This is a reminder that registration is now open for the 2025 Federal Programs Institute, taking place August 26–28 at the Renasant Convention Center in Memphis, TN, and you are encouraged to attend!

There is now no limit on the number of attendees from each district, so feel free to bring your full team to collaborate, learn, and engage with colleagues from across the state.

Click here to register.

We look forward to seeing you in Memphis for three days of meaningful sessions, updates, and shared best practices. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to Suzanne.Lewis@tn.gov

The U.S. Department of Education (ED) issued a letter and corresponding FAQ regarding relief fund liquidation extensions. Due to ongoing litigation and the fact that plaintiff states are currently allowed to draw down reimbursements based on projects approved prior to March 28, 2025, ED has extended this allowability to non-plaintiff states to continue that process during the litigation period.

This means that local education agencies (LEAs) with FY25 ARP ESSER or ARP Homeless Liquidation Extension Requests in TDOE Director Approved status may submit reimbursement requests for those completed projects. We encourage your LEA to submit reimbursement requests as quickly as possible. As a reminder, the reimbursement request must include all supporting documentation from the obligation of funds through the final payment.

Please reach out to your ESSER Relief Funding Coordinator, or McKinney-Vento Grant Manager Vanessa Waters with any programmatic questions. You may also contact your Regional Finance Consultant with reimbursement request questions.

IDEA HIGH-COST:

Additional funds for high-cost students with disabilities are subject to the availability of federal funds as specified in Public Law 108-446, Section 602(8) and 611(e)(3). These additional federal funds are distributed to local educational agencies (LEAs) based on special education expenditures from the General Purpose School Funds. 

STATE SPECIAL SCHOOLS TRANSPORTATION:

State Special Schools Transportation Reimbursement Request amounts vary annually based on funding availability, Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) flowthrough, discretionary carry-over, and other funding sources made available to LEAs. 

IDEA State Special Schools Transportation Reimbursement Requests will be reimbursed as funding is available. For the school year 2024-25 (SY 2024-25), the department will reimburse approved requests at a percentage until funds are exhausted. This reimbursement request is not considered IDEA High Cost and impacts Maintenance of Effort.

The FY25 reimbursement applications for IDEA High Cost and State Special Schools Transportation will open in ePlan in mid-June. IDEA Directors with existing ePlan roles will be grandfathered in with access to the data and information tool in ePlan. New users, or users that need the additional role added can request the IDEA High Cost Director role using the ePlan User Access Form for LEAs.

KEY REMINDERS:  

• IDEA High Cost reimbursement requests will open in ePlan in mid-June and close August 1, 2025.
• State Special Schools reimbursement requests will open in ePlan in mid-June and close August 1, 2025.  
• The technical guides and state plans will be emailed to IDEA directors and available in ePlan soon.
• Office Hours will be provided on Tuesdays mid-June- July to review the IDEA High Cost and State Special Schools Transportation reimbursement request technical guides and answer questions. See here for meeting links. Earlier attendance is recommended to give you plenty of time to complete the applications. Individual support will be scheduled as needed. 

If you have additional questions, please contact Brett.Printz@tn.gov.