LM Jan 2024

News In Brief

Join Data Informed Leadership for Equity Partnership The Regional Education Laboratory Midwest (REL Midwest) is looking for Midwestern school districts interested in building middle school staff capacity to use student-centered culturally responsive practices and data to improve students’ sense of belonging and engagement in school. Their partnership is implementing the Data-Informed Leadership for Equity (DILE) approach which provides free, ongoing professional development for school leaders and classroom teachers to help them better understand and respond to data related to student belonging and engagement. The DILE approach is funded by the Institute of Education Sciences. Click here to read an informational flyer. Click here to read an FAQ document. School Level Finance Survey Webinar: Understanding Expanded Federal Requirements for Site-Based Financial Reporting Join Illinois State Board of Education at 10:30 a.m. Jan. 23 for a virtual webinar on the newly required School-Level Finance Survey (SLFS) for FY 2024. ISBE will discuss the specific requirements and reporting options for the survey, highlighting how Local Education Agencies (LEAs) can efficiently complete both Site-Based Expenditure Reporting and SLFS using ISBE’s online tool. This webinar is intended for LEA staff who complete the annual Site-Based Expenditure Report; entities that do not complete this report, (e.g., special education cooperatives, need not attend. Click here to register for the School-Level Finance Survey webinar.

What to Know About USDA’s Summer EBT Program This summer, the U.S. Department of Agriculture will launch a new permanent nutrition assistance program known as Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer. Estimates suggest the program could reduce food insecurity and improve nutrition for 29 million school-aged children if implemented nationwide. Families with children who are eligible for free and reduced price school meals will receive $40 per child each month to buy food during the summer, when school is out. Congress approved the program in December 2022 through the Consolidated Appropriations Act. States were required to file an intent to enroll in the program by Jan. 1. Over 30 states plan to enroll in the USDA program as of Wednesday, while a handful of others—including Iowa and Nebraska—have declined to participate. Read more on Education Dive. handbook can be used to design or revise professional learning, instructional practices, and processes related to effectively serving students with dyslexia and other related disorders. In addition, this handbook addresses the social emotional needs of children and adolescents with dyslexia and those who struggle to learn to read. Updated Dyslexia Handbook Now Available ISBE recently released a revised edition of The Dyslexia Guide: A Handbook for Parents, Educators, and Students. This updated document was developed by the Specific Learning Disability (SLD) Support Project, a federally funded grant project through ISBE in partnership with Eastern Illinois University and Eastern Illinois Area Special Education. The

ISDLAF+ Monthly Update Click here to view the most current ISDLAF+ rates, economic indicators and general economic news brief. To obtain additional information regarding this IASA sponsored service, contact Fenil J. Patel, Senior Vice President, Investment Services/ISDLAF+ at 630–657–6437, or email: fpatel@ pmanetwork.com. Website: www.pmanetwork.com.

21 LM January 2024