ESEA Federal Programs Monthly Update
For SAUs who will have over 15% in FY26 Title I funding as of September 30, please note that a waiver will be required to retain anything over the 15% threshold. SAUs requesting an FY26 Title I Excess Carryover or Ed-Flex Waiver will need to follow steps prior to the FY26 ESEA Consolidated Performance Report and submit a Performance Report by the deadline of November 2, 2026. Register and attend the training on Wednesday September 9 to learn more.
Register NowAll SAUs with a medium or high monitoring status will be notified in mid-September. The FY27 Grant Award Notifications, available after October 1, 2026, will also denote the SAU’s monitoring status. For more information on the monitoring process, please see: ESEA Monitoring | Department of Education (maine.gov). Grants4ME’s monitoring instrument will open on October 1, 2026.
The ESEA Team will be hosting a training for SAUs identified as “Medium” and “High” Risk Status on Tuesday, October 6 at 3 PM. Participants are required to register. The training will be recorded; however, attendance is highly recommended so questions and clarifications can be communicated in a timely manner. All monitoring items are due by November 24, 2026.
Title I Reporting of Eligible Students
ESEA Coordinators, please share the following information with your non-public contacts!
Non-public schools who wish to receive Title IA equitable services in FY28 must attend the Title I Reporting of Eligible Students webinar on September 1, 2026 at 12:00pm. This webinar will review reporting requirements and processes. After the training, the recording will be available on the DOE Data YouTube Playlist.
To be eligible for FY28 Title IA equitable services, Non-Public School Officials must submit student data into Connect by October 1, 2026.
Parent's Right to Know
As part of Title I, Part A, SAUs and schools must implement important family engagement practices, including sending the “Parent’s Right to Know” within the first four weeks of school, which should be a letter that notifies parents of their right to know:
- Professional qualifications of student’s teachers and paraprofessionals
- State/local assessment policies
Title I Annual Meeting
Every Title I school must convene parents, at least annually, to explain the program and solicit parent feedback. For Title I Schoolwide programs, these meetings are at the whole-school level. For Targeted Assistance Programs, it's a requirement for the Title I Teacher to meet the identified students' parents and to inform of their students' participation and solicit feedback.
School-Parent Compacts
Title I Family Engagement policies should be updated annually with the involvement of parents. This includes the school-parent compact. The Title I School-Parent Compact addresses the importance of communication between teachers and parents on an ongoing basis through, at a minimum—
- parent-teacher conferences in elementary schools, at least annually, during which the compact shall be discussed as the compact relates to the individual child’s achievement
- frequent reports to parents on their child(ren)’s progress
- reasonable access to staff, opportunities to volunteer and participate in their child’s class, and observation of classroom activities; and
- ensuring regular two-way, meaningful communication between family members and school staff, and, to the extent practicable, in a language that family members can understand
Read More about Title I Family Engagement Requirements
The Title I Summer Grant will have a Performance Report that will be live on September 8. SAUs will have till October 16 to complete it. Because the start of the school year is very busy, I wanted to make sure I shared steps that should be completed prior to the Performance Report:
- Necessary budget adjustments have been made to enable invoicing.
- All invoicing has been completed.
- Student outcomes on goals and best practices are analyzed.
FY 25 SIG funds are expiring for all identified schools and need to be obligated by 9/30/26 and invoiced for reimbursement by 12/15/26. FY 26 SIG funds are expiring for schools that exited CSI status in January 2026 and need to be obligated by 9/30/26 and invoiced by 12/15/26. Obligations and invoices should align with submitted CSI exit plans for each exiting school.
Schools continuing in CSI status for SY2026-2027 will continue to have access to FY 26 SIG funds due to the granting of a Tydings waiver.
Continuous School Improvement resources are available on the Maine Department of Education-ESEA Federal Programs webpage. To access resources and SIG Application training videos, visit our Continuous School Improvement Resources on the ESEA Guidance page under Continuous School Improvement-Title I Section 1003.
Fiscal Corner
Tyra is out on vacation from August 28-September 8, and the normal turnaround times will be implemented upon her return. She will review invoices in the order they were received within two weeks of the date the request was submitted.
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.
Requesting reimbursement for expenses related to a schoolwide plan; you must code the expenses on the invoice side of Grants4Me appropriately. Funds used to support the schoolwide plan in the application are not budgeted out into object codes and function codes.
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.
Reimbursement requests for travel, PD conference registrations, tuition, supplies, etc. must be accompanied by an invoice or receipt for the expense. This cannot be a PO or reimbursement voucher form from the SAU.
Contractual Services
Please be mindful of what determines an obligation per the Code of Federal Regulations 76.707. Contracts cannot be obligated for new funds (FY 27) until after the substantial approval date. The services received must fall within the period of performance for the grant. Most Federal grant’s period of performance starts upon substantial approval of the application for funds. Federal funds cannot reimburse contract deposits for service.
| Grant | Period of Performance | Amount Remaining |
|---|---|---|
| FY24 ESEA Consolidated Funds | Substantial Approval – 9/30/26 | $309,417.55* |
| FY25 ESEA Consolidated Funds | Substantial Approval – 9/30/27 | |
| FY25 School Improvement Funds | Substantial Approval – 9/30/26 | $425,474.49* |
| FY26 ESEA Consolidated Funds | Substantial Approval – 9/30/27 | |
| FY26 School Improvement Funds | Substantial Approval – 9/30/27 | |
| FY26 Title I Summer Grant | 5/1/26 – 8/31/26 | $2,303,013.96* |
Please note that several grants will close this year. It is recommended that you make a cheat shit like this one chart and set aside some time each month to review the status of your grants and reimbursements. This will mitigate the risk of losing funds that will be ending soon.
*As of 8/27/2026
Professional learning offered through the Department of Education is a fantastic resource for supporting leadership development for administrators and educators. The Department's Professional Development Calendar is updated regularly with the latest opportunities.
PD Calendar