Attention Private School Administrators and Public School Administrators:
This communication provides detailed guidance regarding timelines and tuition considerations for Private Schools seeking approval for the receipt of public funds for 2018-19.
As stated in the Maine Department of Education’s (DOE) October 2, 2018 Administrative Letter #19: 2018-2019 Clarifications Regarding Private School Approval and Publicly Funded Private School Students, there is a new overall 2018 deadline of October 15 for the annual report and documentation, NEO staff entry, and first reporting of attendance data to be submitted by private schools.
This deadline will also apply to October counting for subsidy purposes. As the private school approval and certification processes are currently backlogged due to numerous factors, tuition will not be withheld for schools that received basic school approval and were approved for receipt of public tuition funds as of the end of FY 18 school year and are seeking approval for FY 19 school year; however, subsidy will as always be dependent on accurate reporting of October 1st enrollment counts. In order for an accurate enrollment count and to ensure that private schools are on track to receive the appropriate tuition allocation, the following guidelines should be closely followed:
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- Private schools who have submitted or are intending to submit a school approval annual report seeking approval for the receipt of public funds for 2018-19 must submit NEO Maine Schools organizational information prior to October 15. The NEO Maine Schools form is required by all public and private schools to inform the Maine Department of Education of school and district contact information, changes in grade spans, and other school-related information. If Maine Schools is not submitted, EPS cannot be processed. It is imperative that your school’s report be submitted as soon as possible;
- The first instance of submitting attendance for publicly funded students at private schools, which is due quarterly, must be entered by October 15 and includes the attendance period July 1 through September 30. The next reporting period (to be entered by January 15) will require updated attendance numbers through December, and so on. More details about attendance data submission, and a helpful training manual document, can be found in NEO Student Attendance Reporting and Attendance Manual Entry Guide.
- Publicly funded October 1st student enrollment data must be entered by October 15; certified by October 31.
- NEO Staff entry should be complete, with clearances and appropriate certification ensured, as soon as possible before, during, or after submission of the annual report for school approval consideration. Any certification/clearance issues should be cleared up as soon as possible, in order to ensure approval.
Please contact the MEDMS Help Desk at 624-6896, or MEDMS.Helpdesk@maine.gov for assistance with NEO or the student information system. Please contact the DOE Certification Team at cert.DOE@maine.gov for certification system questions. Please contact Paula Gravelle at 624-6792 or Paula.B.Gravelle@maine.gov for questions about tuition. And, for questions about school approval please call Pamela Ford-Taylor at 624-6617, or Pamela.Ford-Taylor@maine.gov.