ESSA Required Meetings for 2024-25

It’s April, and preparations for next year are in full swing! A few weeks ago, CSS published an article about the Collaborative Comprehensive Needs Assessment (CCNA). Along with the CCNA, planning meetings prior to submitting your grant application are “musts” on your to-do list. Documentation from these meetings are primary documents pulled in random validations, so get those meetings on the calendar if you have not already done so!

The CSS federal team will be available to advise our clients through the process of planning for grant funds for the 2024-25 school year.

What planning meetings are required?

Meetings may be required at the LEA and/or campus level depending on which is going to primarily benefit from the funds. Typically, each Title I campus conducts planning activities for Title I, and the other Title funds are planned at the central administration level. However, if campuses are given control of purchasing decisions from Title II, III, or IV, then campus-level planning meetings would be necessary.

The following planning meetings are usually held in the spring of each year, prior to the grant application, in order to plan for the upcoming school year.

1. Campus level review and revision of the School-Parent Compact
2. Campus level evaluation of parent and family engagement activities as part of review and revision of campus Parent and Family Engagement Policy
3. Charter District- level review and revision of LEA parent and family engagement activities as part of the annual review and revising of the LEA’s Parent and Family Engagement Policy
4. Campus-level Collaborative Comprehensive Needs Assessment* (usually Title I only) leading to the Campus Improvement Plan
5. Charter District-level Collaborative Comprehensive Needs Assessment* (Title I for LEA- level activities, Title II, Title III, and Title IV; and Title I School Improvement, if required) leading to a District Improvement Plan

*CSS offers separate training for conducting a Collaborative Comprehensive Needs Assessment and a separate “Tip” on the subject each spring.

What are the specific planning requirements for ESSA grant funds?

• Title I – identify problems/needs according to academic achievement data, particularly those children who are failing or at-risk of failing to meet State standards (see also Parent and Family Engagement requirements listed above)
• Title II – identify problems/needs in improving instructional leadership capacity of principal supervisors, campus, and teacher leaders; implementing strategic compensation initiatives to reward, recruit, and retain effective teachers; providing professional development that improves classroom instruction and student learning; and evidence-based class size reduction
• Title III – identify problems/needs in progress of Emergent Bilinguals (EBs) (new term for English Language Learners) in acquiring English and mastering state standards/graduation rate; supporting preschool programs for EBs; access to post-secondary education; and required parent, family, and community outreach and trainings
• Title IV – process to determine program needs (under $30,000). The local education agency (LEA) is required to select one or more area to prioritize regardless of how much Title IV funding is received. This includes documenting the need to transfer funds to Title I.
  OR – identify problems/needs in the areas of well-rounded educational opportunities, supporting safe and healthy students (including school safety), and improving the effective use of technology to impact academic achievement/digital literacy (if receiving over $30,000)

What resources are available for planning requirements?

CSS highly recommends that you review the validation documents for each fund prior to conducting planning meetings. This is not to say that each grant fund requires a separate meeting. Meetings can be combined, but each Title program requires individual attention specific to the purpose of that grant fund. The validation documents will also include the expectations of committee membership representation of each fund. You must have the right people (stakeholders) in attendance! The validation resources will tell you what documents you might be asked for regarding your planning meetings.

In addition, consider the information that will be needed when completing the end of the year ESSA Consolidated Compliance Report. Much of what is collected in the annual compliance report goes back to documentation of planning meetings that are held in the spring/summer before the grant is done.

Regardless, please remember any time you have a meeting regarding federal funds, it MUST be documented by sign in, agenda, and minutes/notes (remember the acronym “SAM”). Virtual meetings are no exception, except sign ins may be substituted with other attendance documents. The role (parent, Principal, SPED teacher, etc) of each member must always be identified along with the name of the attendee.

Need help?

Please contact Charter School Success:

Dr. Sheila K. Sherman ssherman@charterschoolsuccess.com

Have questions?

Ask questions, get answers, and discuss this topic on the Charter School Community Roundtable now.