ESEA Monthly Updates

We hope to provide you with helpful information monthly through our updates and office hours. Our updates will often include general and title-specific updates, friendly reminders for planning and program implementation, a fiscal corner, professional learning opportunities, and contact information.

ESEA Federal Programs Preliminary Allocations

The ESEA Federal Programs team has released the preliminary fiscal year (FY) 2027 allocations and made them publicly available on the Fiscal Allocations webpage. These preliminary allocations are subject to change as additional data becomes available which means school administrative units (SAUs) may see adjustments reflected in the final allocations. Preliminary Equitable Service percentages will be posted later this week and available on the Fiscal Allocations webpage.

State Estimates for ESEA Federal Programs

Funding formulas for ESEA programs are set by federal statute and the data used to generate the State Estimates largely comes from the U.S. Census, particularly the Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates (SAIPE) data. The SAIPE poverty percentage, ages 5-17 in families, for the State of Maine decreased from fiscal year 2026 (12.0%) to fiscal year 2027 (11.4%). SAIPE also provides an estimate of all children ages 5-17 who live in a given area, regardless of where they go to school, and this data set is used within the formula model for SAU allocations.

• Title I, Part A — Funding must be allocated based on SAIPE data for large SAUs. Maine DOE has flexibility to use direct certification student counts with a 1.6 multiplier for small SAUs (census population below 20,000). Recorded training on Title I, Part A allocation process
• Title II, Part A — Must be based exclusively on SAIPE data, weighted 80% for students in poverty and 20% for total students. Maine DOE previously accounted for actual school attendance but was found in violation and had to sign this MOA to resolve the finding.
• Title III, Part A — Generates a per-pupil amount based on statewide Multilingual Learners (MLs) and funding. SAUs must generate a $10,000 allocation or form a consortium to receive a final allocation.
• Title IV, Part A — Generally awarded in direct proportion to an SAU's percentage of the state's total Title I, Part A funding in the preceding fiscal year. Has a statutory minimum allocation of $10,000.
• Title V, Part B — Small, Rural School Achievement (SRSA) funding is determined federally using SAIPE data, Average Daily Attendance (ADA), minus previous year's Title II and Title IV funding. Rural, Low-Income School (RLIS) funding is weighted 70% towards SAIPE poverty rate and 30% towards ADA.

State Estimates for FY27

Title Program	FY26 Final Allocation	FY27 State Estimate
Title I, Part A	$61,746,590	$61,532,148
Title II, Part A	$10,837,184	$10,837,184
Title III, Part A	$1,035,398	$1,025,942
Title IV, Part A	$6,693,000	$6,693,000
Title V, Part B – RLIS only	$618,688	$745,674

FY25 Tydings Amendment Waiver

The Maine DOE is pleased to announce that the U.S. Department of Education has granted approval of the following Tydings Amendment waiver of state fiscal year (FY) 2025 ESEA funds. This extends the period of availability of FY 2025 funding of the programs listed below until September 30, 2027:

• Title I, Part A (Improving Basic Programs Operated by LEAs)
• Title I, Part B (State Assessment Formula Grants)
• Title I, Part C (Education of Migratory Children)
• Title I, Part D, Subpart 1 (Prevention and Intervention Programs for Children and Youth Who Are Neglected, Delinquent, or At Risk)
• Title II, Part A (Supporting Effective Instruction)
• Title III, Part A (Language Instructions for English Learners)
• Title IV, Part A (Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants)
• Title IV, Part B (21st Century Community Learning Centers)
• Title V, Part B (Rural and Low-Income School Program)

If you have any questions about these waivers, please contact your ESEA regional program manager.

FY27 Application Training

Our May 12, 2026 ESEA Office Hour will be dedicated to the FY27 ESEA Consolidated Application Training. During this session, the team will provide guidance on key requirements, timelines, and updates, as well as offer an opportunity to ask questions and receive technical assistance. The FY27 ESEA Consolidated Application will be available on Grants4ME by June 1, 2026.

Please note that New ESEA Coordinator Training will be provided during our July office hour, July 7 at 9:00 AM, followed by FY27 ESEA Consolidated Application Training at 10:00 AM.

FY26 Title I Summer Grant

This year, the Maine DOE received nearly 90 applications from SAUs across the state. Due to limited funding, the reallocation procedure was implemented to rank applications based on the eligibility criteria. The Maine DOE was able to award 78 FY26 Title I Summer Grants. For SAUs awarded funding, the funds can be obligated between May 1, 2026 and August 31, 2026. A request for reimbursement must be made as soon as funds are expended or by October 1, 2026 to ESEA Federal Programs via Grants4ME System.

Ed-Flex Waiver Program

The Ed-Flex Waiver Program offers Maine SAUs the opportunity for additional ESEA program flexibility in exchange for additional accountability. The Maine DOE's Ed-Flex application included authority to provide the following types of waivers for SAUs:

• Title I, Part A:
  • 40% poverty eligibility threshold for Title I Schoolwide flexibility
  • 15% limit for carryover of Title I grant funds
• Title IV, Part A:
  • Content area funding distribution requirements
  • Limitations on technology infrastructure purchases

SAUs seeking participation in the Ed-Flex Program must complete this form, obtain all required signatures, and complete the public comment process. Ed-Flex Waiver applications and supporting documentation are required to be uploaded to the FY27 ESEA Consolidated Application in Grants4ME for review by Maine DOE.

To be eligible for approval of an Ed-Flex Waiver, the SAU's ESEA Consolidated Application must be submitted on time (by August 1) and include a Pre-Award Cost Request for any ESEA funding the SAU may need access between July 1 and the SAU's anticipated substantial approval date. SAUs who submit the ESEA Consolidated Application late will not be eligible for Ed-Flex waiver(s) or pre-award costs for the current fiscal year.

SRSA Application Open through 5/18

SAUs eligible for the Small, Rural School Achievement Program (SRSA, also known as "Federal Title V") should have received a direct link from a Connect.gov email to their SRSA Application. Preliminary allocations for SRSA and RLIS can be seen on the Master Eligibility Spreadsheet as well as the Maine DOE website, and a recording of the application training is available.

New this year: SAUs that are dual eligible for SRSA and the Rural and Low-Income School program (RLIS) will be required to log into the SRSA application and declare whether the SAU is applying for SRSA or the RLIS allocation in the ESEA Consolidated Application in Grants4ME.

As SAUs seek reimbursement for FY26 funds please keep in mind that the majority of ESEA funding in the FY26 application was budgeted in school-level projects. If reimbursement is sought for work done at a school that was not funded in the application, then an application revision will need to be approved to add that school's areas of high needs, project details, and budget.

Annual CNA and Schoolwide Plan Updates

As part of an annual process, SAUs should be meeting with a variety of stakeholders to update their district and school Comprehensive Needs Assessments based on most recent available data.

As part of the ESEA Consolidated Application, SAUs are asked to document the high needs areas of their SAUs and schools, as well as the data sources they used to make those determinations, the names of the stakeholders involved, and dates the updates were conducted on. SAUs must update as much of their CNA as possible, prior to the initial submission of the FY27 ESEA Application, in order to determine high areas of need and to generate goals and projects.

For schoolwide programs, be sure to also conduct school-level needs assessments and update the schoolwide plans for school year 26-27. For schools that want to ensure they have all required schoolwide plan elements, please see the rubric on our website as a reference.

Budgets in the ESEA Application

These budgets are estimates and often need to be adjusted through the period of performance. Please do not invoice for an object code just because that is where an SAU has funds remaining. As a reminder, if invoices are for salaries, the associated benefits must also be requested from the same grant.

The budget in the application informs the invoicing side of Grants4ME. The budget is project based whereas the invoicing is grant based. On the invoicing side it will take all Title I projects and add the budgets together. For example, if the SAU budgets Title I funds for salary and benefits in three projects, the invoicing side for Title I funds will add the amounts budgeted together and is displayed on the Title I invoice.

Invoicing and Approval

Please be mindful of the federal funds the SAU may have to use and continue to invoice timely for these funds. Currently, we are operating on a seven-to-ten-day turnaround for approvable invoice submissions. Once an invoice receives the status of "State Accounting System Paid" in Grants4ME, the SAU may submit additional invoices for that grant.

Available Funding and Timelines

The following chart has the ESEA federal grants that are currently available for invoicing. Please note that several grants will close this year. It is recommended that you make a cheat sheet like the one below and set aside some time each month to review the status of your grants and reimbursements.

Grant	Period of Performance
FY24 ESEA Consolidated Funds	Substantial Approval – 9/30/26
FY25 ESEA Consolidated Funds	Substantial Approval – 9/30/27
FY25 School Improvement Funds	Substantial Approval – 9/30/26
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

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 professional development opportunities.

Please remember, the best person to connect with to answer questions related to ESEA Federal Programs is outlined below.