ESEA office hours for the 2026-2027 school year are now posted on the Maine DOE’s professional development calendar event page. To locate the office hours, search using keyword “ESEA”.

When you register, you will be registered for ALL monthly ESEA office hours for the school year and you can add the event directly to your work calendar. The registration link will be included in the monthly newsletters, allowing participants to join at any time during the year. However, we will no longer send the day of notifications.

The FY27 ESEA Consolidated Application is now open! ESEA Coordinators are encouraged to review each page of the consolidated application and review the application training.
Here are a few reminders while you prepare to submit your application:

• Ensure the projects within the application are based on the needs reported in your Comprehensive Needs Assessment.
• Notification and availability of the public comment period on the ESEA application needs to occur prior to the application’s submission.
• SAUs with private schools should be engaging in consultation. This information needs to be submitted under the Non-Public Participation Form section of the FY27 ESEA Consolidated Application. All private schools are required to watch the FY27 ESEA Equitable Services for Non-Public Schools training, which is denoted by a checkbox on the participation form.
• The status of the FY27 application cannot be changed to “Draft Completed” until after Final Allocations are received in early July and updated in Grants4ME.

To be eligible for equitable services, a school must be a nonprofit private elementary or secondary school approved by the Maine Department of Education as a nonpublic school. Consultation on equitable services is an annual requirement between the public SAUs and the nonpublic schools located within the geographic boundaries of the SAU. For Fiscal Year 2027, SAUs should review the Equitable Services Percentage Report for Title II, Part A and Title IV, Part A to help determine equitable services obligations and planning requirements. Every nonpublic school that is eligible for equitable services is listed.

When conducting outreach, SAUs should use multiple methods of communication, such as email and phone calls, and make at least two documented attempts to engage private school officials in the consultation process. SAUs should maintain evidence of all outreach efforts and consultation activities. Proper documentation helps demonstrate compliance with federal requirements and supports effective program monitoring and record keeping.

Splitting invoices between two grants (FY 25 and FY 26), the expenses for each invoice should be clearly marked on the trial balance. Verify the obligation date and services fall within the period of performance for both grants.

Time and Effort documentation will be required with the first invoice for the FY 27 grant where reimbursement is being requested for salaries and benefits. This is to develop a collection process for all DOE federal grants. ESEA is doing our best to align to other federal grant programs within the department. This documentation will be the latest that SAU has on file. Please keep in mind if your SAU uses a template that requires an attached schedule then make sure the schedule is uploaded as well.

Payments for non-public equitable services cannot be made to the non-public and must be made directly to the vendor for services to the non-public.

Accrued expenses at the end of a fiscal year cannot be paid using new funds. For example, the salaries and benefits that were just accrued to close out the FY 26 year cannot be reimbursed using FY 27 funds. Accrued salaries and benefits cannot be reimbursed until they are paid out.

Subscriptions must fall within the period of performance for the grant and reimbursement cannot be requested until after payment has been made for the subscription and the start date has passed.