ESEA Federal Programs Monthly Update
ESEA Office Hours
Join us each second Tuesday of the Month! October's office hours will be devoted to FY26 ESEA Performance Report training.
For Cumberland, Hancock, and York Superintendent Regions, please note that Rita Pello will be out of office from Wednesday September 30 through Wednesday, October 14. We thank you for your patience while she is away.
The FY26 ESEA Performance Report opens on October 1 with a due date of November 2, 2026. The ESEA office hours on October 13 will provide additional information on how to successfully complete the FY26 Performance Report.
All of the pages that need to be completed are labeled as “PERFORMANCE REPORT:”
Completing the following steps will help with a successful submission of the Performance Report:
- If applicable: Coordinators have made budget revisions to ensure that invoices through 9/30/26 can be submitted.
- Coordinators and Business Managers have worked together to determine FY26 expenses per project through 9/30/26
- The Coordinator has gathered outcomes from previous school year for district and school goals
- The coordinator has compiled student and staff-level data for required reporting (# of students, staff, PD, etc.)
- If applicable: The coordinator has reconciled FY26 spending with non-publics and has gathered the outcomes of their goals
- If applicable: the SAU has conducted public comment for Title I Excess Carryover
Title I Reporting of Eligible Students
ESEA Coordinators, please share the following information with your non-public contacts!
To be eligible for FY28 Title IA equitable services, Non-Public School Officials must submit student data into Connect by October 07, 2026, earlier submission is strongly encouraged. The recordings of the Title I Reporting of Eligible Students webinar and the EPS October 1 Enrollment Webinar are available for additional support.
The Title I Summer Grant Performance Report is due October 16. Here are the steps that should be completed prior to the Performance Report:
- Necessary budget adjustments have been made to enable invoicing.
- All invoicing has been completed by October 1.
- Student outcomes on goals and best practices are analyzed.
SAUs awarded SRSA funding (Federal Title V) will be required to provide written justifications for G5 reimbursement requests as part of Executive Order 14222 being implemented on November 1st. Awardees should have received notification directly from the federal government about this order and requirement.
Please note there is a 250-character limit for the justification. Our federal partners suggested using the following format to help comply with this order and ensure timely reimbursement. Please keep in mind you should be referencing the federal line items, not those we use in Maine: [Grant Program]: [Line Item] $XXXXX; Dates [start]-[end]
In practice, this would look like: “SRSA: Personnel $23,000, Supplies $800; Dates 11/1/26-11/30/26.”
If you have any questions, please reach out to REAP@ed.gov.
Additionally, if an application revision is made that involves allocating funds from one school project to another, the effect on rank and distribution must be considered. SAUs that attempt to close out a grant without following rank and distribution will be forced to return funds. If this occurs after the grant close out, there will not be any opportunity to resubmit for those funds.
Writing for Multilingual Learners in the Elementary Grades - WIDA In Person Workshop: Join this interactive 2-day workshop on October 20 and 21 designed for school-based teams to explore how intentional, language-focused instruction and the Teaching and Learning Cycle can support multilingual learners in developing the skills and confidence to write effectively across content areas and audiences. Learn more and register!
WIDA's Nurturing Speaking Growth Workshop: This virtual workshop on October 27 and November 10 is designed for K–12 educators who support multilingual learners, including classroom teachers, ESOL educators, instructional coaches, specialists, and school leaders. Participants will deepen their understanding of how to intentionally integrate oral language development into daily instruction to increase multilingual learners' access to rigorous, grade-level content and meaningful language use. Learn more and register!
Continuous School Improvement resources are available on the Maine Department of Education-ESEA Federal Programs webpage. To access resources and SIG Application training videos go to Maine DOE-ESEA Federal Programs Webpage. Click on ESEA Guidance and scroll down to Continuous School Improvement-Title I Section 1003.
Continuous School Improvement ResourcesFiscal Corner
When is a budget revision necessary in the application?
- If you cannot submit an invoice due to insufficient funds in an object code/function code
- Funds are used to support an entirely different object code . For example: all funds were budgeted in salaries and benefits but spent on supplies
- If your funds have been budgeted for a schoolwide plan
- The difference between what was budgeted and the expenditures is less than 10% in that object code
Contact Tyra
FY26 Performance Report (PR) – all expenses for the FY26 ESEA grant through 9/30/26 must be invoiced for before the FY26 ESEA Performance Report is submitted for approval .
The service period on any invoice submitted may not exceed three months. Submitting a single invoice for the entire grant period will not be accepted and will result in rejection.
Accrued salaries are those in which were earned but not paid out. The Title I Reallocated Summer grant cannot support accrued salaries. The salaries associated with the summer programming is what can be supported with this grant and paid out as they are earned.
If the SAU receives:
- more than $250,000 under any single Title, they are required to submit invoices monthly.
- less than $250,000 under any single Title, they are required to submit invoices quarterly.
Object codes/function codes – this month’s highlight is going to be online-subscriptions. In the past, some SAUs have invoiced these expenses under object code 6000 (supplies) but in fact it should be 5000 as it appears in the Maine School Financial Accounting Handbook.
- 5340 - eBooks, also includes the cost of online subscriptions to instructional material.
- 5350 - Online Subscriptions - Software. Software programs and Apple apps that reside on the Internet.
Maine School Financial Accounting Handbook
| Grant | Period of Performance | Amount Remaining |
|---|---|---|
| FY24 ESEA Consolidated Funds | Substantial Approval – 9/30/26 | $265,639.88 |
| FY25 ESEA Consolidated Funds | Substantial Approval – 9/30/27 | |
| FY25 School Improvement Funds | Substantial Approval – 9/30/26 | $292,053.99 |
| FY26 ESEA Consolidated Funds | Substantial Approval – 9/30/27 | |
| FY26 School Improvement Funds | Substantial Approval – 9/30/27 | |
| FY27 ESEA Consolidated Funds | Substantial Approval - 9/30/28 |
*As of 9/24/2026
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