2021 Virtual Wisconsin Federal Funding Conference

Did you miss the conference? Learn the ins and outs of managing federal funds for compliance and to promote excellence in your school district for all students. Recordings from the conference are now available!

 

Did you miss the conference? Register by March 31 to receive access to all the session recordings!

Presented by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, WASBO Foundation and WCASS

The Federal Funding Conference is a collaboration between DPI, the WI Association of School Business Officials  (WASBO) and the WI Council of Administrators of Special Services (WCASS).
In addition to providing introductory sessions on Federal Funding for staff new to federal grants management, this year’s conference focuses on the ins and outs of federal funding in our ever-changing environment

Over 15 concurrent sessions will handle the nuts and bolts of compliance, monitoring and management of your federal funds.

Topic areas covered at the 2021 conference include:
  • What We've Been Up To - A Year in Review
  • CARES Act - Claims, Reports, Data & Monitoring
  • Introductions to Title I Part A Funding, IDEA Funding, Title II Part A Funding, IDEA Maintenance of Effort and Title III Part A Funding
  • Tips and Tricks for WISEgrants Software
  • Providing Equitable Services to Private Schools with ESEA Funds
  • Wisconsin Uniform Financial Accounting Requirements 101

Who Would Benefit from This Information?

To get the most from this professional development opportunity, register to receive the recorded conference sessions for these members of your team:
  • Special Education Program Coordinators
  • Title I Program Coordinators
  • Grant Accountants and Coordinators
  • District Administrators, Business Managers, and/or Business Office Staff working closely with Special Ed and Title I funding
Upon registering, you will receive an email with the link to all recorded conference sessions.
 
To register please sign in or click the create a new account link in the area to the right. If you have previously attended a Federal Funding or other WASBO conference, your User Name is your email address. If you don't recall your password, click the Forgot My Password link to the right to reset it.

Be sure to click the orange Save Responses button below before you Proceed to Checkout.
 
When
2/22/2021 8:00 AM - 2/23/2021 3:00 PM
Central Standard Time
Where
Virtual

Program

Monday, 22 February 2021

Description
Conference Welcome & Introductions
Time
8:00 AM - 8:15 AM
8:00 AM
What We've Been Up To - A Year in Review
Time
8:15 AM - 9:00 AM
8:15 AM
Morning Break
Time
9:15 AM - 9:30 AM
9:15 AM
Introduction to Title I, Part A Funding
Title I is a federal program that provides funds to LEAs and their schools with high percentages of children from low-income families to support a variety of services to students struggling to meet state academic achievement standards. This session will provide participants with information on how Title I grant allocations are determined and when and how the funds can be used in the LEA.
Time
9:30 AM - 10:30 AM
9:30 AM
WI Uniform Financial Accounting Requirements (WUFAR) 101
This section will present the basics of WUFAR and is meant for program staff or new business office staff. All LEAs in Wisconsin, including Independent Charter Schools, must submit financial reports including grant budgets and claims to DPI using the Department's established  account coding system. This session will break down these codes so program staff can understand the structure and the importance of understanding this reporting requirement. Program staff will learn what pieces matter to the program area and how having this knowledge, along with communication between the program and business office, will improve the LEA’s management of federal funds. If you are a seasoned fiscal staff person, this session will be an introduction to WUFAR and will provide information already well known to those staff who work with WUFAR on a regular basis. The session will consist of 40 minutes of presentation and a 20 minute digital hands-on activity in which funding scenarios and WUFAR account strings will be provided, and participants must fit the pieces together.
Time
9:30 AM - 10:30 AM
9:30 AM
Morning Break
Time
10:30 AM - 10:45 AM
10:30 AM
Introduction to IDEA Funding
Funds under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) are provided to LEAs on a formula basis to support programs and services for students with disabilities. In general, the funds are to be used for the excess cost of providing special education instruction and related services. This session will provide the participants with introductory information on how IDEA grant allocations are calculated and when and how the funds may be used. There will be a focus on allowed costs and some common funding errors that are made. This session is designed for program and business office staff new to special education funding.
Time
10:45 AM - 11:45 AM
10:45 AM
Tips and Tricks for WISEgrants Software
WISEgrants, DPI’s Federal Grants Management System, is celebrating its sixth year in 2020-2021. Since the inception of our one-stop shop for federal grants and incorporating feedback from our users, we have been able to build many tools within the program to help everyone from the novice grants administrator to the seasoned business manager. This session will walk the audience through the most useful features of WISEgrants, including tips for finding WUFAR combinations within a grant budget to reports that will help align the subrecipient’s ledger to WISEgrants claims.
Time
10:45 AM - 11:45 AM
10:45 AM
Lunch Break
Time
11:45 AM - 12:15 PM
11:45 AM
Introduction to Title II, Part A Funding
Title II, Part A is a federal program that provides funds to eligible LEAs for training, hiring, and retaining skilled educators. All activities must be grounded in a needs assessment, employ the evidence based strategies, and evaluated using research. This session will provide participants with information on how Title II, Part A grant funds can be used by the LEAs under ESSA requirements.
Time
12:15 PM - 12:45 PM
12:15 PM
Indirect Cost Recovery and Federal Funds
The total cost of operating a program that receives federal funding includes items like utilities, IT support, bookkeeping, human resources – anything and everything necessary to keep the organization itself up and running. When expenses are shared among programs, or among functions within the organization (e.g., management, accounting, phone communications), they are defined as indirect costs. Tracking and recovering these costs are among the biggest challenges for an LEA. This session will review how indirect cost rates for LEAs are established, what costs are or should be considered "indirect," and how an LEA can budget and claim indirect cost recovery through their federal grant programs.
Time
12:15 PM - 12:45 PM
12:15 PM
Afternoon Break
Time
12:45 PM - 1:00 PM
12:45 PM
Consultation for Equiptable Participation of Private Schools
Over recent years, it has been brought to light that better professional development must be provided to LEAs on how to navigate a meaningful and successful private school consultation - which will result in better compliance.  This session will provide participants an indepth look at the consultation requirements for private school equitable participation under both IDEA and ESSA and why it is important for both the program area and business office staff to understand the federal fiscal implications to avoid monitoring findings or a loss of funds.
Time
1:00 PM - 2:15 PM
1:00 PM
Introduction to IDEA Maintenance of Effort Requirements
A complicated and complex topic, this session will break down the IDEA regulation that requires LEAs to maintain local spending amounts on special education in exchange for the IDEA grant funds. This introductory session will walk audience members through the four comparison tests, the data that is used within the tests, and the responsibilities of the LEAs if all four comparison tests are not met. This session will focus on the regulations and understanding MOE compliance.
Time
1:00 PM - 2:15 PM
1:00 PM

Tuesday, 23 February 2021

Description
CARES Act - Claims, Reports, Data & Monitoring
Time
8:30 AM - 9:30 AM
8:30 AM
Morning Break
Time
9:30 AM - 9:45 AM
9:30 AM
Enhancing Programs With Title IV, Part A
This federal funding source under ESSA provides a valuable opportunity to support the highest needs students within school communities through innovative activities, support, and community partnerships. This presentation will provide an overview of the intent and expectations of Title IV, Part A (Student Support and Academic Excellence) and explore ways to integrate and maximize funding. Best practices and example activities within the three program areas will be shared.
Time
9:45 AM - 10:15 AM
9:45 AM
Strengthening CTE for the 21st Century Act Implementation
The Perkins V implementation began with the 2020-2021 grant application and is available in WISEgrants. This presentation will include the major tenets of the act and the affected program requirements. Discussion will include the requirement of the comprehensive local needs assessment (CLNA) and budgeting according to the needs reflected in the results. The presenter will also discuss costs allowed under the Perkins V and  WISEgrants functionality related to Perkins V.
Time
9:45 AM - 10:15 AM
9:45 AM
Morning Break
Time
10:15 AM - 10:30 AM
10:15 AM
IDEA's Equitable Participation for Private School Students
Local Education Agencies (LEAs) are responsible for setting aside a portion of their IDEA allocation to provide special education instruction and related services to students with disabilities who are placed in private schools by their parents. This session will review which students are the LEA's responsibility, how the amount that must be set-aside is determined, how the funds must be spent to meet the requirement, and how it is budgeted and accounted for through WISEgrants. The speaker will also review how DPI monitors Equitable Services, including tracking of unspent set-aside funds and the end of year required reporting for LEAs that do not budget funds.
Time
10:30 AM - 11:30 AM
10:30 AM
Coordinated Early Intervening Services & Title I Set-Aside
This session will provide an overview of two very flexible funding options available under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act: the Coordinated Early Intervening Services (CEIS) and Title I Schoolwide set-asides. Under the Title I Schoolwide set-aside option, LEAs with Title I Schoolwide schools are allowed to set aside a portion of their IDEA grant to support activities, not just special education, in a Title I Schoolwide program. Under the CEIS option, all LEAs that receive an IDEA allocation are allowed to use a portion of their grant to fund academic or behavioral interventions for students without disabilities. This session will review how the amounts available are determined, how they are budgeted and accounted for, and how the funds may be spent. Additional time will be spent on the CEIS narrative and student reporting requirements.
Time
10:30 AM - 11:30 AM
10:30 AM
Lunch Break
Time
11:30 AM - 12:00 PM
11:30 AM
Federal Time and Effort Reporting Requirements
In this “flip classroom” session, participants will be asked to watch a short pre-recorded presentation prior to the conference on the Federal Uniform Grant Guidance time and effort requirements. The pre-recorded session will review which grant-funded staff must keep time and effort documentation, “cost objectives” (single or multiple), and how the type of objective drives the level of detail required for supporting documentation. During the live session, the presenters will engage the participants in active learning scenarios that are applicable to the LEA experience.
Time
12:00 PM - 12:30 PM
12:00 PM
Intro to Title III, Part A - Funding and English Learners
Title III is a federal program that provides supplemental funding to schools for the purpose of ensuring that English Learners (ELs), including immigrant children and youth, improve English proficiency and academic achievement. This session will provide participants with information on how Title III grant allocations are determined and when and how the funds can be used by LEAs and consortia. Additionally, the speaker will highlight the importance of data collection and its connection to program design and implementation.
Time
12:00 PM - 12:30 PM
12:00 PM
Intro to Comprehensive Coordinated Early Intervening Service
LEAs that have been identified by DPI as having  significant racial disproportionality in special education identification, discipline, and / or placement are required to set-aside 15% of their IDEA formula funds to pay for activities that will address the root causes of the LEA’s racial disproportionality.  This set-aside is called “Comprehensive Coordinated Early Intervening Services” or “CCEIS.” The presenters will discuss the application process, including the submission of a Continuous Improvement Plan with examples of exemplary root cause factors and evidence-based improvement strategies. The session will provide an overview of the timeline and fiscal expectations for identified LEAs.
Time
12:30 PM - 1:45 PM
12:30 PM
Providing Equitable Services to Private Schools ESSA Funds
This session will provide participants an indepth look at the requirements for private school equitable participation under ESSA. Topics will include assessing student needs, the consultation process, options for serving private schools, and allowable costs.
Time
12:30 PM - 1:45 PM
12:30 PM
Afternoon Break
Time
1:45 PM - 2:00 PM
1:45 PM
Networking Rooms with DPI
Still have questions? Network with a variety of DPI staff and ask about one of the four topics listed: JFN Bookings Road Show, Equitable Participation, CARES or Federal Fiscal Grants.
Time
1:45 PM - 2:45 PM
1:45 PM

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