Administrative Letter Number: 3
Policy Code: CL
To: Superintendents of Schools, Business Managers/Bookkeepers
From: William H. Beardsley, Acting Commissioner
Date: November 5, 2015
Re: Public School Approval Report
The Public School Approval Report is due Tuesday, December 1, 2015.
Maine DOE requires school administrative units to complete the Public School Approval Report for one year. The information contained on the form meets two significant goals: (1) to provide the Department with documentation of each school’s compliance with the statutes and regulations and any assurances that may be related to state and federally funded programs; (2) to provide administrators with a more complete list of the requirements to use as a self-assessment. Full school approval will not be granted until all the requirements have been met. Schools that are accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) must complete this State school approval process.
School administrative unit (SAU) superintendents are required to complete, certify, and submit both the SAU and the School Approval forms by 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, December 1, 2015. A superintendent of an AOS must complete the Report for each school administrative unit that is a part of the AOS. Those failing to meet the deadline are subject to Provisional Approval status.
A list of provisionally approved public schools will be listed on the Department website and distributed to Department of Education staff who have responsibility for General Purpose Aid (GPA), MaineCare, IDEA, NCLB, School Nutrition and other state and Federal programs that require basic school approval assurances.
Complete the Reports for the school years 2016, 2017 and 2018 which are located inside the NEO module. A superintendent is responsible for completing both the SAU form and the School form. If the School Approval form is to be completed by someone else, that superintendent needs to contact the Department’s HELPDESK at 624-6896 for authorization, but the superintendent still retains responsibility for the accuracy of that report.
Please respond to all of the indicators as directed, choosing complete/yes or incomplete/no. If all responses are complete/yes, on both forms, electronic approval will be granted when the superintendent certifies that the forms are complete. A “print” prompt will be enabled on the screen once both the SAU and School reports are certified and approved. The superintendent may print and/or save the certificates. Maine DOE will not be printing or mailing school approval certificates.
If the response is “incomplete/no” to any question, the respondent will be prompted to provide a brief explanation of why the school is not in compliance and an action plan and time line for bringing the school into compliance. Note, a School/SAU is not excused from that incomplete requirement as part of school approval. In order to receive a fully-approved status, the terms of the action plan must be completed. Electronic approval will not be granted when the superintendent certifies that the forms are done. The superintendent will need to contact Randy Kassa for information on the action plan requirements.
If you experience difficulty accessing the module, contact the Helpdesk at 624-6896.
If you experience difficulty with the process once inside the module or have any questions about the process, contact School Approval Specialist Randy Kassa at randy.kassa@maine.gov or 624-6776.