001Thank you so much for utilizing this pre-recorded resource uh with an overview of the ESSA consolidated federal and title one part A homeless reservation worksheet post award highlights. My name is Laura Wakeake and I am the postwork compliance unit manager within the federal fiscal compliance and reporting division. So, I wanted to share with you today um some newly added aspects to our postawward review of the ESSA consolidated federal grant application and the new requirement of the title one part A homeless reservation worksheet submission that will go along with that postawward review. Before we dive in, I do need to share with you two different disclaimers. The first one is our legal disclaimer, which essentially states that we are operating on our most current understanding um in terms of the content contained within this presentation and
002it does not constitute legal advice. If you need legal advice, you'd want to seek legal counsel. and also that the content um that we're sharing with you today is subject to change. Our newly added disclaimer here um is in alignment with the times which it deals with recording in AI. So artificial intelligence. So, the Texas Education Agency does not permit third-party recording or the use of artificial intelligence AI summary services during its grants related trainings. Attendees of TEA's grants related trainings may not use AI services, language models, applications, interfaces, or assistance to attend, review, or record the trainings. TEA further prohibits any person or entity from using the information included in its grants related trainings to train AI technologies. Any attendees of TEA's grant related trainings who violate this prohibition may be removed from the
003trainings and may be barred from attending future grants related trainings. for our agenda. Um, in terms of this being a recorded version, we are going to jump to the second bullet which is the postawward compliance reviews and the newly added requirement which I um hinted at earlier. Um we'll be going over the process of the postawward compliance unit and the time frame with these reviews. We will be looking at the ESSA consolidated federal grant application, the relevant programmatic schedules and budgetary schedules and the title one part a homeless reservation worksheet or equivalent options. So I'm going to offer um three different options for the actual documentation that will be submitted to us and then the final portion will be that bringing it all together which is looking at what where's the alignment that we're looking
004at for between the ESSA consolidated federal grant application and the submission of that title one part A homeless reservation worksheet or equivalent. So you have multiple options for how it's actually submitted as well. So it's always important to understand the statutory aspects of these requirements. So to give you a little bit of background on that um we are going to be looking at the Elementary and Secondary Education Act ESA as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act ESSA statute. So as a part of utilizing the title one part a funds there is a required homeless reservation and this is grounded in statute which is nothing new u but this outlines essentially what the stat statute is communicating which it requires a school system to reserve title one part a funds to provide services comparable to
005those provided to children in title one part A schools to homeless children and youth in title one part A and non-title one part A schools which may be determined based on a needs assessment and to children in local institutions for neglected children. The ESA requires a school system to determine the amount of these reservations based on its total title one part A cal allocation prior to any allowable expenditures or transfer of funds. So with this requirement and this newly added aspect of our reviews, we're looking at delving into monitoring this more closely. So when we're looking at that ESSA consolidated federal grant application, there is a specific schedule on that application called the PS3101, which is the title one part A schedule. And one section on that schedule, part C, which we'll get to, it
006is the uh reservation of funds. And given that the homeless reservation is required, it is an aspect of that schedule. So we'll be reviewing that schedule against the submission of the title one part A homeless reservation worksheet or equivalent. So the why behind this new submission requirement um in combination with this postawward review of the ESSA consolidated federal grant application has to do with USDE's monitoring visit which took place. Um and as a part of that monitoring um this this was the feedback that we got that we need to monitor and review the title one part A application to verify the sufficiency of the set aside amount to ensure that school systems have met the requirements of ESA section 113C3A to reserve such funds as necessary to provide services to children and youth experiencing homelessness.
007that are compared comparable to other children receiving funded title one part A services. In response, school systems will be required to submit the title one part A homeless reservation worksheet or equivalent as I have mentioned and this will be in combination with our postawward application review process. So, the ESSA consolidated federal grant application review process and timeline. So, I'm going to give you a little bit of background about the postawward compliance unit, what we're looking at when we're reviewing the ESSA consolidated federal grant application, um, this newly in integrated aspect of it, and then the timeline for how for when this occurs. So as as the name of our unit implies postawward compliance we we look at federal grant applications postawward. So after the grant application has been no good. So we are looking at
008uh grant applications for issues of compliance or non-compliance with with applicable statutes, regulations, nonregulatory guidance and grant guid grant guidelines. Um, in this case with the ESSA consolidated federal grant application, there is a random 25% sample of school systems that's generated and those will be the school systems that are we will review their ESSA consolidated federal grant application post award and that 25% we will request from them that they submit the um title one part a homeless reservation worksheet or equivalent so that we can make those comparisons and draw alignment between what's being indicated on the ESSA consolidated federal uh grant application and what's being indicated in that worksheet submission. The timeline for these reviews, we don't start looking at the federal grant applications until they've been no good. So we look at them postawward
009and so that time frame will be different for each school system depending upon when they submit their application and then when it's gone through the process with grants administration to where the NOA's been awarded. We track that. So we'll know when the NOGA's been awarded we'll go in we'll review the application if the school system is within that 25% random sample. We will request the submission of the title one part A homeless reservation worksheet or equivalent and the review process from start to finish. Our our deadline for completing the whole process is the deadline for um amendment submission for the ESS consolidated federal grant program. Again, the uh the newly added requirement as a part of our postawward application review of the ESSA consolidated federal. If a school system is randomly selected for review, they
010will be required to submit the title one part a homeless reservation worksheet or equivalent. And then we'll be reviewing that against the application. If there is a misalignment, if there is an issue of non-compliance, then we reach out to the school system directly, either request an amendment and or request a resubmission of the relevant worksheet. the type of communication you can expect to see from us if you're a part of that 25% sample. If there's an issue of non-compliance, we send out a preliminary report and that essentially outlines the issues of non-compliance and it also incorporates um supportive resources for school systems so that they can u work through that issue of non-compliance with the resources and also we are always available for a phone call or a zoom meeting to support school systems as
011they work through the process. If we review the um ESSA consolidated federal grant application and the title one part A homeless reservation worksheet that's been submitted and there are no issues whatsoever, we go directly to issuing a final report and it it outlines the date in which the application and submission were reviewed. it um it outlines the specific application which in this case would be the ESSA consolidated and then it just states that there were no issues of non-compliance that we identified. Um if a preliminary report was sent and an amendment or resubmission was required then we review all of that and we send out a final report which is uh after that after the fact after reviewing that resubmission or amendment and it outline it's a summary essentially of of what initially was identified
012and whether it was resolved or not. This communication is all shared via email, but also we utilize the federal fiscal compliance and reporting division work app to communicate with the field. You'll be able to see with your dynamic view in that work app um all the stages of our review, any documentation associated with it will be housed there. And also we'll get to a little bit later how you can actually submit your title one part a homeless reservation worksheet or equivalent through that platform. So, as a consolidated federal, we're going to be looking at briefly the relevant programmatic and budgetary schedules related to title one part a homeless reservation worksheet submission. So, we touched on this earlier, but I did not have a visual of the schedule itself when I spoke to it earlier. So
013this is the PS3101 title one part A uh schedule on the ESSA consolidated federal grant application and you can see highlighted there in part C activities to be conducted with reserved funds. As I mentioned earlier, the services to homeless students is a required reservation and it is based upon a needs assessment that is conducted at the local level by the school systems. Um and the reserved amount here we will be comparing that res total reserved amount against what's being indicated on the title one part A homeless reservation worksheet or equivalent that is submitted to us. So that is one aspect of where we're looking for that alignment. We're looking for what's indicated here on this schedule and then what is reflected in the documentation that was submitted to us. If there's some sort of misalignment
014there, this would be where either the application would be need to be amended or there would need to be a resubmission of documentation depending upon what the situation is. the relevant uh budgetary um schedules that we'll be drawing the comparison with between the document submission and the ESSA consolidated federal grant application. We'll be looking at 6,100 which is payroll cost, 6,200 which is professional and contracted services. We'll be looking at 6,300 which is supplies and materials and 6,400 which is other operating costs. So I mentioned earlier that there are a few options for what the submission can look like. So we are going to go through those options now of the title one part a homeless reservation worksheet or equivalent. There are three different options for um that submission to us. Now it's important to
015make this distinction here which uh for the purpose of our review our postawward application review in combination with the title one part A homeless reservation documentation submission. We are really honing in on the itemization of those funds of the funds that have been reserved. We're looking very closely at that against the budgetary schedules on the application and we're looking at that total amount reserved against the PS3101 and what was indicated there. So that's our focus, but school systems are required to determine that amount to be reserved for services to children experiencing homelessness based upon a needs assessment. And I spoke to that earlier. That is a requirement. It is in statute that that school systems that this reservation is based upon that needs assessment. We are not analyzing that needs assessment for the purpose of
016our review. Um but it is important that that takes place as a part of determining the reservation amount. As I mentioned earlier, there are three options. So let's get to that. One option is the title one part A homeless reservation itemization smart sheet form. Some of you are probably wellversed with utilizing smart sheet forms and some of you may never have used one before. So we will be walking through that together. I will actually go to the live version of the form to show you how to fill it out. Um but first we'll walk through this part of it. So option one is the form the smart sheet form. On the form there are all the relevant class object codes that I spoke to earlier and um all the lists of services that um are
017allowable for the use of these funds. There's also an other field and I'll show you that in a moment. So, if there is a service that that you're wanting to utilize the funds for that is an allowable use of funds and perhaps that service is not listed, you do have the option of entering that service and explaining and describing the service. Um, there is what is called logic linked up and organized on the form. So any class object code and service that you choose, it will then present you the correct field to enter in your estimated amount um for that service within that class object code. This is what the form looks like. So basically the form that as I was on the previous slide, there's a link. There's no access to smart sheet required.
018is just a link that you click on and then this form presents itself and you work through the form. Um you'll utilize the drop-own menu to select school system and CDN number. There's also another field that is not visible here that is the region number and that's also a dropown. Um, for each one of the class object codes listed here, there is a list of services that align with that uh, class object code that you can choose from and you can select multiple services within each class object code and the corresponding estimated amount field will populate for you. So, you only see what you need to see based upon your choices. Um, and you always want to remember at the end of this to check the box next to send me a copy of my
019responses and it will directly email you a copy of your responses. The um really other excellent thing about this submission um option is that it automatically populates to a smart sheet and it's already submitted to us. So we can see it immediately. Um so this is not only a form option um but it is also a submission option to where you do really you are doing both things at one time. On the back end of this on the smart sheet itself there is a formula where it is totaling the amount of of funds that are being reserved. So that also is reported to us. um via this route. I am going to backtrack here and I'm going to go into a live view of this form and show you how to complete it. Okay. So
020here we have as I mentioned earlier subreient name. We have sort of a a test account that we set up so that we can make sure these technological tools are working properly. So I'm going to select that madeup account and then the madeup region. We do not have region 21. And then here when I click on this there are two options here for services under the payroll costs. So there's the homeless liaison and there's other salary. As I mentioned earlier, every single one of these class object codes has an other option and you just need to define and justify it. So I'm going to click on the liaison and then you can see here that it opens up a corresponding estimated amount salary for homeless liaison. Um you would need to this is populating it
021for me. It has a memory of what I've done before when I was testing this out. But you would just simply enter in the amount here and then move on to the next relevant class object code. Now you may not have services in all these class object codes. Um, but you see here, you can select more than one at a time. And when you do that, it's going to open up the corresponding estimated amount. So, I'm going to put 200 there. I'll put 250 there. And then we'll go on to supplies and materials. And you can see it all listed here. Your choices. And then we'll put an estimated amount here. And then other operating costs. I'm going to choose food. Okay. And as I mentioned earlier, it's very very important that you click right
022here because that's going to send you a uh outline of your what you entered into the form via an email. Um and again, the totaling of the the the service the amount of the reservation is happening on the smart sheet on the back end of this right now. So once I click submit here, this goes automatically to the smart sheet and the poster word compliance unit is able to view it. And so it's an excellent option as a a document submission, but also just how to submit it as well. It's it's very um seamless. So I'm going to go ahead and submit. And this is this is what you this is the message it will give you once you submit. So that's option one for submitting. So I'm going to take us back to the
023presentation and I'm going to show you the next option. Next option for submitting get to that spot is right here. Okay, so the federal program compliance division created a title one part a homeless reservation worksheet and this is a visual of the first page of that worksheet. It is guidance. So, in the live version of this, which I'll show you in a moment, um this details guidance on this um homeless reservation. And towards the bottom of this, what you cannot see, there are links to resources as well. There's the needs assessment portion of the worksheet. Again reiterating that it is critical that the school system has um conducted a needs assessment. Uh but this is not for the purpose of our review. We won't be analyzing this aspect of the title one part A homeless
024reservation worksheet that the federal program um compliance division created. But it is important if you go this route and you're going to use their worksheet that you do complete this portion of it. This is the final page in the postawward compliance unit. This is what we'll really delve into is we'll be looking at the class object code where um the estimated amounts are placed and for what activities and services and we'll be looking at the total amount of the reservation which on the actual form is calculating towards the bottom of the form. So, if you choose to utilize this worksheet, I'll go over later on different options for how you would submit it, but this is another option for you. It is an Excel file, and I will show you where to locate it on
025the uh federal program compliance web page. So, let's go there now. Okay, I'm going to take you into that view. So, your starting point for that is the TEA web page. And then as you hover over finance and grants, you will see federal program compliance. I'm going to click on that. And then the next step you want to take is to click on title one part a improving basic programs. And then you're going to scroll down and it's right here. Guidance and worksheet to determine amount of title one part a homeless reservation. So when you click on that it downloads an excel file. You'll see here this is the guidance tab that I mentioned earlier and then here are the links to resources. This is the needs assessment portion and then this is the um
026itemized reservation portion. Now I do want to draw the alignment here with that smart sheet form that I I showed you as option one. It is exactly the same choices uh via that form in terms of the um activities and strategies um and class object codes as what's represented here. You see down at the bottom this is where it will give you that total amount. So, that's where you locate that worksheet. Let's go back to the presentation. Okay, I'm going to just get to option three. Now option three is if you have uh at the local level perhaps you have a a system or a document that you're using already to determine the title one part a homeless reservation and that's excellent. You can use that as well and you can submit that to us.
027You'll just want to make sure if you go that route, if you're using your local version, um, that it must indicate the class object codes being utilized. It must indicate the activity and strategy specific to each class object code. It must include estimated amount of funds per activity and strategy. And it must include the total estimated amount across all those class object codes. So basically, you want to kind of mirror what that um uh federal program compliance worksheet that the data that's on there. You want to mirror that on your local version. The other aspect that you'll want to make sure and include is you you absolutely want to have your school system name and the county district number uh represented on that document. And it can be in Excel or PDF file formats. Those
028are both acceptable. So we reviewed your three options for you know what that document submission can actually look like. Now let's look again at you know what are we actually when we have these pieces of information. We have the ESSA consolidated federal grant application. We have your document submission. And again this is the next step where we're saying okay uh what is present or what's been indicated on the PS3101 section C line two services to homeless students what what's the amount of the reserve funds there and then we'll be looking at okay this document was submitted what's the total reserve funds on this document and again that's where if there's a misalignment there that would require an amendment of the application so that the PS3101 can be revised or it may be an issue where
029the documentation submitted was inaccurate. And so we would just work on that with you to determine which route we need to take to resolve the issue. And again, these are the class object codes that um are the the determined recommended class object codes. Um so that would be 6100 which again is the payroll cost, 6,200 which is the professional and contracted services, 6,300 which is supplies and materials, and 6,400 which is other operating costs. And we're just looking for the alignment between all the information on the document that's submitted and what's indicated on the budgetary schedules on the ESST consolidated federal grant application. Okay. So we talked about you know your options in terms of the document. We talked about what we're actually reviewing. Now these are your options for how you you send it
030to us. So there are three different options for how you can submit your documentation. Option one um is to complete that smart sheet form. And so that form again is an option in terms of the document right the information the data and it's also the option an option for the submission. So if you go that route if you choose the the smart sheet form you've already submitted it to us. So that is option one. Option two, the title one part A homeless reservation worksheet or equivalent. So say for example you use the federal program compliances worksheet or you use a local version that's an equivalent. You can upload that document to the federal fiscal compliance and reporting division work app. And I will show you what that looks like in a moment. But that's another
031option for submission. When you upload it to the work app, you'll have a dynamic view specific to the ESSA consolidated federal grant application reviews. Um, and you'll be able to upload your document directly to your row on that smart sheet. Um, the dynamic view that's created from the smart sheet is linked through your email address. So, you are the only one that can see your information and the dynamic view will have your school systems name in a row. You click on that row and it allows you to upload documentation. And again, I'll show you a visual of that in a moment. But that is another option that's excellent. We uh receive the documentation immediately. we're notified that it's there and it's already linked up through our whole workout system. Um, option three, which is also
032a absolutely fine option, is to just email it to us. So, say for example that you're wanting to use the federal program compliances homeless reservation worksheet or your equivalent of that and so you're working with a Excel or PDF document and you just want to email it. So you can do that. You can email it to us at pac tea.ex.gov. So again, this is just to show that you know this form link, not only you're entering your data there, but then we're automatically receiving it. This is option two, which is uploading it to the federal fiscal compliance and reporting division work app. If you're choosing to go with an Excel or PDF um of the the federal program compliance division version or your equivalent. So, some of you probably already have access to TEA's work
033app system. And if that's the case, then you have access to our federal fiscal compliance and reporting division work app. And this is what it looks like. So, you just go into the system, you click on this, and then it will give you a menu of all your dynamic views that are available, which we'll look at uh a dynamic view example in a moment. Um, if you don't have access to the work app yet, then in this presentation, there are um, steps and instructions for how to gain that access. So, if you're interested in this type of submission, this is what a the dynamic view looks like for the school systems for the post award reviews. It gives the ESC, the CDN number, the subreient name, which would of course be your school system name,
034the grant application being reviewed. In this case, it would be you would see ESS as a consolidated federal. It would show you the status and relevant dates and if an amendment's required and what the issue may be and if it was corrected or not. Um but in your dynamic view when you click on this row where your subreient name is it opens up this window which is the details pane. There's a data tab and an attachments tab. In this scenario you are clicking on the attachments tab and then it gives you this little button and it says attach a file. So you click on that and then it'll allow you to search your computer for the file that you want to upload. You upload it and we immediately are notified that it's there and it's
035in our system. So that's option number two for a possible submission of the documentation. These are the steps for how to gain access. Um, you can click on the Edgar Connect workout app or this link and they take you to the same place which is this next slide. Um, if you you'll want to start out by um checking around your school district to see whom already has access to the work app system. And if there's someone that you work with that already has the access, then they'll want to go into the system and add uh you in there as a new user. Um if you don't know anyone in your district that already has access, then you would reach out to Frank Baka and request um some assistance with that. And I will show you
036his contact information in a moment. This is what the new user certification looks like. It's basically a an online form that you would fill out and it's for security reasons. It it asks you um a variety of of questions related to your access to the smart sheet systems. Um, if you follow all these steps, you you know someone that has access, you've gone through them, and you're still having issues, or if you if you don't have even a starting point with someone in your school district, then you can email Frank Baka and he's extremely helpful. Um, frank.ex.gov and he is a system automation team lead and he'll be able to assist you with gaining access to the work app system. And then our third option for submission is good oldfashioned email. You can um attach
037your document to your email and email us that documentation at paca.t texas.gov. Okay. So those were the the three options for for submission. You have the smart sheet form. You could submit it to us that way. You have the work app option if you want to go into your dynamic view and upload a file and then you could just simply email it to us. Now we are on to some valuable resources that we pulled. Um there's the every student succeeds act the statute uh related to ESSA. There's the title one part A improving basic programs guide. Um that web page I took you to earlier, the federal program compliance title one part A web page. There's a there's just a wonderful uh collection of resources on there. So I highly recommend it's a lot it's
038a lot to look through, but there's some really valuable information there. Uh there's the title one part a frequently asked questions. There's the education for homeless children and youths program non-regulatory guidance. There's um the PS3101. There's a a place on the when you're in the egrant system and you're on that schedule, there's a button where you can actually download the instructions for any schedule that you're looking at. And so this is a link to those schedule instructions. And then you have the title one part A homeless reservation worksheet that we went over that was created by the federal program compliance. And then there's the option for the title one part A homeless reservation itemization form through the smart sheet avenue. If you have any questions or concerns or feedback or you you need assistance with
039walking through the process, please reach out to us. We are we are wanting to help. We are here for you. You can email us directly at paca.t texas.gov. Um you can also reach out to me directly. Again, my name is Laura Wakeake and I am the postawward compliance unit manager. My email is laura.wake at tea.ex.gov.