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MEDMS Update March 2008

There has been a review of the MEDMS enrollment process for public regional day treatment programs and public alternative education programs. Changes have been made to the enrollment process for students attending these programs.  MDOE realizes that this enrollment process may be in direct contrast to information you may have been given at the beginning of the year and apologizes for any inconveniences it may cause.  The process described below is intended to provide for consistency across the state. 

The process for enrolling students attending public regional day treatment programs or public alternative programs is to assign them to schools in their resident SAUs.  The assigned school is responsible for enrolling the student in MEDMS.  If there is no resident school, for example, SAUs without high schools, it is expected that the school that generally takes students from that SAU will be assigned the student.  There may be exceptional cases when the SAU where the program is located may assign the student to a public school in their SAU.  Please call the MEDMS helpdesk (207-624-6896) if this option is necessary.

• The student will be counted for the October 1st and April 1st subsidy and for December 1 special education child count by the resident SAU.
• The residential unit will maintain accountability (AYP) for student assessments.   
• AYP Implications:  If there is a resident school, students’ scores will be counted as part of AYP data for the resident school and resident SAU participation rates. If the student meets the requirement for Full Academic Year, the student’s scores also count for performance in the resident school and SAU.
• AYP Implications:  If there is no resident school, the students’ scores are counted as part of the AYP data for the assigned public school and “attending SAU” for participation rates.  If the student meets the requirement for Full Academic Year, the student’s scores also count for performance in the assigned public school and “attending SAU”.

Students who attend a private school approved for receipt of public funds are entered into MEDMS as a main enrollment by the private school and not the resident SAU.  It is up to the private school to enter the student’s resident town and resident SAU as the sending unit with the fiscal responsibility as “Paid by Resident SAU or EUT.”  Students entered correctly in MEDMS will show up on the EPS Report for school subsidy of the resident SAU thus allowing the resident SAU to keep track of the students and be sure that the private schools approved for receipt of public funds have entered the student correctly.  Any student who is attending one of these private schools below who is currently listed as main in the resident SAU must be exited so the private school can enroll the student properly. 

Habitual Truant Module

Habitually Truant students are those students who have:

• Completed grade 6 and have the equivalent of 10 full days of unexcused absences or 7 consecutive school days of unexcused absences during a school year; or
• Are at least 7 years of age and have not completed grade 6 and have the equivalent of 7 full days of unexcused absences or 5 consecutive school days of unexcused absences during a school year. 

These students remain enrolled at their school and must also be entered into the MEDMS Habitual Truant module.

In order to meet the requirements for eligibility as an Habitually Truant student for assessment and accountability reporting, your superintendent must send (or have sent) an official letter of notification (in hand or by registered mail) describing the options for action to the parent(s)/guardian of the truant student. Once this letter has been delivered, the truant student can be appropriately entered in the Habitually Truant module and thereby not counted in your school’s assessment or accountability calculation. The student will remain on your school’s MEDMS enrollment for all other purposes. 

• AYP Implications: No impact. Data regarding students entered into the Habitual Truant module will be removed from enrollment data for purposes of MHSA and AYP reporting.

For more information on habitual truancy procedures, please refer to Informational Letters #81 and  which were recently issued and can be found at
http://www.maine.gov/education/edletrs/ilethome.shtml.

Please contact the MEDMS Help Desk if you have any questions.
E-mail: medms.helpdesk@maine.gov    Phone: 624-6896

Infinite Campus

The Infinite Campus State Edition project is on schedule for deployment of the student module for school year 2008-2009. Information about changes to the student personal and enrollment process will be communicated in a subsequent update. A project portal will be available soon. The portal will provide information about both the State Edition project and the District Edition pilot site project. The pilot sites scheduled to go live in August 2008 are:

• Biddeford
• MSAD 16 (Halldale)
• RSU #1 (Bath/West Bath/Woolwich/Arrowsic/Phippsburg)
• Sanford
• South Portland

For questions about the Infinite Campus project please contact Bill Hurwitch at bill.hurwitch@maine.gov.