On March 27, 2020 the CARES Act was signed into law, providing emergency federal funds to states for the purpose of addressing COVID-19 related impacts to education.  The three funds include the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund(HEER), the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund(GEER), and the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund(ESSER). Maine’s Department of Education is pleased to announce they applied for, and been awarded, the GEER and ESSER funding.

As information about the CARES Act funding became available during the past six weeks, Commissioner Makin and her leadership team met daily with Maine CDC, the Governor’s COVID Response Team, educators and education leaders statewide to identify priorities for the emergency relief. Through these discussions and a statewide needs assessment, DOE identified the lack of universal connectivity as the most profound impact of the coronavirus pandemic on our state’s education system as a whole.

On Wednesday, April 15, the US Department of Education released the application and on Thursday, April 23, Maine’s GEER application was submitted, articulating a plan to address the digital divide with their #ConnectKidsNow initiative.  On Friday, April 24, the US Department of Education approved Maine’s GEER application. At this time Maine is one of only twelve states who have received approval.

“Our stakeholders have clearly identified student connectedness as being the top priority as we face a new future for education in Maine.  Remote learning, in some form, will be an important part of a system that is responsive and resilient and student centered,” said Maine Commissioner of Education, Pender Makin. “Together we recognized that what was once a concerning inequity quickly became a humanitarian crisis during this unprecedented emergency, with lack of access for so many students to the educational resources and experiences offered by our schools.  If we can’t reach them, we can’t teach them, and I am proud of our DOE team, who has worked swiftly to address this issue.”

With support from the Department of Administration and Finance, the DOE is working to procure devices and wireless contracts for the K-12 students statewide who are lacking connectivity. Of the approximately 24,000 students lacking connectivity, 15,652 need a wireless contract and 8,262 need only a device. As the Department’s #ConnectKidsNow! initiative gains attention statewide, some districts have reached out to provide the Department with an update regarding their current needs. To ensure all schools in Maine receive support in providing connectivity for every K-12 learner, the DOE has partnered with the Maine’s Principals Association (MPA) to follow-up with every school leader that did not submit a connectivity survey to the Department last month. Commissioner Makin is also currently working with leaders from Adult Education, University of Maine System, and Maine Community College System to identify connectivity needs for higher education students.

The U.S. Department of Education (USED) released the ESSER funding application on the afternoon of Thursday, April 23, 2020. The Maine Department of Education submitted Maine’s ESSER funding application to the USED on Friday, April 24, 2020 and received approval on Wednesday, April 29, 2020. These funds will be allocated to districts using the Title IA funding formula, as required by statute. School Administrative Units will have some flexibility in determining how best to utilize these funds to mitigate the unforeseen fiscal impacts of this current crisis.

“These funds are desperately needed by our schools, as they have suddenly been tasked with finding ways to continue to provide for the educational, social/emotional, and nutritional needs of their students,” said Maine School Superintendents Association Executive Director, Eileen King.  “Maine Superintendents have expressed serious concerns about the lack of equity of access for many of our students that seriously impacts our students’ ability to participate in remote learning. These funds can certainly begin to address this issue. We are thrilled with the rapid response of the Department of Education and their advocacy and efforts to procure these much needed funds for our schools as quickly as possible.”

Maine DOE team members are currently working with US ED to clarify guidance and to develop an application for School Administrative Units.

Through ongoing efforts to support the needs of Maine schools during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Maine Department of Education (DOE) is responding to requests for professional learning for Education Technicians with a series of online opportunities scheduled through the month of May and early June. Based on feedback from Maine schools, offerings will consist of series (each being 1-5 parts) delivered in hour-long sessions at regular times each week.  The topics of the various series include:

• Strategies for elementary mathematics instruction
• Strategies for elementary literacy instruction
• Strategies for supporting learning in early childhood environments
• Dyslexia overview
• Navigating online learning platforms and tools
• Strategies for supporting social and emotional learning
• Family engagement
• Multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS) for education technicians
• Supporting students with special needs

Details about the various series as well as links to register can be found at: Professional Learning for Education Technicians.    Please register for any of the series in advance to obtain the log-in information.  Contact hours will be provided for attending.  Sessions will be recorded for later viewing.  If you have specific questions about a particular series, please contact the Maine DOE specialist leading the series (emails are included in the table with the registration details).

Also, the content specialist teams at the Maine DOE have researched additional online professional learning opportunities available at no cost for Education Technicians, most of which include contact hours.  A table with these opportunities can be found after the listing of Maine DOE developed offerings, found here.

If you have general questions about the opportunities for Education Technicians, please contact Lee Anne Larsen, Early Learning Team Coordinator at leeann.larsen@maine.gov.

The Maine Department of Education continues to schedule virtual office hours with Department specialist to support educators and administrators during extended remote learning. During these meetings, our specialists will be available to provide support and guidance regarding distance learning and school supports, as well as to facilitate networking and resource sharing between educators.

For a preview of next week’s sessions please visit the meeting schedule listing on our website: https://www.maine.gov/doe/covid-19/contentmeetings. (This web page gets updated with new and updated meetings each weekday!)

As a reminder, due to the need to heighten security for online conference sessions, the Department is requiring password protection or pre-registration for most of our virtual sessions. Thank you for your patience as we work to continue providing these opportunities in the safest way possible.

Governor Janet Mills and Commissioner of Education Pender Makin today congratulated six Maine students who were recognized as being among our nation’s most distinguished graduating seniors. These students were named national semifinalists in the 2020 U.S. Presidential Scholars Program.

The semifinalist scholars are chosen on the basis of their accomplishments in many areas including academic and artistic success, career and technical fields, leadership, and involvement in school and the community.  They represent excellence in education and are among the most accomplished youth in our country.

“These graduating seniors exemplify the Maine spirit of hard work, creativity and civic engagement, and I am honored to recognize their achievement,” said Governor Mills. “I know I speak for all of us when I say how proud I am of these young scholars, and I look forward to their future contributions to our great state.”

From nearly 3.6 million graduating high school seniors from across the country, over 5,600 students were identified as candidates in this program. 621 semifinalists were selected, 6 of whom are from Maine.

“I join the families, friends, and school communities of these outstanding Maine seniors in celebrating the determination, commitment and accomplishments that this recognition reflects,” said Commissioner Makin. “We are proud to have these students represent the State of Maine’s Class of 2020.”

Maine U.S. Presidential Scholar Semifinalists:

The semifinalists form the pool from which the 2020 U.S. Presidential Scholars will be chosen in May. Visit http://www.ed.gov/psp for the complete list of semifinalists across the country.

The Maine Department of Education (DOE) is seeking a waiver pursuant to section 3511 of Division A of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), P.L. 116-136 (H.R. 748), 34 Stat. 281 (Mar. 27, 2020 from the U.S. Department of Education (USDOE).

The U.S. Department of Education requires state educational agencies, when seeking waivers from statutory or regulatory requirements, solicit and respond to public comment on the request and provide evidence of the available comment period. This 15-day public comment period from April 24 – May 9, 2020, waives requirements related carryover limitation, period of allowability, Title IV, Part A of the ESEA, and professional learning definition.

The Maine DOE is working diligently to continue supporting Maine’s schools during this pandemic of COVID-19. The state education agency and local education agencies are immediately impacted by the Department’s waiver request.

Requirements from which Maine is seeking a waiver include:

Carryover limitation in section 1127(b) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) for Federal fiscal year (FY) 2019 Title I, Part A funds (i.e., the Title I, Part A funds that will become carryover funds on October 1, 2020): the requirement that limits an SEA’s ability to grant to its LEAs a waiver of the 15 percent Title I, Part A carryover limitation in section 1127(a) more than once every three years.

Period of availability of funds in section 421(b) of the General Education Provisions Act (GEPA): to extend the period of availability of FY 2018 funds for programs in which the SEA participates under its approved consolidated State plan until September 30, 2021. The programs:

• Title I, Part A of the ESEA (Improving Basic Programs Operated by LEAs), including the portions of the SEA’s Title I, Part A award used to carry out section1003 school improvement, section 1003A direct student services, if applicable, and Title I, Part D, Subpart 2
• Title I, Part B of the ESEA (State Assessment Formula Grants)
• Title I, Part C of the ESEA (Education of Migratory Children)
• Title I, Part D, Subpart 1 of the ESEA (Prevention and Intervention Programs for Children and Youth Who Are Neglected, Delinquent, or At Risk)
• Title II, Part A of the ESEA (Supporting Effective Instruction)
• Title III, Part A of the ESEA (English Language Acquisition, Language Enhancement, and Academic Achievement)
• Title IV, Part A of the ESEA (Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants)
• Title IV, Part B of the ESEA (21st Century Community Learning Centers)
• Title V, Part B, Subpart 2 of the ESEA (Rural and Low-Income School Program)
• McKinney-Vento Education for Homeless Children and Youth Program

The following requirements in Title IV, Part A of the ESEA. Note: These requirements are only applicable to LEAs that received $30,000 or more in Title IV, Part A funds:

• Needs assessment requirements in section 4106(d) for the 2019-2020 school year.
• Content area spending requirements in section 4106(e)(2)(C), (D), and (E): the requirements to use a minimum percentage of Title IV, Part A funds for activities under sections 4107, 4108 and 4109 for FY 2019 funds and any available FY 2018carryover funds.
• Spending limitation in section 4109(b): the 15 percent limit on the use of funds undersection 4109 to purchase technology infrastructure for FY 2019 funds and any available FY 2018 carryover funds.

The definition of professional development in section 8101(42) of the ESEA for the2019-2020 school year.

Federal program affected by the requested waiver

The state education agency and local education agencies will be impacted due to the following reasons:

• allow Maine to waive the carryover limitation and allow schools to maintain and use FFY19 (Ste FY20) Title I, Part A funds that excess of the 15% carryover limitation,
• extend the period of availability from September 30, 2020 to September 30, 2021 for federal funding,
• reduce certain perimeters for LEAs that received $30,000 or more in Title IV, Part A of the ESEA, and
• redefine professional development.

Comments may be submitted to: ESSA.DOE@maine.gov