Montana State Plan for the American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (U.S. Department of Education)
Summary
Montana's State Plan for the American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ARP ESSER) Fund, on the U.S. Department of Education template issued April 21, 2021 (OMB Number 1810-0754). The cover page names Julie Murgel as the state contact. The plan describes the state's needs and its use of the funds, including RISE virtual communities in which students took part alongside Tribal Elders, State Legislators, Tribal Leaders and the State Superintendent.
Summary drafted by a model from the document's text below and checked by script against that text before publication. It is a navigation aid, not a reading of what the document proves. Where AI is used
Full text
Montana State Plan for the
American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund
U.S. Department of Education
Issued: April 21, 2021
Montana
OMB Number: 1810-0754
Expiration Date: October 31, 2021
Paperwork Burden Statement According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, no persons are required to
respond to a collection of information unless such collection displays a valid OMB control number. The valid OMB
control number for this information collection is 1810-0754. Public reporting burden for this collection of
information is estimated to average 100 hours per response, including time for reviewing instructions, searching
existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of
information. The obligation to respond to this collection is required to obtain or retain benefit under Section 2001 of
the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARP Act). If you have any comments concerning the accuracy of the time
estimate, suggestions for improving this individual collection, or if you have comments or concerns regarding the
status of your individual form, application or survey, please contact Britt Jung, Office of State and Grantee
Relations, Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue,
SW, Washington, DC 20202-6450, email: SGR@ed.gov directly.
Introduction
The American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (“ARP
ESSER”) Fund, authorized under the American Rescue Plan (“ARP”) Act of 2021, provides
nearly $122 billion to States to support the Nation’s schools in safely reopening and sustaining
safe operations of schools while meeting the academic, social, emotional, and mental health
needs of students resulting from the coronavirus disease 2019 (“COVID-19”) pandemic. It is
particularly important that ARP ESSER funding will enable States and local educational
agencies (“LEAs”), and more directly schools, to support students who have been most severely
impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and are likely to have suffered the most because of
longstanding inequities in our communities and schools that have been exacerbated by the
COVID-19 pandemic.
The U.S. Department of Education (“Department”) is committed to working in partnership with
States so that these unprecedented resources are quickly put to work to ensure students have
sustained access to in-person instruction and that the resources are used to provide the effective
support students need as they persist through and recover from the impacts of the COVID-19
pandemic. The thoughtful and timely use of these funds will have a lasting impact on our
Nation’s schools and help to address the inequities in resources, services, and opportunities
available to our students.
This template presents an opportunity for States to share their plans for the use of ARP ESSER
funds with the public. The Department must approve a State educational agency’s (“SEA’s”)
plan in order to make the State’s remaining ARP ESSER allocation available for use. Please note
that the Department intends to issue ARP ESSER reporting requirements separately.
Instructions
Each SEA must provide descriptions and other information that address each requirement listed
below. An SEA may use this template or another format as long as every item and element is
addressed in the SEA’s response. Throughout this document, questions that refer to an SEA’s
ARP ESSER funding are referencing the total allocation to be received by the SEA, including
that which it allocates to its LEAs.
Each SEA must submit to the Department by June 7, 2021, either: (1) its ARP ESSER plan or
(2) the State requirements that preclude submission of the plan by that date and a date by which
it will be able to submit its complete ARP ESSER plan.
To submit the SEA’s plan, please email the plan to your Program Officer at
[State].OESE@ed.gov (e.g., Alabama.OESE@ed.gov).
In order to ensure transparency, the Department will post each plan on the Department’s website
when it is received and will indicate each plan’s approval status.
This template also allows States to fulfill the requirement of the Coronavirus Response and
Relief Supplemental Appropriations (“CRRSA”) Act ESSER II 6-month reporting requirement
in section 313(f) of the CRRSA Act.
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Cover Page
Grantee and Contact Information
ARP ESSER PR Award Number (e.g., S425U2100XX):
SEA Contact: Julie Murgel
Telephone: 406-444-3172
Email address: julie.murgel@mt.gov
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Estimated Burden Statement for GEPA Requirements
According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, no persons are required to respond to a
collection of information unless such collection displays a valid OMB control number. Public
reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 3 hours per
response, including time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources,
gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of
information. The obligation to respond to this collection is required to obtain or retain
benefit (Public Law 103-382). Send comments regarding the burden estimate or any other
aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to the
U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Ave., SW, Washington, DC 20210-4537 or
email ICDocketMgr@ed.gov and reference the OMB Control Number 1894-0005.
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A. Describing the State’s Current Status and Needs
The Department recognizes the extraordinary efforts made by States, LEAs, and
educators to support students during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this section, SEAs
will describe the progress they have made, the priorities and student needs guiding their
ARP ESSER funding decisions, and their current and projected operating status.
1. Progress and Promising Practices: Provide your assessment of the top 2-3
strategies that have been most effective in supporting the needs of students in
your State during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially for students most
impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Please include, if applicable, how your
State will submit and encourage its LEAs to submit lessons learned and best
practices to the Department’s Safer Schools and Campuses Best Practices
Clearinghouse so that they can be shared with other States and LEAs.
The Montana Office of Public Instruction (OPI) gathered input from educational stakeholders
across the state to identify the top three strategies that have been most effective in supporting
the needs of students in Montana during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially for students
most impacted. Based on the stakeholder input, which is described in detail in section C, the
following three strategies were most effective:
1. Integrating Social and Emotional Learning: During the pandemic, and due to the increased
levels of social isolation, districts recognized that mental health and social and emotional
supports should be included in all school programming and be given the same level of
consideration as academic supports. As districts recognized the need for this shift across
Montana, implementation of social and emotional programming to assist in student development
of Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) competencies, such as self-awareness and self-
regulation, increased. As part of the OPI Hope Initiative, which is a commitment to the whole
child approach, the OPI strengthened their partnership with the Collaborative for Academic,
Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) to deepen the OPI staff’s ability to provide technical
assistance and professional development to schools on preventative approaches supporting all
students and especially benefitting those disproportionately impacted by the pandemic. Two
particular SEL intervention programs were adopted by LEAs to serve SEL needs, including
Second Step Social and Emotional Curriculum kits and the PAX Good Behavior Game. Eighty-
five LEAs in Montana began to implement the Second Step Social and Emotional Curriculum for
the first time. Teachers provided approximately 1,878 Second Step lessons over the past year,
with 4,300 students (3% of total Montana student population) receiving at least one lesson. In
addition, 5 LEAs and 70 schools adopted the PAX Good Behavior Game, an SEL program that
teaches children the skills of social and emotional regulation that strengthens inhibition, extends
self-regulation, and enables social-emotional scaffolding that improves academic success as well
as mental and behavioral health outcomes later in life. About 1,130 (11% of the total Montana
teachers) provided this programming to approximately 15,730 or 11% of Montana students
(PAXIS Institute, 2014).
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2. On-line Professional Learning Opportunities. As part of the OPI Teach initiative, to
develop teachers and educational leadership, the OPI quickly developed and delivered
professional learning modules on remote instruction and effective technology use. This was
identified as a critical resource during the pandemic for Montana educators. The OPI operates a
Moodle learning management system called the Teacher Learning Hub that provides free
professional development to Montana’s educators. As of July 2019, the Hub had 10 courses on
effective technology use in the classroom ranging in topics from digital citizenship, Google Suite
best practices, digital accessibility fundamentals, universal design for online learning, and
technology integration. These 10 courses received 511 completions in the 2018-2019 fiscal year.
As of 2021, the Teacher Learning Hub continues to offer the 10 courses previously offered in
2018-2019, however, the OPI added three more courses during the pandemic specifically on how
to teach Career, Technical, and Adult Education in remote settings, computer science, and
fostering positive online environments for learning. The OPI also provided two sessions of a
course dedicated to teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic. From March 2020 through April
2021, educators completed 1,241 courses related to effective technology use.
3. Flexibility for School Nutrition Programs. Montana leveraged the flexibilities provided by
the USDA for School Nutrition Programs in order to allow districts to provide meals for
students. Many schools started out on the National School Lunch Program at the beginning of
the school year, before switching to the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) as allowed this
year by USDA due to the COVID pandemic. This change allowed schools to provide more
opportunity for students living in poverty to have easier access to meals and reduce hunger
anxiety that is prevalent in some Montana schools. Schools/organizations submitted monthly
meal claims and the following data chart shows the total SFSP meals served in Montana from
July 1, 2020 to April 1, 2021. It also shows the disaggregated data for tribal affiliated districts
that serve American Indian students. The data shows the level of commitment from staff of all
districts in Montana to serve such a vast amount of meals to students during the pandemic.
SFSP Total Meals Tribal Affiliated
Served districts SFSP meals
served
July 1, 2020 to 14,997,660 2,680,321
April 1, 2021
The OPI will consider lessons learned from these top three strategies that could be submitted to
the Department’s Safer Schools and Campuses Best Practice Clearinghouse.
2. Overall Priorities: Provide your assessment of the top 2-3 issues currently
facing students and schools across your State as a result of or in response to
the COVID-19 pandemic including, to the extent possible, data illustrating
why these are the most critical and/or most widespread issues facing schools
and students.
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The OPI gathered input from educational stakeholders across Montana to identify the top 2-3
issues currently facing students and schools as a result of or in response to the COVID-19
pandemic. Based on the stakeholder input, which is described in detail in section C, the
following three needs were identified:
1. Student Mental Health. Community stakeholders and educators emphasized mental health
supports, especially assisting students with the trauma induced by the pandemic, as the top
priority. In Montana, student mental health has been measured annually through the Youth Risk
Behavior Survey (YRBS). Preliminary findings indicate Montana students have experienced
significant increases in depression and poor mental health. The Montana Chapter of the
American Academy of Pediatrics stated in a letter to Montana educators, “that although schools
closures slowed the rate of COVID-19 transmission, the absence of in-person learning has
negatively affected the education, development, mental health, and overall wellness of children,
adolescents, and their families.” Montana’s experience parallels the nation’s. The U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as well as the Center for Disease Control
(CDC) have stressed the importance of mental health and coping during the Coronavirus
pandemic. In addition, students have expressed strain on mental health due to compounded
issues, including issues such as fear and worry about the health and wellbeing of friends and
family, social isolation, stress due to loss of income within the family, and stress caused by
uncertainties regarding the future (Journal of Medical Internet Research, September 2020).
2. Integrating Social and Emotional Learning. This was identified as a promising practice
during the pandemic and has been established as a continuing critical need. Community
stakeholders identified SEL as a key component to engage students in the learning process. They
selected SEL as a priority for all students and for every student group on the Stakeholder
Engagement survey. SEL, according to the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional
Learning (CASEL)’s definition, is, “Social and emotional learning (SEL) is an integral part of
education and human development. SEL is the process through which all young people and
adults acquire and apply the knowledge, skills and attitudes to develop healthy identities, manage
emotions and achieve personal and collective goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish
and maintain supportive relationships, and make responsible and caring decisions.” Montana
stakeholders’ priority for SEL reflects the national conversation: “SEL plays an important role in
shaping how we navigate our lives, making it particularly important for individuals to be able to
leverage the power of SEL to manage the personal and collective experiences during the
pandemic and the social unrest” (CASEL, 2021).
3. Impacted Learning. While we know that many of the Montana students entered the 2021
school year as an in-person attendee, sanitizing, masking, and social distancing was reported as
making learning more difficult for 59% of the student respondents in the limited Opportunity to
Learn (OTL) Survey that the OPI conducted in May of 2021 (See Attachment 1). In addition, the
OTL survey seems to indicate that changes to the learning environments, schedules, and routines
as a response to the pandemic impacted student learning. Most, or 70%, of the 4,500 student
respondents indicated that they had to quarantine at least once during the 2020-2021 school year,
and half of the 70% were quarantined at least 2 times. Similarly, 75% of the teachers responded
that they had to switch from in-person to remote due to potential COVID exposure at least one
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time during the academic year (See Attachment 2). All of these factors meant that most students
in Montana experienced fluctuations to their learning environment and structures, which
impacted their learning in 2021. The OPI’s in-person interviews that were conducted this past
spring and captured on video with high school seniors indicated that for some, learning remotely
was successful, others preferred in-person. A few key comments from the Seniors were: “It was
a tough year but give yourself more credit for what you have accomplished.” “We all finished
our senior year in a pandemic, persevered and it made us stronger.” “We learned a lot
overcoming the pandemic stuff.” “Keep doing what you love.”
3 Identifying Needs of Underserved Students: Describe your State’s 2-3 highest
priority academic, social, emotional, and/or mental health needs for the
remainder of the 2020-2021 school year (if applicable) and for the 2021-2022
school year related to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on each of the
following student groups:
1. Students from low-income families,
2. Students from each racial or ethnic group (e.g., identifying disparities
and focusing on underserved student groups by race or ethnicity),
3. Gender (e.g., identifying disparities and focusing on underserved
student groups by gender),
4. English learners,
5. Children with disabilities (including infants, toddlers, children, and
youth with disabilities eligible under the Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act (“IDEA”)),
6. Students experiencing homelessness,
7. Children and youth in foster care,
8. Migratory students, and
9. Other groups disproportionately impacted by the pandemic that
have been identified by the SEA (e.g., youth involved in the
criminal justice system, students who have missed the most in-
person instruction during the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 school
years, students who did not consistently participate in remote
instruction when offered during school building closures, and
LGBTQ+ students).
To the extent possible, this description should include data on indicators
such as estimates of the academic impact of lost instructional time, 1 chronic
absenteeism, student engagement, and social-emotional well-being.
Complete the table below, adding rows as necessary, or provide a narrative
description.
During the month of May 2021, the Montana Office of Public Instruction sent out two surveys to
gather perspective on the highest priorities for each of the identified student groups. The two
1
For the purposes of the plan, “academic impact of lost instructional time” refers to “learning loss” experienced by
students as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, as referenced in the ARP Act and the CRRSA Act.
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surveys were: An Opportunity to Learn Survey sent to students and teachers, and a Stakeholder
Engagement Survey (See Attachment 3) for development of this plan.
As evidenced by the data gathered during the survey process, there is consensus concerning all
affected student groups as to not only the three main priorities, but in the order of the
supports needed.
Table A1.
Student group (% of Total Highest priority needs
Montana K-12 student population)
Students from low-income families 1. Mental health supports:
(37%) contract for additional mental
health services including
telehealth
2. Social-emotional learning:
implement the social-
emotional learning
competencies K-12, including
evidence-based curriculum
3. Academic support to offset
missed learning opportunities:
summer and extended
learning and enrichment
opportunities
Student Racial/Ethnicity: White/non-Hispanic Priorities:
White/Non-Hispanic-77.75% 1. Mental health supports:
Black-0.77% contract for additional mental
Hispanic-5.38% health services including
Asian-0.73% telehealth
American Indian/Alaska Native-10.92%
2. Social-emotional learning:
Native Hawaiian or Pacific-0.2%
Multi-Racial-4.25%
implement the social-
emotional learning
competencies K-12, including
evidence-based curriculum
3. Academic support to offset
missed learning opportunities:
summer and extended
learning and enrichment
opportunities
African American Priorities:
1. Mental health supports:
contract for additional mental
health services including
telehealth
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Student group (% of Total Highest priority needs
Montana K-12 student population)
2. Social-emotional learning:
implement the social-
emotional learning
competencies K-12, including
evidence-based curriculum
3. Academic support to offset
missed learning opportunities:
summer and extended
learning and enrichment
opportunities
Hispanic Priorities:
1. Mental health supports:
contract for additional mental
health services including
telehealth
2. Social-emotional learning:
implement the social-
emotional learning
competencies K-12, including
evidence-based curriculum
3. Academic support to offset
missed learning opportunities:
summer and extended
learning and enrichment
opportunities
Asian American Priorities:
1. Mental health supports:
contract for additional mental
health services including
telehealth
2. Social-emotional learning:
implement the social-
emotional learning
competencies K-12, including
evidence-based curriculum
3. Academic support to offset
missed learning opportunities:
summer and extended
learning and enrichment
opportunities
American Indian/Alaska Native
Priorities:
1. Mental health supports:
contract for additional mental
10
Student group (% of Total Highest priority needs
Montana K-12 student population)
health services including
telehealth
2. Social-emotional learning:
implement the social-
emotional learning
competencies K-12, including
evidence-based curriculum
3. Academic support to offset
missed learning opportunities:
summer and extended
learning and enrichment
opportunities
Native Hawaiian or Pacific
Islander Priorities:
1. Mental health supports:
contract for additional mental
health services including
telehealth
2. Social-emotional learning:
implement the social-
emotional learning
competencies K-12, including
evidence-based curriculum
3. Academic support to offset
missed learning opportunities:
summer and extended
learning and enrichment
opportunities
Students by gender – please add a No data available
row for each gender (e.g., identifying
disparities and focusing on
underserved student groups by
gender)
English learners (2.5%) 1. Mental health supports:
contract for additional mental
health services including
telehealth
2. Social-emotional learning:
implement the social-
emotional learning
competencies K-12, including
evidence-based curriculum
3. Academic support to offset
missed learning opportunities:
11
Student group (% of Total Highest priority needs
Montana K-12 student population)
summer and extended
learning and enrichment
opportunities
Children with disabilities (13%) 1. Mental health supports:
contract for additional mental
health services including
telehealth
2. Social-emotional learning:
implement the social-
emotional learning
competencies K-12, including
evidence-based curriculum
3. Academic support to offset
missed learning opportunities:
summer and extended
learning and enrichment
opportunities
Students experiencing homelessness 1. Mental health supports:
(2.75%) contract for additional mental
health services including
telehealth
2. Social-emotional learning:
implement the social-
emotional learning
competencies K-12, including
evidence-based curriculum
3. Academic support to offset
missed learning opportunities:
summer and extended
learning and enrichment
opportunities.
Children and youth in foster care 1. Mental health supports:
(2.33%) contract for additional mental
health services including
telehealth
2. Social-emotional learning:
implement the social-
emotional learning
competencies K-12, including
evidence-based curriculum
3. Academic support to offset
missed learning opportunities:
summer and extended
12
Student group (% of Total Highest priority needs
Montana K-12 student population)
learning and enrichment
opportunities.
Migratory students (.01%) 1. Mental health supports:
contract for additional mental
health services including
telehealth
2. Social-emotional learning:
implement the social-
emotional learning
competencies K-12, including
evidence-based curriculum
3. Academic support to offset
missed learning opportunities:
summer and extended
learning and enrichment
opportunities.
Other groups of students identified by Youth Involved with the Criminal
the State (e.g., youth involved in the Justice System were as follows:
criminal justice system, students who 1. Mental health supports:
have missed the most in-person contract for additional mental
instruction during the 2019-2020 and health services including
2020-2021 school years, students telehealth
who did not consistently participate 2. Social-emotional learning:
in remote instruction when offered implement the social-
during school building closures, emotional learning
LGBTQ+ students) competencies K-12, including
evidence-based curriculum
3. Academic support to offset
missed learning opportunities:
summer and extended
learning and enrichment
opportunities
LBGTQ+ students were as follows:
1. Mental health supports:
contract for additional mental
health services including
telehealth
2. Social-emotional learning:
implement the social-
emotional learning
competencies K-12, including
evidence-based curriculum
3. Academic support to offset
missed learning opportunities:
13
Student group (% of Total Highest priority needs
Montana K-12 student population)
summer and extended
learning and enrichment
opportunities.
4 Understanding the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Describe how the
SEA will support its LEAs in identifying the extent of the impact of the
COVID-19 pandemic on student learning and student well-being, including
identifying the groups of students most impacted by the pandemic. Where
possible, please identify the data sources the SEA will suggest its LEAs use in
thoughtfully diagnosing areas of need, including data on the academic, social,
emotional, and mental health impacts of lost instructional time.
The OPI will provide technical assistance to the districts in identifying groups of students most
impacted by the pandemic by providing the following: performance data through the state
Growth and Enhancement of Montana Students (GEMS) site, suggestions to the districts on how
to analyze the data through tools such as the Early Warning System (EWS), and resources and
tools to conduct a gap analysis. The suggested data sources include: The Youth Risk Behavior
Survey, local interim assessments, a district’s own OTL surveys, student focus group surveys,
district staff retention and recruitment data, and attendance data.
5. School Operating Status: It is essential to have data on how students are
learning in order to support the goals of access and equity, especially for
student groups that have been disproportionately impacted by the COVID-
19 pandemic. Describe the current status of data collection on operational
status and mode of instruction of all schools in your State. This description
must include:
i. A description of to what extent, and how frequently, the State
collects now and will collect in the future data for all schools in
your State on:
a. Mode of instruction: The number of schools in your State that
are offering fully remote or online-only instruction; both
remote/online and in-person instruction (hybrid model);
and/or full-time in-person instruction;
b. Enrollment: Student enrollment for all students and
disaggregated for each of the student groups described in A.3.i-
viii for each mode of instruction; and
c. Attendance: Student attendance for all students and
disaggregated for each of the student groups described in A.3.i-
viii for each mode of instruction.
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OPI Current Data Collection Methods on Operational Status and Mode of Instruction: The
OPI does not currently collect data on Mode of Instruction, so it is not possible to report on how
many schools offered or how many students were enrolled in remote, hybrid, or in-person
instruction, or the attendance of students by mode of instruction for school year 2021.
ii. The data described in A.5.i.a. and b. using the template in
Appendix A (and to the extent available, the data described in
A.5.i.c.) for the most recent time period available. Please note that
this data can be submitted separately within 14 calendar days
after a State submits this plan. The SEA must also make this data
publicly available on its website as soon as possible but no later
than June 21, 2021, and regularly provide updated available
information on its website. The Department will periodically
review data listed in A.5.i on SEA websites.
To the extent available, the OPI will make data publicly available on its website no later than
June 21, 2021.
iii. To the extent available, a description of the planned operational
status and mode of instruction for the State and its LEAs for
Summer 2021 and for the 2021-2022 school year.
The OPI does not have means to collect the planned operational status and mode of instruction
data for Summer 2021 but has begun discussion with its Student Information System vendor,
Infinite Campus, to acquire that capacity for the 2021-2022 school year.
B. Safely Reopening Schools and Sustaining their Safe Operations
The Department recognizes that safely reopening schools and sustaining their safe
operations to maximize in-person instruction is essential for student learning and student
well-being, and especially for being able to address the educational inequities that have
been worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic. In this section, SEAs will describe how they
will support their LEAs in this vital area.
1. Support for LEAs: Describe how the SEA will support its LEAs in safely
returning to in-person instruction and sustaining the safe operation of
schools. This description must include:
i. How the SEA will support its LEAs implementing, to the greatest
extent practicable, prevention and mitigation policies in line with the
most up-to-date guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (“CDC”) for the reopening and operation of school
facilities to effectively maintain the health and safety of students,
educators, and other staff;
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Table B1.
Mitigation strategy SEA response
Universal and correct wearing of masks MT Schools Reopening Guidance
(Attachment 4)
The OPI’s Emergency Planning and Safety
webpage (Appendix B2)
Physical distancing (e.g., including use of MT Schools Reopening Guidance
cohorts/podding) (Attachment 4)
The OPI’s Emergency Planning and Safety
webpage (Appendix B2)
Handwashing and respiratory etiquette MT Schools Reopening Guidance
(Attachment 4)
The OPI’s Emergency Planning and Safety
webpage (Appendix B2)
Cleaning and maintaining healthy facilities, MT Schools Reopening Guidance
including improving ventilation (Attachment 4)
The OPI’s Emergency Planning and Safety
webpage (Appendix B2)
Contact tracing in combination with isolation MT Schools Reopening Guidance
and quarantine, in collaboration with the (Attachment 4)
State, local, territorial, or Tribal health The OPI’s Emergency Planning and Safety
departments webpage (Appendix B2)
Diagnostic and screening testing MT Schools Reopening Guidance
(Attachment 4)
The OPI’s Emergency Planning and Safety
webpage (Appendix B2)
Efforts to provide vaccinations to educators, Advised to work with local County Health
other staff, and students, if eligible Departments and local pharmacies for
resources.
Appropriate accommodations for children MT Schools Reopening Guidance
with disabilities with respect to the health and (Attachment 4)
safety policies
ii. Any Statewide plans, policies, estimated timelines, and specific
milestones related to reopening and operation of school facilities,
including any mechanisms the SEA will use to track, monitor, or
enforce their implementation;
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Montana is unique in that 93% of our schools have less than 500 students and therefore when
granted permission from the Governor and local county Health Departments reopened schools
rather quickly. LEAs worked with local county Health Departments and their governing school
boards to develop plans and update plans as COVID challenges continued through the 2020-
2021 school year.
iii. To what extent the SEA and its LEAs consult with Federal, State, and
local health officials. This description should include, if available,
whether the SEA and its LEAs have received support for screening
testing from their State or local health department based on funding
awarded by the CDC; and
Screening and testing in Montana were conducted through the State of Montana’s Department of
Public Health and Human Services, Public Health and Safety Division, which also supported
screening and testing efforts within local county Health Departments, Hospitals, Pharmacies and
other health agencies. The OPI hosted virtual sessions for LEAs to participate in question and
answer sessions with various organizations, like the Montana Chapter of the American Academy
of Pediatrics, Montana’s Disaster and Emergency Services Division, and Montana’s Public
Health and Safety Division. The OPI worked with Montana’s Disaster and Emergency Services
to distribute personal protective equipment to LEAs across the state. At the beginning of August
2020, the OPI surveyed a sample of parents and teachers in the state. Respondents were asked:
“Given what we know currently about the COVID-19 pandemic, for each of the following,
please indicate how this precaution would affect your willingness to send your child to school.”
The types of precautions included physical precautions for buildings such as the cleaning of
buildings, ventilation, or the availability of items such as hand sanitizer. Respondents also
included distancing measures such as buses running at reduced capacity and 6-foot distance
mandates. Finally, there were precautions regarding the actions for staff and students such as
limited visitation, required hand washing, and required masks. All responses were assigned a
number based on their scale, with 1 being not at all important and 5 being very important. The
factors that respondents identified as most important (on average) were: 1. The school is
thoroughly cleaned at least once a day. (4.71) 2. Students and staff regularly wash hands with
soap and water. (4.65) 3. Hand sanitizer is provided in each classroom and frequently used.
(4.58). The MT Schools Reopening Guidance (Attachment 4) addressed the survey responses by
offering guidance and resources.
iv. Any guidance, professional learning, and technical assistance
opportunities the SEA will make available to its LEAs.
Through the work to finalize the MT Schools Reopening Guidance (Attachment 4), the OPI met
with the Montana School Safety Advisory Committee (MSSAC) to review additional requests
and feedback from the field. As a result, the OPI added several resources and tools to the OPI’s
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Emergency Planning and Safety webpage (Appendix B2). Here are some of the Tools and
Resources (links are provided in Appendix B2):
1. Operational Strategy for K-12 Schools through Phased Mitigation - Guidance for
schools to determine how to best support the safety of students, teachers, and staff during
the COVID-19 pandemic.
2. Essential Elements of Safe K-12 School Operations for In-Person Learning - Guidance
from the CDC on how schools can mitigate the spread of COVID-19 during in-person
learning.
3. Toolkits for K-12 Schools - Toolkits for schools to use to plan for safe in-person
learning.
4. Trends in Number of COVID-19 Cases - Information on local COVID-19 case
numbers, including county-level data. The CDC’s guidance on how to best use this data
in making decisions for in-person learning.
5. New School Safety Resources, such as: Strategies for Promoting Educator and Student
Safety and Wellness During Online Learning - Information on available resources and
strategies schools can implement to promote safety and wellness during online learning.
6. Ten Essential Actions for Improving School Safety - Steps every school can take to
improve school safety and links to additional resources. The OPI also produced the
following instructional video to help districts “learn more about the 10 Essential Actions
to Improve School Safety.”
The OPI administers HB 601 School Safety Professional Development grants which provide
$100,000 annually for schools to conduct training. To date, thirty-one Montana school districts
have received funding totaling $200,000. Over 1,243 staff members have participated in
trainings focused on mental health, emergency operations planning, crisis management, and
active shooter preparedness.
Social, Emotional, and Behavioral supports, resources and guidance are embedded throughout
the guidance and are identified as priorities. In addition, the OPI created a School Mental Health
website (Appendix B4) that focuses on Trauma-Informed Schools, Social Emotional Learning,
Educator Self-Care, and School Mental Health Resources. The OPI also held virtual meetings
starting March 26, 2020 for the Montana School Counselors that continued throughout spring
2020 focusing on school counseling, screening, and SEL in partnership with the Montana School
Counselors Association. School Counselors wanted a place to network with peers, share what is
going well, discuss challenges, and learn best practices. The Montana School Counselors
Association also offered additional support through their annual virtual conference in April 2021.
The OPI Student Support Service Department worked with LEAs to consider a wide range of
delivery methods and modalities in order to make good faith efforts in providing services to
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students with disabilities in accordance with the intent of the Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act (IDEA). Available on the Special Education page on the OPI website are
guidance documents, professional learning opportunities, resources, and tools to assist districts,
IEP teams, and families as they work together to provide the most appropriate services in light of
the students’, schools’, and communities’ unique individual circumstances. Additionally,
monthly Special Education Administrator virtual sessions were held during the 2020-2021
school year to support leaders on learning and wellness efforts for students with disabilities.
The OPI American Indian Student Achievement did trauma informed training in the tribal
districts and how that would pertain to online learning during remote instruction.
The OPI Teacher Learning Hub released free online courses for Montana’s educators regarding
remote, online, hybrid, and COVID-19 teaching. The first course released was “Introduction to
Online Course Design,” a one-hour overview of the basics of what educators should know to get
started with creating their own online course. The “10-hour Connect and Reflect: Taking What
We Learned During COVID-19 Into Next Fall” course was also developed and facilitated using
the Teacher Learning Hub during the summer of 2020. Additionally, the OPI developed and
hosted remote learning sharing sessions beginning March 23, 2020. The topics ranged from
digital learning tips and tricks, literacy, multi-tiered systems of support, music education, career
and technical education, science, and more. Many of these groups chose to continue meeting in
the 2020-2021 school year.
To continue with supports for Montana’s educators a “Relaunching After COVID – 19” training
with subsequent coaching sessions for schools that attended to help them develop a six-week
relaunching plan was offered starting June 25, 2020. The Continuing Education and Technical
Assistance Unit recognized that the disruption to schools and the lives of staff and students
would have an extraordinary impact on the return to school during the COVID-19 Pandemic. In
partnership with Dr. Bella Bikowsky from the INUA group, a training was offered on June 25,
2020, which focused on the systems and practices that schools would need to consider putting
into place for the first six weeks of school. Special attention was given to trauma-informed,
community building practices for both staff and students, followed by a targeted process for
teams to follow, broken down by each month. Teams were encouraged to sign up together, and
breakout work sessions provided an opportunity for schools to build their plan together, with the
guidance of the presenter and MTSS Implementation Specialists throughout the day. Teams were
able to develop a solid action plan for the 2020-2021 school year by the end of the day. The
CETA unit offered subgrants to schools that attended for an additional individualized coaching
session with Dr. Bikowsky.
2. Safe Return to In-Person Instruction and Continuity of Services Plans:
Describe how the SEA will ensure that its LEAs that receive ARP ESSER
funds meet the requirements in section 2001(i) of the ARP Act and the
requirements relating to the ARP ESSER funds published in the Federal
Register and available at https://oese.ed.gov/offices/american-rescue-
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plan/american-rescue-plan-elementary-and-secondary-school-emergency-
relief/ (ARP ESSER requirements) to either: (a) within 30 days of receipt of
the funds, develop and make publicly available on the LEA’s website a plan
for the safe return to in-person instruction and continuity of services, or (b)
have developed and made publicly available on the LEA’s website such a
plan that meets statutory requirements before the enactment of the ARP Act,
including:
i. How the SEA will ensure that each LEA plan includes, or will be
modified to include, the extent to which it has adopted policies and a
description of any such policies on each of the strategies listed in table
B1;
ii. How the SEA will ensure that each LEA plan describes how it will
ensure continuity of services including but not limited to services to
address the students’ academic needs, and students’ and staff social,
emotional, mental health, and other needs, which may include student
health and food services;
iii. How the SEA will ensure that the LEA periodically reviews, no less
frequently than every six months for the duration of the ARP ESSER
grant period (i.e., through September 30, 2023),1 and revises as
appropriate, its plan, and how the SEA will ensure that the LEA seeks
public input, and takes such input into account on (1) whether
revisions are necessary and, if so, (2) the revisions to the plan; and
iv. Describe, to the extent the SEA collects it, information about LEA
implementation, to the greatest extent practicable, of each element of
the most up-to-date CDC guidance listed in table B1 and its LEAs’
needs for support and technical assistance to implement strategies
consistent, to the greatest extent practicable, with relevant CDC
guidance.
As the OPI does not currently collect the above from locally controlled districts, the OPI
included assurance to the E-Grants Application on the above i., ii., and iii. For monitoring
purposes, districts are required to add their URL to their E-Grants Application indicating where
the plan will be located on their website. The OPI has offered guidance and supports through the
Montana Schools Reopening Guidance (Attachment 4) and the Montana School Board
Association 1900 Policies (Appendix B3). With regards to iv., the OPI will look into utilizing the
Montana-Terms of Employment, Accreditation, and Master Schedule (TEAMS) system to
collect additional data along with the LEA ARP ESSER Plan.
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C. Planning for the Use and Coordination of ARP ESSER Funds
The Department recognizes that seeking input from diverse stakeholders is essential to
developing plans for the use of ARP ESSER funds that are responsive to the needs of
students, families, and educators. In this section, SEAs will describe their plans for
consultation and for coordinating the use of ARP ESSER funds with other resources to
meet the needs of students.
1. SEA Consultation: Consistent with the ARP ESSER requirements, describe
how the SEA engaged in meaningful consultation with stakeholders, and
incorporated input into its plan, including, but not limited to:
i. students;
ii. families;
iii. Tribes (if applicable);
iv. civil rights organizations (including disability rights organizations);
v. school and district administrators (including special education
administrators);
vi. superintendents;
vii. charter school leaders (if applicable);
viii. teachers, principals, school leaders, other educators, school staff, and
their unions; and
ix. stakeholders representing the interests of children with disabilities,
English learners, children experiencing homelessness, children and
youth in foster care, migratory students, children who are
incarcerated, and other underserved students.
The description must include how the SEA provided the public the opportunity to provide
input in the development of the plan, a summary of the input (including any letters of
support), and how the SEA took such input into account.
Throughout May of 2021, the OPI initiated the ARP ESSER stakeholder process for the purposes
of conducting meaningful and timely consultation with diverse stakeholders and providing
adequate notice and opportunity to comment on the experience of their schools and communities
during the COVID-19 pandemic. All methods used in this public comment process were
conducted in a manner that the OPI customarily provides for notices and information to the
public.
Here is a timeline outlining the process with stakeholder involvement:
• May 11, 2021: Launched survey
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• May 12, 2021: Consultation for ARP-ESSER funding regarding homeless and special
education with superintendents, special education directors and in-state treatment facility
directors
• May 14, 2021: Presentation to the Montana Board of Public Education
• May 17, 2021: Consultation with the Governor’s office
• May 17, 2021: Webinar 1 for public input, 9:00am-10:30am
• May 17, 2021: Webinar 2 for public input, 4:00pm to 5:30pm
• May 18, 2021: Discussion with Education Advocates
• May 18, 2021: Webinar 3 for public input, 10:30am-12:00pm
• May 19, 2021: Chippewa Cree Tribal Consultation
• May 19, 2021: After school steering committee with Community Learning Centers
Representative and a Montana legislator
• May 20, 2021: Fort Belknap Tribal Consultation
• May 21, 2021: Survey for public comment deadline
• May 26, 2021: Meaningful consultation on ARP-ESSER LEA plans with our Montana
Small School Association (MSSA) and Montana Rural School Association (MRSA)
• June 2, 2021: After school steering committee with Community Learning Centers
Representative and two Montana legislators
The OPI developed and utilized two survey tools: The Stakeholder Engagement survey
(Attachment 3) and the OTL survey (Attachment 1 & 2). The purpose of the Stakeholder
Engagement survey was to engage in meaningful consultation with stakeholders on the ARP-
ESSER State template and the two LEA plans: In-Person Instruction and Continuity of Services
Plan and the LEA ARP ESSER Plan. The Stakeholder Engagement Survey provided
stakeholders an opportunity to share their experiences, needs, and concerns as a result of the
pandemic. The online survey link was sent out by the OPI’s mass email list that includes every
district in the state and representatives of each of stakeholder groups listed above from I. to IX.
OPI staff proactively reached out to key stakeholders such as Tribes, students, families, and
departments. As of May 24th, 699 Stakeholder Engagement Surveys were completed. The OPI
took the results of the 699 surveys into account to develop its State ARP ESSER plan. In
particular, the results were critical to identifying the past promising practices (question A.1),
assessing the top 2-3 priorities (question A.2) and the top 2-3 needs by student groups (question
A.3), and the requirements that will make up the LEA ARP ESSER Plans outlined in section E.
The OTL survey was sent to teachers and students, grades 3-12, for voluntary completion. The
purposes of the OTL survey were to gain a better understanding of learning experiences, student
access to educational resources, and learning conditions during the 2020-2021 school year; and
to support more appropriate interpretations of the 2020-2021 assessment data. Each student
survey response was held in confidence. The student survey did ask the student for a last name
and birthdate so that the OPI can attempt to connect a student’s demographic and program
participation information. That effort was necessary in order to learn whether different students
are more affected than others.
The goals of the OTL surveys were to use the data in two ways. First, to assist the OPI to
thoughtfully diagnose areas of student need and identify priorities to guide responsive ARP
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ESSER plan and use of ARP ESSER funding. Secondly, to inform the OPI about how to
maximize the impact of support, resources, and flexibility for the districts to accelerate learning
and meet the social, emotional, mental health, and academic needs of all Montana students. The
survey participation was lower than needed for a robust analysis, so the data were considered
guiding.
The OTL survey results are as follows:
Number of Student OTL surveys as of May 24: 4,855
Number of public schools participating in OTL student survey: 52
Number of public schools participating in OTL teacher survey: 62
Number of private schools participating in OTL survey: 0
Number of homeschool student OTL surveys as of May 21: 19
Number of Teacher OTL surveys as of May 24: 848
Number of days OTL survey was open May 3 - 21: 18
The OPI also scheduled “Montana ARP-ESSER Webinars” to supplement the two surveys. The
webinars announcement was sent out through the OPI’s mass email list that includes every
district in the state and representatives of each of stakeholder groups listed above from I. to IX.
The purposes of the webinars were to listen and to collect comments from the public. The OPI
held three 90-minute virtual webinars for stakeholders emphasizing the need of their voice in the
design of the ARP-ESSER plan. The webinars were scheduled throughout the week to provide
options for attendance. The public was also welcomed to e-mail the OPI questions and
comments to a common mailbox. The participation number for the webinars (including the
Montana Board of Public Education, Education Advocates, and community members) was 48
unique participants.
Through consultation with the Governor’s Office, the OPI captured recommendations within
four categories: Promoting local control and flexibility; funding considerations for all students;
building a robust data system; and focusing on sustainability as a critical component of success.
The OPI also received letters of support from Montana congressional members (See Attachment
5).
Beyond gathering stakeholder input, the OPI has made specific outreach to the Tribal Nations of
Montana for meaningful consultation. Phone calls and meetings were scheduled, and discussions
have occurred as the OPI seeks Tribal organizations’ direction on how to better meet the needs of
Native American students. During this process we have and will continue to follow our
established Guidelines of Tribal Consultation (Attachment 6), which state that affected LEAs
should conduct their Tribal consultation in advance of making significant decisions regarding
plans or applications for covered programs, to ensure an “opportunity for . . . appropriate
officials from Indian tribes or tribal organizations to meaningfully and substantively contribute”
to an LEA’s plan (section 8538(a)).
Another critical group that provided the OPI with input throughout the 2020-2021 school year
was a virtual youth leadership group the students self-named Resiliency in Something Else
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(RISE). RISE was created to find ways to maintain social interactions for the youth when schools
closed, and students were limited to screen interactions. The students created virtual committees
emphasizing online opportunities for success and potential career development. Example
committees included Music, Gaming, Indigenous Worldview and Leadership. The final RISE
goal of the 2020-2021 school year was to create a Virtual Leadership Conference to showcase
their work and connect with Educators and Leaders to share their experiences during the global
pandemic. Over 80 students participated alongside Tribal Elders, State Legislators, Tribal
Leaders, and the State Superintendent. RISE and their virtual communities gave students the
opportunity to build relationships between their peers across the state to support each other, build
confidence and to share their ideas and solutions in a global pandemic. The results brought hope,
built friendships, and provided an opportunity to share their innovative solutions regarding
education, exemplifying the fact that their voice is the most critical to reimaging education as we
move forward.
2. Coordinating Funds: Describe to what extent the SEA has and will
coordinate Federal COVID-19 pandemic funding and other Federal funding.
This description must include:
i. How the SEA and its LEAs 1) are using or have used prior to the
submission of this plan and 2) plan to use following submission of this
plan, Federal COVID-19 funding under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief,
and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act and the CRRSA Act to
support a safe return to and safely maximize in-person instruction,
sustain these operations safely, and address the disproportionate
impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on individual student groups
(including students from low-income families, children with
disabilities, English learners, racial or ethnic minorities, students
experiencing homelessness, children and youth in foster care, and
migratory students);
The OPI holds a series of yearly trainings both onsite and virtually to discuss the coordination of
federal funds under the main federal education programs: Title I, Parts A, C, and D; Title II, Part
A; Title III; Title IV, Part A; Title VB; and IDEA. The training reviewed the amount of funds
received by the OPI and the amounts allocated to LEAs, proper uses of funds, how to blend the
various program funds together, programmatic requirements, program development,
implementation, and evaluation, and finally, fiscal requirements. These sessions are recorded
and posted to the OPI website along with the presentation slides. The training dates were as
follows:
• ESSER I and II April 8, 2021 (Clerks and business managers)
• ESSER I and II April 14, 2021 (Clerks and business managers)
• ESSER I and II April 19, 2021 (Clerks and business managers)
• ESSER I and II April 22, 2021 (Clerks and business managers)
24
• ESSER I and II April 28, 2021 (Clerks and business managers)
• ESSER II and III May 11, 2021 (Authorized Representatives and Superintendents)
• ESSER II and III May 13, 2021 (Authorized Representatives and Superintendents)
The OPI has produced a series of guidance documents, district allocations, fund coding, and
monitoring processes for all ESSER funds. These documents are posted on the OPI website.
Listed below are the key events for ESSER I, II, and III funding:
• June 1, 2020. ESSER I applications were opened in e-grants and funds were made
available as soon as the application was approved.
• May 1, 2021. MT OPI opened the application for ESSER II. Funds will be available as
soon as district applications are approved.
• May 15, 2021. MT OPI opened the application for ESSER III. Funds will be available as
soon as district applications are approved.
• May 24, 2021. MT OPI allocated the school district share of the ARP ESSER funds
received on March 24, 2021, through the e-grants system.
• June 7, 2021. Due date for submitting the ARP ESSER State Plan to the US Department
of Education (OPI requirement).
• June 8, 15, 22, & 29, 2021. The OPI will host weekly virtual Q & A Sessions during the
month of June to address questions related to ARP ESSER district plans and budgets.
• June 15, 2021. Education Advocates Monthly Partnership Meeting
• June 16, 2021. Final day to submit cash requests for June payment for all Federal
programs, including ESSER.
• June 24-25, 2021. The virtual Montana Education Summit (MTEdx-21) to support
districts with educational planning opportunities. The work sessions include: Developing
ARP ESSER LEA plans, Meaningful Stakeholder Consultation, Data Usage, Effective
strategies, Redefining the purpose of K-12 education, and SEL methodologies.
• July 1, 2021. The District ARP ESSER Plan template will open through the Terms of
Employment, Accreditation, and Master Schedule (TEAMS) on this date (and close on
August 24th in TEAMS). See August 24th detail below for more information on
submitting District ARP ESSER Plans.
• July 13, 20, & 27, 2021. The OPI will host three ARP ESSER Webinars during the
month of July to assist districts in developing and submitting District ARP ESSER Plans.
The webinars will be recorded and posted for future viewing on the OPI webpage.
• August 3-5, 2021. The OPI will host the Regional Summit for all schools and districts
in Comprehensive Status. There will be designated times for school leadership teams to
meet, plan, and coordinate programming and funding from Title I, ESSER II, ESSER III,
Impact Aid, and School Improvement Support. The OPI highly recommends that schools
include their business clerk with their leadership team to ensure coordination among
funding streams and programs.
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• August 24, 2021. Districts must submit an ARP ESSER Plan to the OPI through the
Terms of Employment, Accreditation, and Master Schedule (TEAMS). The District
ARP ESSER Plan template will open July 1st and close on August 24th in TEAMS.
• September 1, 2021. Due date to complete and submit ESSER II and ESSER III
applications in the E-grants system.
The ESSER Annual Report was designed by the USED. The OPI consulted with LEAs to gather
and synthesize the data, which was then uploaded to the ESSER Final Data Collection
Instrument. The OPI sent out a survey to all Montana districts to get this information. This report
will then be uploaded to USED every February 1st.
Complete the table below or provide a narrative description.
Table C1.
Funding source Prior/current SEA and LEA uses Planned SEA and LEA uses
(including funding amounts, if (including funding amounts, if
applicable) applicable)
ESSER I (CARES Act) See narrative below See narrative below
GEER I (CARES Act) GEER I funding was GEER I funding was
distributed by the Montana distributed by the Montana
Governor’s Office. Funding Governor’s Office. Funding
distribution went to state and distribution went to state and
private colleges and private colleges and
universities, Montana School universities, Montana School
for the Deaf and Blind, for the Deaf and Blind,
Montana Digital Academy Montana Digital Academy
and Montana State Library. and Montana State Library.
The Montana Governor’s The Montana Governor’s
Office distributed Corona Office distributed Corona
Relief Funds to the LEAs. Relief Funds to the LEAs.
The link to review the The link to review the
distribution of funds is: 01- distribution of funds is: 01-
05-21 Summary ALL CRF 05-21 Summary ALL CRF
Distributions.xlsx (mt.gov) Distributions.xlsx (mt.gov)
and 01-05-21 Summary ALL and 01-05-21 Summary ALL
26
CRF Distributions.xlsx CRF Distributions.xlsx
(mt.gov). (mt.gov).
ESSER II (CRRSA Act) See narrative below See narrative below
GEER II (CRRSA Act) The SEA has made the EANS The SEA has made the EANS
portion of GEER II funds portion of GEER II funds
available for distribution, but available for distribution, but
no distribution has been no distribution has been
completed to date. completed to date.
How the OPI and Montana districts spent Federal Covid-19 funds:
As reported in the ESSER Annual Report, Subgrantees expended ESSER I funds in the
following categories:
• Educational Technology $992,261
• Assisting Disadvantaged Populations $350,206
• Mental Health Services $88,215
• Sanitation $50,560
• Summer and After School Services $26,430
• Other (Indirect Costs, HVAC, Meal Prep and Delivery,
Additional Hours for Staff, Additional Staff) $876,256
Data for the uses of the remaining ESSER I funds is not yet available.
For ESSER funds reported above, Subgrantees expended the Educational Technology
funds in the following subcategories:
• Providing Online Services to Elementary and Secondary Students:
o Submit Assignments
o Tracking Student Logins
o Provide Coaching
o Communications
o Participation in Online Class
o Remote Assistance
• Providing Home Internet for Students
• Providing Dedicated Learning Devices for Students
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How the OPI and Montana districts plan to spend ESSER funds:
ESSER II funds have been allocated to the LEAs, but no reimbursement distributions have been
completed to date.
ii. To what extent ESSER I and ESSER II funds have been awarded to
LEAs and, if funds have not yet been made available to LEAs, when
they will be. In addition, please provide any available information on
the total dollar amounts of ESSER I and ESSER II funds that have
been obligated but not expended by the SEA and its LEAs, including
whether the SEA is able to track LEA obligations.
All ESSER I, ESSER II and ARP-ESSER III funds have been awarded to LEAs (See Appendix
C3: ESSER_I_II_Allocations.xlsx). Only 2/3 of ARP-ESSER III funds were distributed to LEAs.
Montana does not track LEA level obligations.
1. In supporting LEAs as they plan for the safe return to and
continuity of in-person instruction and for meeting the academic,
social, emotional, and mental health needs of students resulting from
the COVID-19 pandemic, the extent to which the SEA is also using
other Federal funding sources including but not limited to under the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (“ESEA”), IDEA,
Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (“WIOA”), funding for
child nutrition services, and McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance
Act, and the funds to support the needs of students experiencing
homelessness provided by section 2001(b)(1) of the ARP Act.[1]
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[1] Please note that the needs of students experiencing homelessness
must be addressed (along with the other groups disproportionately
impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic) through the use of the ARP
ESSER SEA reservations and the required LEA reservation for the
academic impact of lost instructional time; the funding provided to
support the needs of students experiencing homelessness by section
2001(b)(1) of the ARP Act is in addition to the supports and services
provided with ARP ESSER funds.
LEAS are highly encouraged to coordinate and leverage all their federal funds, including ESEA,
McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, child nutrition, and Perkins to meet the social,
emotional, mental health, academic, and aspirational needs of students resulting from COVID-19
as they plan for the fall 2021 opening of Montana schools.
D. Maximizing State-Level Funds to Support Students
The Department recognizes that States have an extraordinary opportunity to address the
disproportionate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on underserved students through the
ARP Act’s required State set-asides to address the academic impact of lost instructional
time, provide summer learning and enrichment programs, and provide comprehensive
afterschool programs. In this section, SEAs will describe their evidence-based strategies for
these resources.
1. Academic Impact of Lost Instructional Time: Describe how the SEA will use
the funds it reserves under section 2001(f)(1) of the ARP Act (totaling not less
than 5 percent of the State’s total allocation of ARP ESSER funds) on
evidence-based interventions to address the academic impact of lost
instructional time by supporting the implementation of evidence-based
interventions, such as summer learning or summer enrichment, extended
day, comprehensive after school programs, or extended school year
programs, and ensure that such interventions respond to students’ academic,
social, emotional, and mental health needs. The description must include:
i. A description of the evidence-based interventions (e.g., providing
intensive or high-dosage tutoring, accelerating learning) the SEA
has selected, and the extent to which the SEA will evaluate the
impact of those interventions on an ongoing basis to understand
if they are working;
HB 632 – Montana Legislative Action on ARP ESSER Funds:
During the 2021 Montana Legislative Session, the Legislature allocated the use of ESSER II and
ARP ESSER (ESSER III) funds as is their duty, when the legislature is in session. HB 632
contains instructions for the use of ARP funds, including the following ESSER III funds:
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HB 632 section 22, part 2(d) states: “ For Education Leadership in Montana, the Office of Public
Instruction shall create a system to build the capacity of principals, teachers, and other leaders to
ensure recovery of each school from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in a model that
addresses the learning opportunities missed and needed by each person to reach their full
educational potential.”
In addition, HB 632 section 22, part 2(g) states: “For State Learning Loss, State Summer
Enrichment, and State Afterschool Programs, funds may be used at the discretion of the Office of
Public Instruction for purposes allowed by federal law and may include grants to school districts.
A school district may use these funds to provide allowable support to a special education
cooperative of which it is a member. Any funds granted to school districts must be distributed in
the same manner as used for the basic allocation.”
Evidence-based interventions to address the academic impact of lost instructional time:
The OPI plans to provide a variety of sustained, MTSS Tier II, professional learning, data
support and technical assistance opportunities to LEAs to support their Academic Impact plans
and implementation. An evidence-based, online course on the Teacher Learning Hub is currently
available that defines what it means for practices to be evidence-based, how to select evidence-
based practices, and recommendations set by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) and the
OPI.
All tiers of evidence under ARP/ESSER III can be considered. Culturally relevant or
intervention strategies can be listed under Tier IV with a plan for data collection and
documentation demonstrating improvement in student outcomes. (Ex. Smudging, outdoor
experiential learning)
30
To provide these supports and professional learning, the OPI plans to collaborate with external
partners, facilitators and Montana stakeholders.
1. Material Support may include:
• Evidence-based vendor lists that meet Montana’s student data privacy agreements and
the definition of ESSA evidenced-based with reported Tier for K-12 mathematics,
English language arts, and science.
• Evidence-based material acquisition for accelerating and supplementing students’
learning for K-12 mathematics and English language arts.
2. Professional Learning. Based on the needs identified at the local level, the OPI seeks to
provide professional learning opportunities to districts who are using ESSER funds to
provide innovative and evidence-based interventions. In addition, the OPI seeks to
provide support in the model that districts most request: in person, remote, or blended.
The OPI will work with external partners to provide professional learning. The OPI is
braiding the various resources available to ensure that the professional learning for all
Montana educators and the support staff is continuously developed as the State moves
good-to-great strategies from the classroom to the boardroom of every school district.
Support through guidance documents and trainings throughout the school year will be
provided for Montana rural schools without instructional coaches.
Professional learning may include:
• Teacher-Leader Academy. A cohort model structured for effective adult learning
strategies that will hold six-sessions for a total of 90 hours of instruction. The
Teacher Leader Academy recognizes that while good-to-great teachers are skilled in
curriculum and instruction methods, many teachers desire to strengthen their skills in
strategic problem-solving, advocacy, education policy, utilization of technology and
data, and collaboration with community stakeholders. The Teacher Leader Academy
enriches the teaching experience through expanded impact and influence, high levels
of collaboration and engagement, and renewed commitment to the profession. The
model enables teacher leaders to collaboratively analyze and solve problems within
and across school districts in order to become effective change-agents. The program
culminates with a capstone project in which participants work collaboratively to
identify and solve site-based problems of practice. (Tier I)
• Executive Leadership Academy. An intensive 8 month-session cohort program
with a faculty that includes renowned scholars, implementors of effective strategies,
and leading practitioners from across the country. Each session provides participants
an opportunity to engage with Montana’s most successful political, business, and
community leaders, creating workforce partnerships, and stakeholder involvement.
The Executive Leadership Academy is designed to optimize human capital and
creation of a method of learning and growth that develops and retains leaders in
Montana schools. Graduates attain a deeper skillset for creative problem-solving,
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strategic thinking, data applications, best practices from public and private arenas,
community building, and the practice of ethical and courageous leadership. The skills
gained from the Executive Leadership Academy lead to innovative solutions that
improve outcomes for all students. For select capstone projects, Leadership Montana
collaborates with school districts, the OPI, and state policymakers to develop and
implement education policy solutions. Additional capstone projects that impact the
broader community may receive funding to initiate a pilot program. (Tier I)
• Professional Coaching in partnership with Education Associations and Partners is
available for aspiring educational leaders, teachers, and school board members. The
purpose of the coaching model is to develop capacity and a space to collaborate for
school leaders. (Tier I)
• Digital Leadership Institute Participants. In this course, participants will
experience the power and importance of building relationships and creating an online
community of learners. A distance education model challenges some of the
preconceptions that we hold about what teaching is and the way in which we engage
students. However, teaching online allows educators to focus on mastery, application,
and supporting all learners by individualizing support and pacing. (Tier I)
• Innovation Zones Project. The OPI will provide incentives, supports and technical
assistance to establish Innovation Zones in key LEAs where underserved student
populations demonstrate the greatest needs. The project is an innovative approach to
unfinished and impacted learning by blending adaptive digital curriculum with more
traditional classroom study with an emphasis on learner agency and student driven
choice. This allows teachers to continuously offer feedback and co-assess learning in
real time. The OPI will use external partners to ensure effective practices around
learner agency, blended learning, formative assessments, and student ownership of
learning are developed in LEA teachers.
Evaluation: Districts will provide feedback after professional development trainings on
the quality of the support and reflection on end-of-year data. Based on feedback,
professional learning opportunities external partners may be hired again for the 2022-
2023 school year.
3. Just-In-Time Support. Support through guidance documents and trainings throughout the
year on effective program implementation will be provided to educators (example list):
• Extended day programs (Tier I, II, III)
• After school programs (Tier I, II, III)
• Summer Learning and Enrichment programs (Tier II, III)
• Accelerating learning (Tier I)
• Social emotional learning (Tier III)
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• Tutoring (Tier II, III)
• Mentoring (Tier II,III)
• Extended school year (Tier I, II, III)
• Student mentors (Tier II, III)
• Effective engagement strategies for students and their families identified as needing
support due to missed instructional time during the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 school
years (Tier II, III, IV)
• Identifying and engaging students who have missed the most in-person instruction
during the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 school years (Tier I)
• Assistance in aligning all initiatives for strategic planning (Tier I)
• Collaboration with Northwest Rise to support rural schools (Tier IV)
• Selecting evidence-based practices and materials that will be relevant to the context,
beliefs and practices of the local community (Tier I)
• Redefined assessments that facilitate the real-time learner (Tier I)
4. Data Support. Based on the Professional Needs Survey, additional professional
development statewide for data-based instruction practices for school leaders and teachers is
requested. The OPI will provide professional development and technical supports for data
acquisition, interpretation, and reporting through work with external partners. Data support
may include:
• Regional data coaches, or virtual support
• Guidance documents and professional development on the Comprehensive Needs
Assessment, gap analysis, Early Warning System, the Opportunity to Learn
Survey, state assessment data etc.
Evaluation: Districts will provide feedback after professional development trainings and
at the end of the year on level of support and impact their data coaches have had. Based
on feedback, external partners may be hired again for the 2022-2023 year.
5. Technical Assistance. Technical assistance will be provided to LEAs who are submitting
for ESSER III/ARP funds. Technical Assistance may be provided in collaboration with
external partners. Technical assistance may include:
• Guidance documents
• Webinars
• Calendars and checklists
• Frequently Asked Question knowledgebase
• Assistance in aligning all initiatives and guidance on strategic long-range
planning
• One on one assistance
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• Data acquisition, interpretation and reporting
• Ongoing regional summits, use of Regional Education Service Agencies
(RESAs), curriculum cooperatives and other support structures in the State.
6. Collaborative Projects. Supports for the OPI to continue to collaborate with stakeholders
and partnerships through task forces, workgroups and collaborative efforts.
Collaborative Projects may include:
• The School Administrators of Montana on the following:
o Summer Institute 2021
o Leadership Collaborative Networks – coaching on effective strategies
o Professional Coaching Models
• The Valley Oak Education Resource Center in support of our nonpublic schools
with support and services that will support the learning in the nonpublic setting.
• Legal partners to bring the first OPI Montana School Law Conference focused on:
Policy, Effective Governance, Parental Rights, Equality, Tribal Sovereignty and
more.
• National thought leaders to ensure all educators have the opportunity to engage
with emerging learning practices from redesigning assessment to the Thinking
Classroom.
• Montana businesses in developing the career readiness for the more than 60% of
Montana high school graduates who do not complete the traditional post-
secondary path.
• Industry in creating career paths and industry classrooms leading to micro-
credentials and high-demand career opportunities through the MT Ready
initiative. Partners include: The Department of Labor, the MT Chamber of
Commerce, the Retail Association, the MT Equipment Dealer’s Association, MT
Reach Higher, the MT Automotive Association, and the Contractor’s Association.
• Tribal councils and community resources on culturally based learning and
language immersion for the purpose of reducing barriers.
7. Professional Learning for the OPI. Supports for the OPI professional learning and
collaboration. Professional learning for the OPIs may include:
• Collaboration with other states and organizations
• Trauma-informed, and culturally relevant practices training
• Training on equality as identified in the Montana Constitution
ii. How the evidence-based interventions will specifically address
the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on certain groups of
students, including each of the student groups listed in question
A.3.i.-viii. When possible, please indicate which data sources the
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SEA will use to determine the impact of lost instructional time;
and
Based on the identified needs at the local level, the interventions listed above will be used to
address the disproportionate impact of COVID-19.
Data: The OPI will use the Opportunity to Learn (OTL) Survey collected in May of 2021 and
the Professional Needs Survey collected in February of 2021, along with local level specific data
to identify the disproportionate impact of COVID-19. A few findings from the OTL Survey
collected in May 2021 indicate:
• 58% of educators felt that most of their students learned less this year compared to other
years. Professional development will be offered to help districts accelerate learning for
their students.
• 50.2% either disagreed more than agree or disagreed that they received helpful learning
opportunities to help provide high-quality in-person instruction while social-distanced
and masked. The OPI will provide this support and professional learning for high-quality
in-person instruction.
iii. The extent to which the SEA will use funds it reserves to identify
and engage 1) students who have missed the most in-person
instruction during the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 school years;
and 2) students who did not consistently participate in remote
instruction when offered during school building closures.
Based on the reported needs of the districts and local communities, the OPI will provide
technical assistance in identifying students who were disproportionately impacted by COVID-19.
Example : GAP Analysis Process using local data, Early Warning System etc.
2. Evidence-Based Summer Learning and Enrichment Programs: Describe how
the SEA will use the funds it reserves under section 2001(f)(2) of the ARP Act
(totaling not less than 1 percent of the State’s total allocation of ARP ESSER
funds) for evidence-based summer learning and enrichment programs,
including those that begin in Summer 2021, and ensure such programs
respond to students’ academic, social, emotional, and mental health needs.
The description must include:
i. A description of the evidence-based programs that address the
academic, social, emotional, and mental health needs of students
(e.g., providing intensive or high-dosage tutoring, accelerating
learning) the SEA has selected, and the extent to which the SEA
will evaluate the impact of those programs;
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HB 632 – Montana Legislative Action on ARP
During the 2021 Montana Legislative Session, the Legislature allocated the use of ESSER II and
ARP ESSER (ESSER III) funds as is their duty. HB 632 contains instructions for the use of
ARP funds, including the ESSER III funds. HB 632 shows the following use of the ESSER III
funds:
HB 632 section 22, part 2(g) states: “For State Learning Loss, State Summer Enrichment, and
State Afterschool Programs, funds may be used at the discretion of the Office of Public
Instruction for purposes allowed by federal law and may include grants to school districts. A
school district may use these funds to provide allowable support to a special education
cooperative of which it is a member. Any funds granted to school districts must be distributed in
the same manner as used for the basic allocation.”
The OPI is developing summer enrichment opportunities for Montana students based on student-
driven interests and purpose. The first student film festival will be held the Summer of 2022 and
will be enhanced with after school workshops developing student interests and skills in digital
media and communication. The Montana Arts Council, the Department of Labor, the Chamber of
Commerce, and Reach Higher are all partners in this effort. Montana Games will be
implemented the Summer of 2022 that focuses on student subgroups that may have hindered
opportunities. In Montana tribal lands, basketball is enjoyed by all ages. The traveling games
will include basketball, gaming, coding, creativity, entrepreneurship and more. In Montana, what
students can dream will be facilitated for enrichment and passion projects.
The OPI will release a summer enrichment planning guide for public and nonpublic schools and
communities the fall of 2021.
The OPI will provide Tier II support for LEAs and Community Learning Centers (Boys and
Girls Club, YMCA, Local libraries, Tribal Communities, other local community centers) who
implement summer learning and enrichment programs. Based on the needs identified by districts
and Community Learning Centers, the OPI will provide guidance documents, regional training
and capacity support. Trainings and guidance documents will be created through collaboration
with the OPI and external partners.
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If the LEA lacks the capacity to bolster or sustain summer learning or enrichment programs,
partnerships will be facilitated with external entities. (ex. Community Learning Centers). The
resources that have been developed with a variety of partners to date will be provided to
strengthen capacity of such programs.
Support may look like:
• Professional learning opportunities for new/current extended day and enrichment
educators/staff
• Program system level support
• Capacity support
Evaluation: Districts and/or Community Learning Centers will provide feedback after trainings
and at the end of summer on the level of support and impact.
ii. How the evidence-based programs will specifically address the
disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on certain groups of
students, including each of the student groups listed in question
A.3. i.--viii. When possible, please indicate which data sources
the SEA will use to identify students most in need of summer
learning and enrichment programs; and
Based on the reported needs of the districts and local communities, the OPI will provide
technical assistance in identifying students who were disproportionately impacted by COVID-19.
Example : GAP Analysis Process using local data, Early Warning System etc.
iii. The extent to which the SEA will use funds it reserves to identify
and engage 1) students who have missed the most in-person
instruction during the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 school years;
and 2) students who did not consistently participate in remote
instruction when offered during school building closures.
Based on the reported needs of the districts and local communities, the OPI will provide
technical assistance in identifying students who were disproportionately impacted by COVID-19.
Example : GAP Analysis Process using local data, Early Warning system etc.
3. Evidence-Based Comprehensive Afterschool Programs: Describe how the
SEA will use the funds it reserves under section 2001(f)(3) of the ARP Act
(totaling not less than 1 percent of the State’s total allocation of ARP ESSER
funds) for evidence-based comprehensive afterschool programs (including,
for example, before-school programming), and ensure such programs
respond to students’ academic, social, emotional, and mental health needs.
The description must include:
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i. A description of the evidence-based programs (e.g., including
partnerships with community-based organizations) the SEA has
selected, and the extent to which the SEA will evaluate the
impact of those programs;
During the 2021 Montana Legislative Session, the Legislature, which holds authority for the
authorization of federal funds, fulfilled their responsibility with ARP ESSER funds. HB 632
contains instructions for the use of ARP funds, including the ESSER III funds. HB 632 shows
the following use of the ESSER III funds:
HB 632 section 22, part 2(g) states: “For State Learning Loss, State Summer Enrichment, and
State Afterschool Programs, funds may be used at the discretion of the office of public
instruction for purposes allowed by federal law and may include grants to school districts. A
school district may use these funds to provide allowable support to a special education
cooperative of which it is a member. Any funds granted to school districts must be distributed in
the same manner as used for the basic allocation.”
A facilitation team with afterschool partners has been established and will be providing guidance
for after-school opportunities by the fall of 2021. The OPI will provide Tier II support for LEAs
and Community Learning Centers (Boys and Girls Club, YMCA, Local libraries, Tribal
Communities, other local community) who implement extended day learning and enrichment
programs.
ii. How the evidence-based programs will specifically address the
disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on certain groups of
students, including each of the student groups listed in question
A.3.i.-viii. When possible, please indicate which data sources the
SEA will use to identify students most in need of comprehensive
afterschool programming; and
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Based on the identified needs at the local level, interventions listed above will be used to address
the disproportionate impact of COVID-19.
Data: The OPI will use the Opportunity to Learn (OTL) Survey collected in May of 2021 and
the Professional Needs Survey collected in February of 2021, along with local level specific data
to identify the disproportionate impact of COVID-19. A few findings from the OTL Survey
collected in May 2021 indicates:
• 58% of educators felt that most of their students learned less this year compared to other
years. Professional development will be offered to help districts accelerate learning for
their students.
• 50.2% either disagreed more than agree or disagreed that they received helpful learning
opportunities to help provide high-quality in-person instruction while social-distanced
and masked. The SEA will provide this support and professional learning for high-quality
in-person instruction.
iii. the extent to which the SEA will use funds it reserves to identify
and engage 1) students who have missed the most in-person
instruction during the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 school years;
and 2) students who did not consistently participate in remote
instruction when offered during school building closures.
Based on the reported needs of the districts and local communities, the SEA will provide
technical assistance in identifying students who were disproportionately impacted by COVID-19.
Example : GAP Analysis Process using local data, Early Warning system etc.
Emergency Needs: If the SEA plans to reserve funds for emergency needs under
section 2001(f)(4) of the ARP Act to address issues responding to the COVID-19
pandemic, describe the anticipated use of those funds, including the extent to
which these funds will build SEA and LEA capacity to ensure students’ and
staff’s health and safety; to meet students’ academic, social, emotional, and
mental health needs; and to use ARP ESSER funds to implement evidence-based
interventions.
The OPI, at this time, will reserve a minimal amount of ARP-ESSER III funds for emergency
needs to ensure student health, safety and wellbeing along with staff.
E. Supporting LEAs in Planning for and Meeting Students’ Needs
The Department recognizes that the safe return to in-person instruction must be
accompanied by a focus on meeting students’ academic, social, emotional, and mental
health needs, and by addressing the opportunity gaps that existed before – and were
exacerbated by – the pandemic. In this section, SEAs will describe how they will support
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their LEAs in developing high-quality plans for LEAs’ use of ARP ESSER funds to achieve
these objectives.
1. LEA Plans for the Use of ARP ESSER Funds: Describe what the SEA will
require its LEAs to include in LEA plans consistent with the ARP ESSER
requirements for the use of ARP ESSER funds, how the SEA will require
such plans to be made available to the public, and the deadline by which the
LEA must submit its ARP ESSER plan (which must be a reasonable timeline
and should be within no later than 90 days after receiving its ARP ESSER
allocation). The LEA plan must include, at a minimum:
i. The extent to which and how the funds will be used to implement
prevention and mitigation strategies that are, to the greatest extent
practicable, in line with the most recent CDC guidance, in order to
continuously and safely operate schools for in-person learning;
ii. How the LEA will use the funds it reserves under section 2001(e)(1) of
the ARP Act (totaling not less than 20 percent of the LEA’s total
allocation of ARP ESSER funds) to address the academic impact of
lost instructional time through the implementation of evidence-based
interventions, such as summer learning or summer enrichment,
extended day, comprehensive afterschool programs, or extended
school year programs;
iii. How the LEA will spend its remaining ARP ESSER funds consistent
with section 2001(e)(2) of the ARP Act; and
iv. How the LEA will ensure that the interventions it implements,
including but not limited to the interventions under section 2001(e)(1)
of the ARP Act to address the academic impact of lost instructional
time, will respond to the academic, social, emotional, and mental
health needs of all students, and particularly those students
disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, including
students from low-income families, students of color, English learners,
children with disabilities, students experiencing homelessness,
children and youth in foster care, and migratory students.
What the OPI will require its LEAs to include in LEA plans:
LEAs that accept ARP/ESSER Funding support for their communities and schools are required
to draft and make available to the public for review and input a local plan that focuses on
meeting students’ academic, social, emotional, and mental health needs, which also supports
students whose well-being has been most severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
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LEA plans will be completed by local educators based on their unique knowledge of local
conditions; the plans will be completed in accordance with local control. To meet the federal
funding requirements outlined in ARP/ESSER, local plans must include identified evidence
based interventions and reflect all unique local conditions which may (1) impact the access to
and delivery of equal and appropriate educational services to chronically underserved student
populations; (2) incorporate their own local identified priorities; and (3) outline the process for
monitoring and updating the LEA’s plan at six (6) month intervals.
Through local control, LEAs will ensure that:
• They sought stakeholder feedback in creation of their ARP ESSER plan;
• They engaged in meaningful consultation with stakeholders,
• They provided the local plan in a clear format available to all, and
• They made the local plan publicly available, preferably on the district website.
How LEAs will use funds to implement prevention and mitigation strategies:
As a local decision, LEAs will determine the development and implementation of prevention and
mitigation strategies to ensure continuous safe operation of schools for in-person student
learning. If an LEA has already returned students to 100 percent full-time-in-person instruction,
its local plan should focus on its current and future activities to keep students and staff safe and
ensure continuity of services. As stated in the Interim Final Rule (IFR), the requirement does not
mandate that an LEA adopt the CDC guidance, but only requires that the LEA describe in its
local plan the extent to which it has adopted, to the extent practicable, the key prevention and
mitigation strategies identified in the guidance.
How LEAs will use the funds (totaling not less than 20 percent) to address the academic
impact of lost instructional time:
Local communities will determine how they will incorporate summer learning or summer
enrichment programs, extended day programing, comprehensive afterschool programs, or
extended school year programs. As a local decision, educators and communities will establish
and select evidence-based interventions that address the impact of lost instructional time unique
to their student needs and local context. The LEA can select evidenced-based interventions
under the ESEA’s four tiers of evidence, including novel approaches under the fourth tier. LEAs
will be encouraged to use ESSER funds to develop their own evidence-based innovative
approaches to address the loss of instructional time.
How LEAs will spend its remaining ARP ESSER funds:
LEAs are encouraged to develop local plans which are consistent with Section 2001(e)(2) of the
ARP Act; including the expenditure of funds consistent with allowable expenditures. The OPI
will emphasize that the ESSER resources are available for a wide range of activities to address
diverse local needs arising from an exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, and to emerge
strong post pandemic.
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How LEAs will respond to needs of students disproportionately impacted by the pandemic:
The selection of evidenced-based interventions that respond to students’ academic, social, and
emotional needs and address disproportionate impact of coronavirus on student populations will
be a local decision. LEAs will be encouraged to use a variety of methods to identify the needs of
students disproportionately impacted, for example, comprehensive needs assessments, gap
analysis, district benchmarks, parents and student inputs and other LEA data sources. LEAs will
also be encouraged to use ESSER funds to develop their own evidence-based innovative
approaches to address the needs of students disproportionately impact by the pandemic. For
instance, full language immersion programs and cultural pedagogy will be encouraged for those
districts with at least 35% American Indian student enrollment.
2. LEA Consultation: Describe how the SEA will, in planning for the use of
ARP ESSER funds, ensure that, consistent with the ARP ESSER
requirements, its LEAs engage in meaningful consultation with stakeholders,
including, but not limited to:
i. Students,
ii. Families,
iii. School and district administrators (including special education
administrators), teachers, principals, school leaders, other
educators, school staff and their unions,
The LEA must also engage in meaningful consultation with each of the
following to the extent present in or served by the LEA:
i. Tribes,
ii. Civil Rights Organizations (including disability rights
organizations) and
iii. Stakeholders representing the interests of (a) children with
disabilities, (b) English learners, (c) children experiencing
homelessness, (d) children and youth in foster care, (e) migratory
students, (f) children who are incarcerated, and other underserved
students.
The description must also include how the SEA will ensure that LEAs
provide the public the opportunity to provide input in the development of the
LEA’s plan for the use of ARP ESSER funds and take such input into
account.
Based on local control, LEAs must determine if their stakeholder input meets the minimum
requirements required in both statute and federal rule. The OPI will encourage LEAs to gather
public comment in a manner that is consistent with existing local procedures. The OPI will also
recommend best practices for LEAs to meet the stakeholder input requirement. Best practices
might include a community-wide public notice and comment process with an optional survey to
gather input from the various required stakeholder groups. School board meetings, small group
meetings or public forums would also supplement the process. Regardless of the process
followed, the LEA will be required to document that all the applicable stakeholder groups were
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included in the process, meaningful consultation occurred, and input was included in the plan.
Documentation of all plans and public comment will need to be saved locally as OPI may request
the documents as part of compliance monitoring of ESSER grantees.
1. Describe how the SEA will support and monitor its LEAs in using ARP
ESSER funds. The description must include:
i. How the SEA will support and monitor its LEAs’ implementation of
evidence-based interventions that respond to students’ academic,
social, emotional, and mental health needs, such as through summer
learning or summer enrichment, extended day, comprehensive
afterschool programs, or extended school year programs – including
the extent to which the SEA will collect evidence of the effectiveness
of interventions employed;
The OPI will empower LEAs to examine their performance data in the GEMS site, which
includes enrollment, graduation, and summative assessment data. LEAs will also be encouraged
to use a variety of data sources to frequently monitor their implementation of evidence-based
interventions that respond to students’ academic, social, emotional, and mental health needs. For
example, district interim and benchmark assessment data, parent and student interviews and
surveys, grades, engagement data, discipline data, or other relevant local data. LEAs will be
guided to determine frequent and responsive monitoring systems that enable them to adjust in
real-time rather than waiting until the end of the semester or school year. The recommended
monitoring systems will include student self-monitoring and family monitoring.
ii. How the OPI will support and monitor its LEAs in specifically
addressing the disproportionate impact of the COVID-19
pandemic on certain groups of students, including each of the
student groups listed in question A.3.i.-viii; and
The COVID-19 pandemic impacted American Indian individuals at a higher proportion than
Non-Indians. American Indians make up 7% of the state’s population but account for 10% of
those who contracted COVID-19. According to a CDC report published in April 2021, American
Indians in Montana had a mortality rate of 3.8 times that of Non-Indians. As a result of this
impact, many Reservations went on lockdown during the pandemic in order to minimize person
to person contact. Even after the state of Montana lifted restrictions, several Tribal Councils
continued to keep their schools on lockdown to minimize transmission. These schools provided
remote instruction for the majority of the 2020-2021 school year. LEA’s provided alternative
meaningful learning experiences to students without access to reliable internet.
Thus, LEAs that serve a high percentage of American Indian students will be encouraged to use
the data sources and processes mentioned above in section ii to measure the impact of
interventions on groups of students most impacted. LEAs then can disaggregate the data by
student groups. This extra step will allow the LEAs to establish if any disproportionate rates are
evident, allowing them to adjust as necessary. The extra step is especially important for student
43
groups, like the American Indian students, who were disproportionately impacted by the
pandemic.
iii. How the SEA will support and monitor its LEAs in using ARP
ESSER funds to identify, reengage, and support students most
likely to have experienced the impact of lost instructional time
on student learning, such as:
a. Students who have missed the most in-person instruction
during the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 school years;
b. Students who did not consistently participate in remote
instruction when offered during school building closures;
and
c. Students most at-risk of dropping out of school.
The OPI will encourage LEAs to utilize an Early Warning System, because LEAs that have
already implemented an Early Warning System (EWS) have experienced improved outcomes for
at-risk students. When an LEA implements an Early Warning System, careful analysis of the
data on a monthly basis produces real-time data that can be used to identify students whose risk
factors suddenly change and allow the implementation of the appropriate intervention to
minimize the obstacle. In order to encourage data collection, the OPI will work to establish
support systems for LEAs to upload their EWS data no less than a quarterly basis.
The OPI will offer EWS professional learning events to ensure successful implementation in
districts. LEAs will be encouraged to utilize the existing state EWS to identify students with
absentee rates of less than 80%. LEAs will submit specific action plans that target those students
such as after school and summer school programs. LEAs will be encouraged to develop
alternative credit recovery options through digital delivery, independent students study,
internships, afterschool programs, other student-driven learning experiences.
2. Describe the extent to which the SEA will support its LEAs in implementing
additional strategies for taking educational equity into account in expending
ARP ESSER funds, including but not limited to:
i. Allocating funding both to schools and for districtwide activities
based on student need, and
ii. Implementing an equitable and inclusive return to in-person
instruction. An inclusive return to in-person instruction includes,
but is not limited to, establishing policies and practices that avoid
the over-use of exclusionary discipline measures (including in- and
out-of-school suspensions) and creating a positive and supportive
learning environment for all students.
Montana LEAs utilizing ARP ESSER funds to address educational opportunity gaps will be
encouraged to identify priority student groups through survey data, OPI GEMS data, and other
44
sources. LEAs can also leverage specific local data through student and parent surveys and
focus groups. Data analyzation should be robust enough to identify both subgroup and
individual student needs in the areas of academics and social and emotional well-being. The OPI
will advocate for and provide strategies for an individualized approach for meeting learner needs
for all students. An increased focus on mental health supports and initiatives will be
recommended, based on individual student needs. The OPI will also provide strong guidance to
LEAS to tie the use of funding to the student in the classroom and their needs and facilitate LEA
supports in the areas of data use and analysis, evidence based instructional practices, and mental
health supports.
The OPI will work with external partners, including but not limited to the Montana School
Boards Association (MTSBA), a statewide association that provides policy support to several
Montana School districts, in providing analysis to the OPI with respect to collected student
discipline data, to ensure that student groups are not being disciplined at disproportional rates.
The OPI will recommend that review teams consist of a variety of school staff and community
stakeholders including students and parents. This approach would include representation from
traditionally marginalized sub-groups to ensure they have a voice in the process and can provide
perspective. If the data identifies a disproportionate impact on identifiable student subgroups,
LEAs can revamp their policies to address disparities in disciplinary approaches. The OPI will
provide resources and professional development on child development, cultural awareness and
methodologies of discipline that maintain the value of the child.
Regarding a positive and supportive learning environment for all students, the OPI has recently
shifted the paradigm around academic achievement focusing on learning opportunity gaps versus
achievement gap. Thus, the focus has become addressing student opportunity, a key element of
educational equality.
The American Indian Student Achievement Research Project (2020) preliminarily identified lack
of access to effective teachers who understand the cultural norms, practices, and values of Native
students. Thus, LEAs that serve significant populations of American Indian students will be
offered models of teacher development that can aid in overcoming this barrier.
School districts have historically played an organic role in student social emotional learning and
development in the form of verbal and non-verbal peer communication, play, and meaningful
interactions with teachers and staff. The OPI will encourage LEAs to address social emotional
learning initiatives and opportunities in their ARP ESSER plans while providing guidance in the
areas of research, evidence based best practices, and other resources and supports.
The OPI has developed an Early Warning System (EWS) designed to determine the chance of a
student dropping out in grades 3-12 as well as identify the reasons why a student is at risk.
Minority, low income, and other marginalized student populations are often at highest risk due to
socioeconomic issues, disproportionate disciplinary referrals, and lack of relevant meaningful
learning opportunities. LEAs will be encouraged to better utilize their early warning systems
and provide supports and interventions for students who score in the highest risk categories. The
45
OPI will continue working to collect and provide EWS data in a timelier manner so as to
provide LEAs a more useful and timelier tool for identifying students in need of interventions.
Traditional educational settings and practices have focused on passive learning strategies
assessed by mastery of content. For students who do not thrive in this environment and/or excel
in the areas of applied knowledge or hands on learning, the OPI will assist districts in tailoring
plans that place skills and competencies on equal footing with mastery of knowledge and
content. The Montana Legislature passed proficiency-based assessments and learning several
years ago. The majority of Montana school districts adopted proficiency-based assessment
models in 2020. The OPI will work with school districts in building competency-based models
that can be applied in all disciplines, and in providing student-driven learning that can meet
career and life-ready competencies.
Students often struggle to find relevance in their schooling and curriculum. Additionally,
traditional educational practices have focused on mastery of content that will most likely not
significantly increase preparedness for a workforce in which success is most highly dependent
upon soft and cross cutting skills. This is especially true in the 21st century when information is
easily attained when needed. Lack of relevance is often especially acute in minority and
underserved student populations as curriculums tend to focus on western histories,
accomplishments, and values. As a part of their ARP ESSER plan, LEAs can offer increased
career pathways, industry classroom credentialing, dual enrollment courses, entrepreneurship
ventures, job shadowing and internship opportunities.
Article X of the Montana Constitution states that “our state recognizes the distinct and unique
cultural heritage of American Indians and is committed in its educational goals to preserving
their cultural integrity.” Montana Code Annotated 20-1-501, commonly known as Indian
Education for All, states that “every Montanan, whether Indian or non-Indian be encouraged to
learn about the distinct and unique heritage of American Indians in a culturally responsive
manner.” These two codifications form the basis of a unique requirement that all Montana
students learn about Montana’s twelve (12) tribal nations. As our American Indian students are
generally our most significant minority population and experience the largest opportunity gap,
Indian Education for All is a critical approach to achieving equality-relevant pedagogy in
Montana classrooms.
F. Supporting the Educator Workforce
The Department recognizes the toll that the COVID-19 pandemic has taken on the
Nation’s educators as well as students. In this section, SEAs will describe strategies for
supporting and stabilizing the educator workforce and for making staffing decisions
that will support students’ academic, social, emotional, and mental health needs.
3. Supporting and Stabilizing the Educator Workforce:
iv. Describe the extent to which the State is facing shortages of
educators, education administration personnel, and other school
personnel involved in safely reopening schools, and the extent to
46
which they vary by region/type of school district and/or groups
of educators (e.g., special educators and related services
personnel and paraprofessionals; bilingual or English as a
second language educators; science, technology, engineering, and
math (“STEM”) educators; career and technical education
(“CTE”) educators; early childhood educators). Cite specific
data on shortages and needs where available.
Complete the table below, changing or adding additional rows as
needed, or provide a narrative description.
Table F1.
Area Data on shortages and needs Narrative description
Data reported from the Critical
Shortage report. It is a 3-year
comparison, but FTE and
percentage included in column 2 is
for 2021 only. Deviation data is
reported from the 2021 OPI
TEAMS data collection.
Administrators (as TEAMS Deviation Data 2021: Montana State accreditation is by
a whole) Nonlicensed Administrators - 14; school. An administrator is counted
Administrators not endorsed - 22; for each school they serve.
Insufficient Administrator FTE - 1;
No Administrator FTE - 0
Educators (as a Critical Shortage Report 2021 Montana State accreditation is by
whole) Total FTE to Hire* - 1513.45 school. A teacher is counted for each
Possible to Hire - 502.14 (33%) school they serve.
Difficult / Not Filled - 1011.31 (67%)
Filled with Emergency Auth or
Provisional License - 826 (55%)
TEAMS Deviation Data 2021:
Nonlicensed Teachers - 184
Misassigned Teachers - 87
School Systems Critical Shortage Report 2021
with Reservation Total FTE to Hire* - 175.73
Schools, All Possible to Hire - 19 (11%)
Educators Difficult / Not Filled - 156.73 (89%)
Filled with Emergency Auth or
Provisional License - 146 (83%)
Not Large or Urban Critical Shortage Report 2021
Districts Total FTE to Hire* - 807.4
Possible to Hire - 143.23 (18%)
47
Area Data on shortages and needs Narrative description
Data reported from the Critical
Shortage report. It is a 3-year
comparison, but FTE and
percentage included in column 2 is
for 2021 only. Deviation data is
reported from the 2021 OPI
TEAMS data collection.
Difficult / Not Filled - 664.17 (82%)
Filled with Emergency Auth or
Provisional License - 649 (80%)
Large or Urban Critical Shortage Report 2021
Districts Total FTE to Hire* - 706.05
Possible to Hire - 358.91 (51%)
Difficult / Not Filled - 347.14 (49%)
Filled with Emergency Auth or
Provisional License - 177 (25%)
Special educators Critical Shortage Report 2021 Special Educator and related service
and related service Total FTE to Hire* - 191.51 personnel includes teacher, school
Personnel and Possible to Hire - 22.6 (12%) service personnel, audiologist,
paraprofessionals Difficult / Not Filled - 168.91 (88%) Occupational therapist, occupational
Filled with Emergency Auth therapy assistant, physical therapist,
or Provisional License - 75 (39%) and speech-language pathologist
FTE. Critical Shortage report does not
capture paraprofessionals.
English as a Second Critical Shortage Report 2021
Language Total FTE to Hire* - 3
Possible to Hire - 0
Difficult / Not Filled - 3
Filled with Emergency Auth
or Provisional License - 1
STEM educators Critical Shortage Report 2021 The data represented here is specific
Science and Mathematics to educator content area in Science
Total FTE to Hire* - 141.69 and Math and may not be STEM-
Possible to Hire - 38.8 (27%) specific.
Difficult / Not Filled - 102.89 (73%)
Filled with Emergency Auth
or Provisional License - 109 (77%)
CTE educators Critical Shortage Report 2021
Total FTE to Hire* - 131.76
Possible to Hire - 30 (23%)
Difficult / Not Filled - 101.76 (77%)
Filled with Emergency Auth
or Provisional License - 115 (87%)
Early Childhood Critical Shortage Report 2021
48
Area Data on shortages and needs Narrative description
Data reported from the Critical
Shortage report. It is a 3-year
comparison, but FTE and
percentage included in column 2 is
for 2021 only. Deviation data is
reported from the 2021 OPI
TEAMS data collection.
Total FTE to Hire* - 6.5
Possible to Hire - 1
Difficult / Not Filled - 5.5
Filled with Emergency Auth
or Provisional License - 9
*Total FTE does not include Emergency Auth or Provisional
ii. Describe how the SEA will assist its LEAs in identifying the most
urgent areas of shortages or potential shortages, with particular
plans for individual LEAs facing the most significant needs (e.g.,
by avoiding layoffs, providing high-quality professional learning
opportunities, and addressing the impact of stress or trauma on
educators). Include a description of how other Federal COVID-
19 funding (e.g., ESSER and GEER funds under the CARES Act
and CRRSA Act) have already been used to avoid layoffs during
the COVID-19 pandemic.
In Montana, schools and districts report employment information in a system called TEAMS
(Terms of Employment, Accreditation, and Master Schedule). Schools report nonlicensed or
misassignment educators within their yearly TEAMS reporting. Our Accreditation Unit will
continue to provide work sessions and guidance related to this reporting on the School
Accreditation website (Appendix F1). The Quality Educator Loan Assistance Program
(Appendix F2), part of House Bill 211, continues to be available for nearly hired quality
educators who teach or work in a subject area that has been identified as a critical quality
educator shortage area at an impacted school, and the educators that take advantage of this
program are eligible to receive state-paid loan assistance for up to four years, so long as they
remain a full-time employee at an impacted school.
House Bill 630 (Appendix F3) was made law on May 14, 2021, and it appropriates CARES II
funds and temporarily revises education funding. The bill establishes a temporary maintenance
of equity payment for school districts, temporarily suspends anticipated enrollment increases due
to COVID-19, temporarily modifies financial support for unanticipated enrollment increases due
to COVID-19 and allows COVID-19 relief appropriates to continue into the biennium beginning
July 1, 2021. The extra flexibilities provided, particularly related to fluctuating pupil
enrollments, will help to stabilize the workforce by reducing the likelihood of layoffs.
49
In Montana, schools conduct up to 18 hours of professional development per year, and the
decisions regarding the priorities for these hours are locally controlled. This process is outlined
in Administrative Rules of Montana 10.55.714 Professional Development (Appendix F4). Many
schools choose to include professional learning offered by the OPI in their yearly professional
development planning. In February of 2021, the OPI conducted a professional learning needs
survey. Over 700 of Montana’s educators from nearly all roles in education responded to the
survey. Two topics that were identified as top priorities include self-care for educators and
educator resiliency. The OPI operates a free online learning management system for Montana’s
educators called the Teacher Learning Hub. The courses require interactivity and reflection and
often ask the educator to make a plan for the future at the conclusion of the course. We have over
100 courses on a variety of topics, including self-care for educators and resiliency. Those courses
were made available shortly after the COVID-19 pandemic began. In addition, we have courses
on topics such as how to work with students experiencing grief and loss, trauma-informed
practices, suicide prevention, adverse childhood experiences, and best practices for online
teaching. The OPI also shares professional learning opportunities from Montana’s many
educational partners on the OPI Professional Learning Opportunities Portal (Appendix F5), and
we will continue to do so in the upcoming school year. Many of the opportunities listed on the
Portal relate to educator self-care and mental health.
Additionally, the OPI developed and hosted remote learning sharing sessions beginning March
23, 2021. The topics ranged from digital learning tips and tricks, literacy, multi-tiered systems of
support, music education, career and technical education, science, and more. Many of these
groups chose to continue meeting in the 2020-2021 school year. We anticipate that our partner
organizations will continue to host many of these sharing sessions throughout the 2021-2022
school year.
Previous funds have been spent in accordance with the Allowable Activities for ESSER I, II, and
III, specifically in regard to recent passing of House Bill 630.
iii. Describe the actions the SEA will take to fill anticipated gaps in
certified teachers for the start of the 2021-2022 school year and
to what extent the SEA will further support its LEAs in
expanding the educator pipeline and educator diversity while
addressing the immediate needs of students disproportionately
impacted by the pandemic (e.g., recruiting teaching candidates
to provide high-dosage tutoring or implementing residencies for
teacher candidates).
As mentioned previously in this report, Montana is a local control state, and thus recruitment and
hiring decisions are made at the local level. However, Montana has created some new ways to
help LEAs fill gaps in certified teachers. We just started our Data Systems Modernization Project
(Appendix F6). We also recently hosted the first OPI Virtual Job Fair (Appendix F7) with many
LEAs, including some of our most rural schools, in attendance.
According to the Title II Reports National Teacher Preparation Data (Appendix F8), our educator
pipeline and enrollment has grown from 2016-2017 to the most recent year reported, 2018-2019,
50
by 22.6% or 441. In order to grow the pipeline, the SEA partners with grant programs such as the
Rural Mental Health Pathways Grant (Appendix F9) and the Teacher Quality Partnership Grant
(Appendix F10). Both of these grants focus on rural communities where the majority of the
state’s critical shortage areas are located. House Bill 403 Create “Grow Your Own” Teacher
Grant Program (Appendix F11) was recently signed into law and allows the Commissioner of
Higher Education to strengthen teacher pipelines by including dual credit courses in education in
high school and by providing students with the opportunity to engage in work-based learning
opportunities in the field of education. Eligible districts are able to create their own “grow your
own grant” programs as it pertains to quality educator shortages.
Technical assistance is provided to LEAs that are experiencing hiring concerns. Increased
flexibilities regarding Class 5 Provisional licenses has been provided since the beginning of the
pandemic, along with guidance related to emergency authorizations for accreditation purposes.
House Bill 246 Revise education laws to enhance local control and opportunities for pupils
(Appendix F12) also permits the Board of Public Education to provide a license to an educator
wanting to teach in Montana if the educator currently holds a license in another state or country
and has successful experience as an educator. The SEA is currently reviewing the current
licensing rules and anticipates over the next seven months to have recommended substantial
changes in licensing barrier rules that can improve recruitment and retention. The OPI has
recently engaged with a third-party vendor that facilitates international teacher employability
opportunities in Montana.
For the most part, Montana’s schools have remained open for in-person learning throughout the
2020-2021 school year. SEAs are encouraged to consider the 2021 Summer Learning and
Enrichment: State Guidance for District and School Leaders (Appendix F13) for suggestions on
how to address the needs of students most disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19
pandemic.
The OPI will explore greater flexibility in Chapter 55 updates to determine how social workers,
licensed clinicians, and case managers could help districts with the shortage of licensed school
counselors.
2. Staffing to Support Student Needs: Describe the extent to which the SEA has
developed or will develop strategies and will support its LEAs in increasing
student access to key support staff within school buildings, including school
counselors, special education personnel, nurses, social workers, and
psychologists (e.g. hiring additional personnel or freeing up these staff to
focus on providing services to students).
In Montana, staffing is a local decision, however, Montana supports the following Acts and
initiatives within the state. House Bill 143 Provide incentives for increasing starting teacher pay
or the Montana TEACH Act (Appendix F14) allows schools that have been experiencing
difficulty recruiting educators, particularly Montana’s rural schools, to increase starting teacher
pay. This recently passed bill will allow Montana to recruit and retain more teachers. In addition,
the Special Education Endorsement Project is a way to help school districts fill vacant special
51
education teacher positions. The project is part of Montana’s Comprehensive System of
Personnel Development (CSPD), which is included under Montana Administrative Rule (ARM
10.16.3135 in the Montana IDEA Plan and is regulated by the Accreditation and Licensure Rule
10.55.707.
The OPI maintains a Jobs for Teachers website (Appendix F15) that allows schools to post jobs
and search for candidates. Schools are also encouraged to post positions with the Montana
Schools Recruitment Project (Appendix F16) to assist with recruiting special education
personnel. Montana currently has the USED grant for Mental Health Pathways for rural and
tribal communities. This program is designed to prepare counselors for Montana’s rural schools
and communities. Montana also has the SAMHSA Project AWARE Grant that offers
scholarships and loan forgiveness for graduates studies for graduates that agree to work in
schools. This project is beginning in the Summer of 2021. The OPI works with School
Administrators of Montana on recruitment of hard-to-find positions, has held and continues to
hold Virtual Employment Fairs, and has opened the state to greater opportunities for
international students. The OPI began the review process of educator licensing in October of
2020 and is looking at any rules that are barriers to educator licensure. Finally, the OPI and the
MT Healthcare Foundation have a joint project focusing on school-based health clinics that
provide mental health supports to students.
The OPI encourages schools to utilize the additional funding received from COVID-19 to add
additional personnel to their schools as deemed necessary through local needs assessments.
G. Monitoring and Measuring Progress
The Department recognizes that transparency on how ARP ESSER funds are used and
their impact on the Nation’s education system is a fundamental responsibility of
Federal, State, and local government. In this section, SEAs will describe how they are
building capacity at the SEA and LEA levels to ensure high-quality data collection and
reporting and to safeguard funds for their intended purposes.
1. Capacity for Data Collection and Reporting: It is important for an SEA to
continuously monitor progress and make adjustments to its strategies, as well
as to support its LEAs in making adjustments to LEA strategies, based on
impact. Describe how the SEA will ensure its capacity and the capacity of its
LEAs to collect data on reporting requirements, including but not limited to
the examples of reporting requirements described in the SEA’s Grant Award
Notification (listed in Appendix B). Describe the SEA’s capacity and strategy
to collect data from its LEAs (disaggregated by student group, where
applicable), to the greatest extent practicable, including any steps the SEA
will take to build its capacity in the future (which may include the use of
ARP ESSER and other Federal COVID-19 pandemic funds at the SEA and
LEA levels), on issues that may include the following:
52
i. Student learning, including the academic impact of lost
instructional time during the COVID-19 pandemic;
ii. Opportunity to learn measures (e.g., chronic absenteeism;
student engagement; use of exclusionary discipline; access to and
participation in advanced coursework; access to technology,
including educator access to professional development on the
effective use of technology; access to high-quality educators;
access to school counselors, social workers, nurses, and school
psychologists; and results from student, parent, and/or educator
surveys);
iii. Fiscal data that is comparable across the State (e.g., per-pupil
expenditures at the LEA and school levels);
iv. Jobs created and retained (by position type);
v. Participation in programs funded by ARP ESSER resources
(e.g., summer and afterschool programs); and
vi. Other reporting requirements reasonably required by the
Secretary (please refer to Appendix B of this template; final
requirements will be issued separately).
The OPI’s current capacity for collecting data for the LEAs is accomplished through a
statewide student information system called Achievement in Montana (AIM) and a
number of other database applications. These systems enable the OPI to report annually
on a number of state and federally required data points, including
• Statewide summative assessments as a measure of student learning,
• Chronic absenteeism,
• Use of exclusionary discipline,
• Access to high-quality educators,
• Classified and certified educators, and
• Per-pupil expenditures by school and district.
The OPI developed a survey instrument in 2021, in partnership with the National Center
for Assessment, to collect data on the opportunities students had to learn (OTL),
especially around student engagement, perception of learning, and access to technology.
This inaugural administration will establish the baseline for this new data collection;
results will be available in June 2021 and full analysis will conclude in August 2021.
The OPI also operates a Moodle learning management system called the Teacher
Learning Hub. In July 2019, the Hub had 10 courses on effective technology use in the
classroom that received 511 completions in the 2018-2019 fiscal year. The OPI added
three more technology courses in 2020. All of the OPI technology courses received,
between March 2020 through April 2021, 1,241 completions.
53
OPI’s future data collection strategy:
1. The OPI will build on that foundation by making the following data available in
the statewide longitudinal data system, GEMS, to provide transparent monitoring by
all educational stakeholders for all applicable subgroups:
• Student learning
o State summative assessments
• Opportunities to Learn (OTL)
o Chronic absenteeism
o Student survey responses to learn about student engagement;
o In-school and out-of-school suspension data to determine use of
exclusionary discipline;
o Advanced Placement and Dual Enrollment coursework to gauge high
school student advanced coursework where available;
o Gifted & Talented evaluation and participation data to gauge elementary
and middle school student advanced coursework;
o Access to technology – student access
o Access to technology – teacher professional development on technology
o Access to high-quality educators
o Access to school counselors, social workers, school psychologists, and
nurses
• Per-pupil expenditures
• Jobs Created and retained (by position type)
• Extended learning funded by ARP ESSER
o Extended School Year evaluation and placement for children
with disabilities;
o Afterschool program enrollment
o Summer School enrollment
• Mode of Instruction-students enrolled in online, hybrid, and fully in-person
instruction.
2. This will require the following new and continuation of recently new data collections:
• Mode of Instruction data
• Calendar and enrollment information related to afterschool and summer school
programs
• Opportunity to Learn survey
3. Montana will also pursue innovations to perform Lexile and Quantile averaging of
formative interim assessments.
4. Student subgroups listed in Appendix A will be reported in GEMS to the extent
possible.
• The category ‘Race/Ethnicity information not available’ is not applicable to the
state of Montana, due to rigorous data collection processes
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• Three subgroups from Appendix A will be defined by individual districts,
collected at the district level, and progress of these groups will be reported in
aggregate.
o Severely Affected by COVID19: Missed most in-person
o Severely Affected by COVID19: Missed remote instruction
o LBGTQ+
2. Monitoring and Internal Controls: Describe how the SEA will implement
appropriate fiscal monitoring of and internal controls for the ARP ESSER
funds (e.g., by updating the SEA’s plan for monitoring funds and internal
controls under the CARES and CRRSA Acts; addressing potential sources of
waste, fraud, and abuse; conducting random audits; or other tools). In this
response, please describe the SEA’s current capacity to monitor ARP
ESSER; steps, if needed, to increase capacity; and any foreseeable gaps in
capacity, including how the SEA will provide its LEAs with technical
assistance in the anticipated areas of greatest need.
The OPI has a rigorous internal monitoring and grant management plan that includes risk
assessment and training provided on allowable uses for the Superintendents and Clerks. The OPI
determined that a key risk to the grant effectiveness was for subrecipients to not comply with the
CARES Act provision for funds to be expended “to prevent, prepare for, and respond to
coronavirus.” In order to mitigate this risk, the OPI took the following steps:
• Created clear guidance for LEAs that emphasized this requirement;
• Included this requirement on the overview, allowable uses, and ESSER assurance
pages agreed to by each LEA in the e-grants process; and
• Made sure LEA budget proposal line items included sufficient information to
make a reasonable belief the COVID-19 connection was present.
The LEAs classified as “risky” will receive a desk audit once each quarter conducted by the
CFO. The remaining LEAs will receive desk audits according to the size of the award. The desk
audit will review:
• Detailed documentation of one month’s expenditures, reconciling LEA
accounting system transactions with cash draws to supporting documents;
• Status of corrective actions from last budget;
• Inventory of any equipment purchased with grant funds;
• Discussion of provision of equitable share services; and
• Discuss plans for remaining grant funds.
OPI utilizes the state of Montana’s approved accounting system (SABHRS) to complete all fiscal
activity for state and federal funding. SABHRS allows OPI to manage state and federal funds
55
from initial budget setup, tracking of expenditures, and extraction of fiscal data for applicable
reporting. When OPI receives the current years funds (GAN) the funds are allocated based on the
requirements of the grant (i.e. Admin, Set Asides, Flow through, etc.). To setup budgets in
SABHRS, the OPI Budget Analyst utilizes the New Grant Setup Checklist to ensure all
applicable steps are completed in setting up allocations. OPI utilizes “project ID’s” for each type
of funding source to ensure funding is expended within the applicable budget period and incurred
expenditures are accurately reported at the state level. Use of project ID’s allows OPI to
separately track funds expended for administration (Personal Services and Operating) of the
program and those funds which are sub‐granted (Flow through).
More detailed information for the monitoring and internal controls processes is outlined in the
Monitoring Plan (See Attachments 7 and 8).
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Appendix A: School Operating Status and Instructional Mode Data Template
Indicate the date or time period represented by the following data.
Montana does not currently collect data on Mode of Instruction.
Table 1
In the most recent time period available, how many schools in your State offered each mode of
instruction or learning model described below? Each row should account for all schools in your
State, so that, for each row, the sum of the numbers in the “offered to all students,” “offered to
some students,” and “not offered” columns is equal to the number in the “all schools” column.
Add or change rows as needed
Number of All schools Offered to Offered to Not offered
schools all students some
students
Remote or # # # #
online only
School # # # #
buildings
open with
both
remote/onlin
e and in-
person
instruction
(hybrid)
School # # # #
buildings
open with
full-time in-
person
instruction
To the extent data are available, please complete the above table for 1) all schools in the State,
and 2) separately for each instructional level (e.g., pre-kindergarten/elementary schools, middle
schools, high schools).
Table 2
In the most recent time period available, what was the enrollment and mode of instruction for the
schools in your State?
Add or change rows as needed
57
Number of Total Remote or Both Full-time
students enrollment online only remote/onli in-person
ne and in- instruction
person
instruction
(hybrid)
Students # # # #
from low-
income
families
White, not # # # #
Hispanic
Black or # # # #
African
American,
not Hispanic
Hispanic, of # # # #
any race
Asian, not # # # #
Hispanic
American # # # #
Indian or
Alaskan
Native, not
Hispanic
Native # # # #
Hawaiian or
Pacific
Islander, not
Hispanic
Two or more # # # #
races, not
Hispanic
Race/Ethnici # # # #
ty
information
not available
English # # # #
learners
58
Number of Total Remote or Both Full-time
students enrollment online only remote/onli in-person
ne and in- instruction
person
instruction
(hybrid)
Children # # # #
with
disabilities
Students # # # #
experiencing
homelessnes
s
Children and # # # #
youth in
foster care
Migratory # # # #
students
Appendix B: Reporting Language Included in the Grant Award Notification (“GAN”)
As described in the Grant Award Notification (“GAN”), the SEA will comply with, and ensure
that its LEAs comply with, all reporting requirements at such time and in such manner and
containing such information as the Secretary may reasonably require, including on matters such
as:
• How the State is developing strategies and implementing public health protocols
including, to the greatest extent practicable, policies and plans in line with the CDC
guidance related to mitigating COVID-19 in schools;
• Overall plans and policies related to State support for return to in-person instruction and
maximizing in-person instruction time, including how funds will support a return to and
maximize in-person instruction time, and advance equity and inclusivity in participation
in in-person instruction;
• Data on each school’s mode of instruction (fully in-person, hybrid, and fully remote) and
conditions;
• SEA and LEA uses of funds to meet students’ social, emotional, and academic needs,
including through summer enrichment programming and other evidence-based
interventions, and how they advance equity for underserved students;
• SEA and LEA uses of funds to sustain and support access to early childhood education
programs;
• Impacts and outcomes (disaggregated by student subgroup) through use of ARP ESSER
funding (e.g., quantitative and qualitative results of ARP ESSER funding, including on
personnel, student learning, and budgeting at the school and district level);
59
• Student data (disaggregated by student subgroup) related to how the COVID-19
pandemic has affected instruction and learning;
• Requirements under the Federal Financial Accountability Transparency Act (“FFATA”);
and
• Additional reporting requirements as may be necessary to ensure accountability and
transparency of ARP ESSER funds.
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Appendix C: Assurances
By signing this document, the SEA assures all of the following:
• The SEA will conduct all its operations so that no person shall be excluded from
participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subject to discrimination under the ARP
ESSER program or activity based on race, color, national origin, which includes a
person’s limited English proficiency or English learner status and a person’s actual or
perceived shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics; sex; age; or disability. These non-
discrimination obligations arise under Federal civil rights laws, including but not limited
to Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of
1972, section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Age Discrimination Act of
1975. In addition, the SEA must comply with all regulations, guidelines, and standards
issued by the Department under any of these statutes;
• The SEA will comply with all ARP Act and other ARP ESSER requirements and all
requirements of its Grant Award Notification, including but not limited to:
o Complying with the maintenance of effort provision in section 2004(a)(1) of the
ARP Act, absent a waiver by the Secretary pursuant to section 2004(a)(2) of the
ARP Act; and
o Complying with the maintenance of equity provisions in section 2004(b) of the
ARP Act, and ensuring its LEAs comply with the maintenance of equity provision
in section 2004(c) of the ARP Act (please note that the Department will provide
additional guidance on maintenance of equity shortly);
• The SEA will allocate ARP ESSER funds to LEAs in an expedited and timely manner
and, to the extent practicable, not later than 60 days after the SEA receives ARP ESSER
funds (i.e., 60 days from the date the SEA receives each portion of its ARP ESSER
funds). An SEA that is not able to allocate such funds within 60 days because it is not
practicable (e.g., because of pre-existing State board approval requirements) will provide
an explanation to the Department within 30 days of receiving each portion of its ARP
ESSER funds (submitted via email to your Program Officer at [State].OESE@ed.gov
(e.g., Alabama.OESE@ed.gov)), including a description of specific actions the SEA is
taking to provide ARP ESSER funds to LEAs in an expedited and timely manner and the
SEA’s expected timeline for doing so;
• The SEA will implement evidence-based interventions as required under section 2001(f)
of the ARP Act and ensure its LEAs implement evidence-based interventions, as required
by section 2001(e)(1) of the ARP Act;
• The SEA will address the disproportionate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on
underserved students (i.e., students from low-income families, students from racial or
ethnic groups (e.g., identifying disparities and focusing on underserved student groups by
race or ethnicity), gender (e.g., identifying disparities and focusing on underserved
student groups by gender), English learners, children with disabilities, students
experiencing homelessness, children and youth in foster care, and migratory students), as
required under section 2001(f) of the ARP Act, and ensure its LEAs address the
disproportionate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on underserved students (i.e.,
students from low-income families, students from racial or ethnic groups, gender, English
learners, children with disabilities, students experiencing homelessness, children and
61
youth in foster care, and migratory students), as required by section 2001(e)(1) of the
ARP Act; and
• The SEA will provide to the Department: (1) the URL(s) where the public can readily
find data on school operating status and (2) the URL(s) for the SEA and/or LEA websites
where the public can find the LEA plans for a) the safe return to in-person instruction and
continuity of services required under section 2001(i) of the ARP Act, and b) use of ARP
ESSER funds. SEAs should consider ensuring a standardized URL format in all cases
(e.g., xxx.gov/COVID plan).
62
Appendix D
OMB Control No. 1894-0005 (Exp. 06/30/2023)
NOTICE TO ALL APPLICANTS
The purpose of this enclosure is to inform you access to, and participation in, its Federally-
about a new provision in the Department of assisted program for students, teachers, and
Educations General Education Provisions other program beneficiaries with special
Act ("GEPA") that applies to applicants for needs. This provision allows applicants
new grant awards under Department discretion in developing the required
programs. This provision is Section 427 of description. The statute highlights six types
GEPA, enacted as part of the Improving of barriers that can impede equitable access
America's Schools Act of 1994 (Public Law or participation: gender, race, national origin,
(P.L.) 103-382). color, disability, or age. Based on local
circumstances, you should determine
To Whom Does This Provision Apply? whether these or other barriers may prevent
your students, teachers, etc. from such access
Section 427 of GEPA affects applicants for
to, or participation in, the Federally-funded
new grant awards under this program. ALL
project or activity. The description in your
APPLICANTS FOR NEW AWARDS
application of steps to be taken to overcome
MUST INCLUDE INFORMATION IN
these barriers need not be lengthy; you may
THEIR APPLICATIONS TO ADDRESS
provide a clear and succinct description of
THIS NEW PROVISION IN ORDER TO
how you plan to address those barriers that
RECEIVE FUNDING UNDER THIS
are applicable to your circumstances. In
PROGRAM.
addition, the information may be provided in
(If this program is a State-formula grant a single narrative, or, if appropriate, may be
program, a State needs to provide this discussed in connection with related topics in
description only for projects or activities that the application.
it carries out with funds reserved for State-
Section 427 is not intended to duplicate the
level uses. In addition, local school districts
requirements of civil rights statutes, but
or other eligible applicants that apply to the
rather to ensure that, in designing their
State for funding need to provide this
projects, applicants for Federal funds address
description in their applications to the State
equity concerns that may affect the ability of
for funding. The State would be responsible
certain potential beneficiaries to fully
for ensuring that the school district or other
participate in the project and to achieve high
local entity has submitted a sufficient section
standards. Consistent with program
427 statement as described below.)
requirements and its approved application, an
What Does This Provision Require? applicant may use the Federal funds awarded
to it to eliminate barriers it identifies.
Section 427 requires each applicant for funds
(other than an individual person) to include in
its application a description of the steps the
applicant proposes to take to ensure equitable
63
What are Examples of How an Applicant
Might Satisfy the Requirement of This
Provision?
The following examples may help illustrate
how an applicant may comply with Section
427.
(1) An applicant that proposes to carry
out an adult literacy project serving,
among others, adults with limited English
proficiency, might describe in its
application how it intends to distribute a
brochure about the proposed project to
such potential participants in their native
language.
(2) An applicant that proposes to develop
instructional materials for classroom use
might describe how it will make the
materials available on audio tape or in
braille for students who are blind.
(3) An applicant that proposes to carry
out a model science program for
secondary students and is concerned that
girls may be less likely than boys to enroll
in the course, might indicate how it
intends to conduct "outreach" efforts to
girls, to encourage their enrollment.
(4) An applicant that proposes a project to
increase school safety might describe the
special efforts it will take to address
concerns of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and
transgender students, and efforts to reach
out to and involve the families of LGBT
students.
We recognize that many applicants may
already be implementing effective steps to
ensure equity of access and participation in
their grant programs, and we appreciate your
cooperation in responding to the
requirements of this provision.
Click here to enter text
64
Montana ARP ESSER Plan Appendices
Section A Appendix
A1-OTL Student Survey Summary Results-See Attachment 1
A2-OTL Teacher Survey Summary Results-See Attachment 2
A3-Stakeholder Survey-See Attachment 3
Section B Appendix
B1-MT Schools Reopening Guide-See Attachment 4
Table B1-Resources
Universal and correct wearing of masks
State Guidance: Emergency Planning & Safety website:
http://opi.mt.gov/Leadership/Management-Operations/Emergency-Planning-Safety.
Physical distancing (e.g., including use of cohorts/podding)
State Guidance: Emergency Planning & Safety website:
http://opi.mt.gov/Leadership/Management-Operations/Emergency-Planning-Safety.
Handwashing and respiratory etiquette
State Guidance: Emergency Planning & Safety website:
http://opi.mt.gov/Leadership/Management-Operations/Emergency-Planning-Safety
Cleaning and maintaining healthy facilities, including improving ventilation
State Guidance: Emergency Planning & Safety website:
http://opi.mt.gov/Leadership/Management-Operations/Emergency-Planning-Safety. MT DPHHS
https://dphhs.mt.gov/schoolhealth/safeenvironment and https://dphhs.mt.gov/schoolhealth.
Contact in combination with isolation and quarantine, in collaboration with the State, local,
territorial, or Tribal health departments
State Guidance: Emergency Planning & Safety website:
http://opi.mt.gov/Leadership/Management-Operations/Emergency-Planning-Safety.MT DPHHS
https://dphhs.mt.gov/schoolhealth.
Diagnostic and screening testing
State Guidance: Emergency Planning & Safety website:
http://opi.mt.gov/Leadership/Management-Operations/Emergency-Planning-Safety.
65
Efforts to provide vaccinations to educators, other staff, and students, if eligible
State Guidance: Emergency Planning & Safety website:
http://opi.mt.gov/Leadership/Management-Operations/Emergency-Planning-Safety.
Appropriate accommodations for children with disabilities with respect to the health and safety
Policies Federal Guidance:
http://opi.mt.gov/Educators/School-Climate-StudentWellness/Special-Education/COVID-19-Special-Education-
Information#93815610-federalguidance---updated-5132021.
State Guidance: http://opi.mt.gov/Educators/School-Climate-StudentWellness/Special-Education/COVID-19-
Special-Education-Information#93815611-stateguidance---updated-4292021
http://opi.mt.gov/Leadership/ManagementOperations/Emergency-Planning-Safety.
Professional Learning:
http://opi.mt.gov/Educators/School-Climate-StudentWellness/Special-Education/COVID-19-Special-Education-
Information#93815613-professionallearning---updated-1062020.
Resources:
http://opi.mt.gov/Educators/School-Climate-Student-Wellness/SpecialEducation/COVID-19-Special-Education-
Information#93815612-resources---updated-3242021.
Other Tools and Resources on the Emergency Planning & Safety website:
1. Operational Strategy for K-12 Schools through Phased Mitigation -
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/schools-childcare/operationstrategy.html.
Guidance for schools to determine how to best support the safety of students, teachers, and staff during the COVID-19
pandemic.
2. Essential Elements of Safe K-12 School Operations for In-Person Learning -
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/schools-childcare/operationstrategy.html.
Guidance from the CDC on how schools can mitigate the spread of COVID-19 during in-person learning.
3. Toolkits for K-12 Schools - https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/communication/toolkits/schools.html.
Toolkits for schools to use to plan for safe in-person learning.
4. Trends in Number of COVID-19 Cases –https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#trends_dailytrendscases
Information on local COVID-19 case numbers, including county-level data. The CDC’s guidance on how to best use this
data in making decisions for in person learning.
5. New School Safety Resources, such as: Strategies for Promoting Educator and Student Safety
and Wellness During Online Learning -
http://opi.mt.gov/Portals/182/Page%20Files/Emergency%20Planning%20and%20Safety/Strategies%20for%20Promoti
ng%20Educator%20and%20Student%20Safety%20and%20Wellness%20During%20Online%20Learning.pdf?ver=20
21-02-02-131143-020.
66
Information on available resources and strategies schools can implement to promote safety and wellness during online
learning.
6. Ten Essential Actions for Improving School Safety -
http://opi.mt.gov/Portals/182/Page%20Files/Emergency%20Planning%20and%20Safety/10%20Essential%20Actions
%20to%20Improve%20School%20Safety%20in%20Montana.pdf?ver=2020-11-13-133224-880.
Steps every school can take to improve school safety and links to additional resources. The OPI also produced the
following instructional video
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=sj07eAcAtpY&feature=youtu.be.) to help
districts “learn more about the 10 Essential Actions to Improve School Safety.”
B2-Emergency Planning and Safety Website-
Emergency Planning & Safety website: http://opi.mt.gov/Leadership/ManagementOperations/Emergency-Planning-
Safety.
B3-MTSBA 1900 Policies-
https://issuu.com/montanaschoolboardsassociation/docs/mtsba_1900_series_model_policies?fr=sODk0NzY0
NTY5NA
B4-Other Website Resources School Mental Health
website http://opi.mt.gov/Educators/School-Climate-StudentWellness/School-Mental-Health.
That focuses on Trauma-Informed Schools, Social Emotional Learning, Educator Self-Care, and School Mental
Health Resources
Section C Appendix
C1-Letters of Support-See Attachment 5
C2-MT Tribal Consultation Guide-See Attachment 6
C3-ESSER_I_II_Allocations.xlsx-http://opi.mt.gov/Portals/182/COVID-
19/ESSER/ESSER_I_II__III%20Allocations.pdf?ver=2021-03-26-092919-663
Section F Appendix and Resources
F1 – Office of Public Instruction School Accreditation. URL: http://opi.mt.gov/Leadership/Assessment-
Accountability/School-Accreditation
F2 – Office of Public Instruction Quality Educator Loan Assistance Program. URL:
http://opi.mt.gov/Educators/ Licensure/Educator-Recruitment-Retention
F3 – House Bill 630. Full Bill URL: https://leg.mt.gov/bills/2021/sesslaws/ch0551.pdf
AN ACT GENERALLY REVISING STATE FINANCE LAWS RELATED TO APPROPRIATING
FEDERAL FUNDS FOR COVID-19 RELIEF FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 2021;
ESTABLISHING A TEMPORARY MAINTENANCE OF EQUITY PAYMENT FOR SCHOOL
DISTRICTS; TEMPORARILY SUSPENDING ANTICIPATED ENROLLMENT INCREASES DUE
67
TO COVID-19; TEMPORARILY MODIFYING FINANCIAL SUPPORT FOR UNANTICIPATED
ENROLLMENT INCREASES DUE TO COVID-19; ALLOWING COVID-19 RELIEF
APPROPRIATIONS TO CONTINUE INTO THE BIENNIUM BEGINNING JULY 1, 2021;
APPROPRIATING FUNDS TO THE OFFICE OF STATE PUBLIC DEFENDER FOR THE
FISCAL YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 2021; ALLOWING MODIFICATIONS RELATED TO
APPROPRIATIONS AND AUTHORIZATIONS; AMENDING SECTIONS 20-6-326, 20-9-166,
AND 20-9-314, MCA; AMENDING SECTION 1, CHAPTER 483, LAWS OF 2019; AND
PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE AND A TERMINATION DATE.
F4 – Administrative Rule of Montana 10.55.714 Professional Development. URL: http://www.mtrules.org/
gateway/ruleno.asp?RN=10.55.714
F5 – OPI Professional Learning Opportunities Portal. URL: https://mtplportal.org/
F6 – OPI Data Systems Modernization Project. URL: http://opi.mt.gov/Data-Systems-Modernization
F7 – OPI Virtual Job Fair. URL: https://hopin.com/events/mt-education-virtual-job-fair#booths
F8 – Title II Reports National Teacher Preparation Data. URL: https://title2.ed.gov/Public/Home.aspx
F9 – Rural Mental Health Pathways Grant. URL:
http://opi.mt.gov/Portals/182/Page%20Files/School%20Mental%
20Health/Mental%20Health%20Rural%20Path ways.pdf?ver=2020-05-08-
145942793#:~:text=RMHP3%20is%20a%20federally%20funded,Montana's%20rural%20schools%20and%20c
ommunitie s.&text=In%20order%20to%
20participate%20in,or%20Marriage%20and%20Family%20Counseling.
F10 – Teacher Quality Partnership Grant. URL: https://www.montana.edu/education/grad/mat/tqp.html
F11 - House Bill 403. Full Bill URL: https://leg.mt.gov/bills/2021/sesslaws/ch0514.pdf
AN ACT PROVIDING FOR LAWS ADDRESSING EDUCATOR RECRUITMENT AND
RETENTION PROBLEMS IN RURAL MONTANA AND INDIAN COUNTRY; ESTABLISHING A
MULTIFACETED GROW YOUR OWN GRANT PROGRAM ADMINISTERED BY THE
COMMISSIONER OF HIGHER EDUCATION TO STRENGTHEN TEACHER PIPELINES;
PROVIDING AN APPROPRIATION; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE AND A
TERMINATION DATE.
F12 - House Bill 246. Full Bill URL: https://leg.mt.gov/bills/2021/HB0299/HB0246_2.pdf
A BILL FOR AN ACT ENTITLED: “AN ACT GENERALLY REVISING EDUCATION LAWS TO
STRENGTHEN 5 SUPERVISION AND CONTROL BY ELECTED SCHOOL BOARDS AND TO
INCREASE OPPORTUNITIES 6 FOR PUPILS; BROADENING THE CONCEPT OF
INSTRUCTION TO EXPAND A FOCUS ON THE 7 OUTCOME OF LEARNING FOR EACH
68
PUPIL; REVISING TEACHER, SPECIALIST, AND ADMINISTRATOR 8 CERTIFICATION TO
CODIFY FLEXIBILITIES AVAILABLE TO ELECTED SCHOOL BOARDS UNDER RULES 9 OF
THE BOARD OF PUBLIC EDUCATION; STREAMLINING THE PROCESS OF LICENSING TO
ASSIST 10 ELECTED SCHOOL BOARDS IN SUCCESSFULLY RECRUITING AND RETAINING
QUALIFIED 11 EDUCATORS; CLARIFYING THE CONDITIONS UNDER WHICH AN
ELECTED SCHOOL BOARD MAY 12 QUALIFY FOR EMERGENCY AUTHORIZATION TO
EMPLOY AN UNLICENSED TEACHER; CODIFYING 13 THE AUTHORITY OF ELECTED
SCHOOL BOARDS TO WAIVE SPECIFIC COURSE REQUIREMENTS 14 BASED ON
INDIVIDUAL PUPIL NEEDS, INTERESTS, ASPIRATIONS, AND PERFORMANCE LEVELS; 15
CODIFYING THE AUTHORITY OF ELECTED SCHOOL BOARDS TO GRANT CREDIT FOR
ANY COURSE 16 WHEN A PUPIL HAS GAINED PROFICIENCY OVER COURSE CONTENT
THROUGH ALTERNATIVE 17 MEANS; AUTHORIZING ELECTED SCHOOL BOARDS TO
EXPAND PARTNERSHIPS WITH WORK-BASED 18 LEARNING PARTNERS AND GRANT
EQUIVALENT CREDIT FOR TIME SPENT BY A PUPIL 19 PARTICIPATING IN ON-THE-JOB
EXPERIENCES WITH A WORK-BASED LEARNING PARTNER; 20 AUTHORIZING AN
ELECTED SCHOOL BOARD TO ALLOW NONRESIDENT STUDENTS TO PARTICIPATE 21 IN
OFFSITE INSTRUCTION IN CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES; AMENDING SECTIONS 20-1-101,
20-3-324, 22 20-4-101, 20-4-104, 20-4-106, 20-4-111, 20-7-118, AND 20-7-1601, MCA;
AMENDING SECTION 7, CHAPTER 23 402, LAWS OF 2019; AND PROVIDING AN
IMMEDIATE EFFECTIVE DATE.”
F13 – 2021 Summer Learning and Enrichment: State Guidance for District and School Leaders. URL:
http://opi.mt.gov/Portals/182/Page%20Files/Summer%20Learning%20Challenges/2021%20MONTANA%20
SUM MER%20LEARNING%20Report.pdf?ver=2021-04-29-101027-283
F14 – House Bill 143. Full Bill URL: https://leg.mt.gov/bills/2021/billpdf/HB0143.pdf
AN ACT INCENTIVIZING INCREASES IN BASE PAY FOR TEACHERS IN PUBLIC SCHOOL
DISTRICTS; INCREASING THE QUALITY EDUCATOR PAYMENT FOR DISTRICTS THAT
MEET LEGISLATIVE GOALS FOR COMPETITIVE BASE PAY OF TEACHERS; PROVIDING
DEFINITIONS; AMENDING SECTION 20-9- 306, MCA; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE
DATE
F15 - Jobs for Teachers. URL: http://opi.mt.gov/Educators/Licensure/Jobs-for-Teachers
F16 – Montana Schools Recruitment Project. URL: https://www.sammt.org/mcase-recruitment-project
Section G Appendix
G1-ARP ESSER Monitoring Plan-See Attachments 7 and 8
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