Truancy
NEW LAWS!!!!!! Act To Improve Attendance at Public Elementary Schools
Act to Align State Law with Current Practice Regarding School Attendance
• COMPULSORY ATENDANCE: Age of compulsory attendance has been
dropped from 7 to 6. 5 year olds who have been enrolled and have
not been withdrawn are required to attend
• TRUANCY: A student is truant if the student is enrolled in a public day
school, is at least 5 years of age and has not completed grade 6 and
has the equivalent of 7 full days of unexcused absences or 5
consecutive school days of unexcused absences during a school
year.
• No requirement for alternative instruction for children under age 6.
Chronic Absenteeism and Truancy
• Maine DOE is required to report two distinct but
related pieces of information on student
attendance:
– Chronic Absenteeism – the proportion of
students in a school who miss more than 10% of
school days. This is a federal requirement under
ESSA.• - Truancy- the number of students who have
exceeded a certain number of unexcused absences,
along with information on how the school attempted
to intervene. This is a state requirement (Title 20-A
§5051-A).
Why two systems?
Attendance/Chronic
Absenteeism
• Strong predictor of
academic success and
on-time graduation.
• Analyzing the reasons for
student absences
(excused or unexcused)
at the school, classroom,
and individual level
provides important
information on actions
that might be taken to
improve participation.
Truancy
• Provides a statutory
structure to help schools
respond to high
absenteeism – local
supportive interventions
followed by a mandated
enforcement mechanism.
• Civil mechanism for
holding parents/
guardians/ employers
accountable
• For younger students,
linked to DHHS statutes on
child neglect/abuse
Using attendance data to aid in truancy monitoring and reporting
• Synergy attendance data (total – excused) used to compute
# of unexcused absences
• NEO compares this with the truancy thresholds and
determines whether a student appears to be truant. If so, info
populates school’s NEO Truancy Report even if the school has
not started a truancy record for the student in Synergy.
• Attendance data correct Open a truancy record in
Synergy
• Attendance data incorrect Fix attendance in Synergy
Start a Truancy Record in Synergy
1. Be certain you are in the
student’s SCHOOL
2. Attendance>Truancy>
Student Truancy Summary
3. +ADD SAVE
Open Detail
• Once you have started a
student record, keep it open
for the year. Pause/Resume
function has been removed.
• 1 record/student/year.
Synergy Truancy DetailTruancy steps should be
followed in statutory order,
but entry sequence rules
have been relaxed:
1. Notify Superintendent
2. Intervention Plan
3. Official Parent
Notification
4. School Board
Notification
5. Official Parent Meeting
6. Notify Law Enforcement
Intervention plan process
should be worked! Revise,
refine, support, document
in notes.
Move on to Step 3 when
best efforts have failed to
yield results.
Truancy Record Notes
• Note fields are now optional for: Superintendent notification, Parent
notification, School Board notification, Official parent meeting
Dates still required. Documentation is for the school’s benefit.
• Note fields still required for:
Intervention Plan
Referral to Law Enforcement
Additional Intervention
Intervention Planning for Truancy
• Initial meeting is an opportunity to meet with student and family and
understand why absences are occurring.
• First meeting should occur shortly after student’s truancy is discovered.
• Planning should not assume instant results – multiple iterations likely to
be needed
• Invitation to parents to participate is NOT the official parent
notification letter referenced in statute!!
• Official parent notification letter (and board notification) signal that
serious efforts to resolve the truancy have been made and have
failed. School had decided to end internal intervention efforts and
make a referral to law enforcement.
Truancy Consequences
Law Enforcement/Court*
• Under §5053-A, truancy is
a civil violation (on the
part of the parent) subject
to a $250 fine or other
court order.
• Under §5054, anyone who
hires or employs a truant
student without a Supt’s
release is subject to a fine
of $250 -$5000 for a first
violation and up to
$10,000 for multiple
violations
Child Protective Services
• Under Title 22 §4002, failure to
comply with compulsory attendance laws meets the definition of “abuse/neglect” ONLY for children who haven’t finished 6th grade.
• As mandated reporters, schools should consistently report truancies for covered students. No statutory guidance ties CPS reporting to a particular truancy step.
Closing a Truancy Record
• In most cases, exiting a student’s enrollment will
automatically close the truancy record (Please update
truancy record before exiting!!)
• Records for transfers within district (Exit Code 01907) will
remain open.
• Manual closure for students who turn 17, have an open
record truancy record and are still enrolled.
NEO Truancy Reports and Certification
• Student Reports>Enrollment
• Reporting is quarterly, but info is refreshed from Synergy attendance and
truancy data every hour.
• Incomplete records: Attendance data but no truancy record
• Individual students should only have one record in the SAU’s report.
• Attending SAU “notifies” the Resident SAU by completing a correct report.
Resident SAU is responsible for ensuring student enrolls the following year
and is responsible for intervening and reporting if the student does not.
• Only Superintendent sees the certification field.
• Note: All SAUs have attendance coordinators to oversee ongoing truancy
intervention and reporting.
Contact Us
• Gayle Erdheim
▪ Integrated Student Supports, Team Coordinator
▪ 624-6637
• Sarah Adkins
▪ Student Assistance Coordinator
▪ 624-6885