FY 2010 Data Collections Workshop Follow Up Q & A Session

FTE/Class Size Documentation  The following documents are in the queue for reposting:  File Layout – changes in verbiage only  Categories and Weights – changes in weights  Data Element Detail – updated verbiage  Class Size FAQ – updating responses  FTE Coordinators List

FTE Transmission Dates  FTE application will be available on October 6 th.  Districts with alternate FTE dates are required to submit their file before going on break.  Deadline for initial transmission is October 9 th.

GTID  If I do not hit “validate” to process a GTID upload, will the records still update?  No. When uploading a file to update GTID records, you need to validate after uploading. Go through all of the steps in the process, including Near Match Resolution. Otherwise, no updates are made to the GTID record.  If you get Near Matches, it means that the existing record and the record that you sent do not have identical information.

Special Education  Will districts have a report of students that are SWD monitored year 1 and year 2?  Yes, a report of students that are monitored will be available in Student Record. If possible, we will also include the report in FTE.

Special Education  What are the guidelines for using 90.X courses? What are the best practices or guidelines for assigning course numbers to special education students?  There is no specific course number guidance for students prior to placement in the ninth grade. Please see LIST OF STATE-FUNDED K-8 SUBJECTS AND 9-12 COURSES FOR STUDENTS ENTERING NINTH GRADE IN Students in the ninth grade prior to 2008 would continue to have 90.X course numbers. The 90.X courses numbers are no longer valid for students entering 9th grade in or after 2008.

Special Education  What are the best practices or guidelines for assigning course numbers to special education students?  Students with disabilities participating in courses earning Carnegie unit credit should not have course numbers that identify how special education services are delivered to the student in a specific class. The current Class Size documentation will be updated to reflect this recommendation.

 Do the class size limitations apply to OHI, Autistic, TBI and SDD since they are not in Appendix B of the Class Size board rule?  Yes, class size limitations apply to OHI, AU, TBI and SDD. The rule says "The placement of students with these exceptionalities in program areas will not change class sizes." In other words it does not increase or decrease the maximum class. Class Size

 Are IE2 districts exempt from reporting Class Size?  IE2 districts are not exempt from reporting Class Size; however, the reports will note that they are IE2 districts.

 If a system charter allows flexible class size maximums, does the school system still submit the Title 50 waiver to increase class size beyond the maximums in the exemption letter?  Charter systems will not request the Title 50 waiver. These systems should contact the Charter Schools office to see if revisions to the charter are needed. Class Size

Credit Recovery  How do we translate credit recovery courses to course numbers reported in Student Record?  No translation is required. The credit recovery course number is a modified version of the course number found in the state board rule.  EX:  9 th Grade Language Arts – Credit Recovery  9 th Grade Language Arts – State Board Rule

 Are block scheduling waivers available for elementary or middle schools?  Block schedule waivers are only available for high schools because the SBOE rule only refers to grades 9-12 as being required to have at least 5 class periods per day. Block Scheduling

Charter Schools  Are charter schools required to have highly qualified teachers?  Charter Schools are expected to meet the same reporting requirements as other schools unless provisions of the approved charter exempt them from such requirements.

Free and Reduced Status  What are the guidelines for reporting a student’s status for free/reduced meals? Do we report the student with a status if they had it at any point during the year, or do we report the most recent status after the first 30 days of school?  Going forward, report the most current status that applies after the first 30 days (after the application status and verification process).

Race and Ethnicity  What is the guidance regarding the reporting of race and ethnicity for students that withdrew in FY 2009?  If the district surveyed these students in FY 2009 or have updated values, then report the race and ethnicity codes available.

Dual Enrollment  When reporting the location of services and fiscal agent in FTE, which code do we use for students taking courses at a private college?  The file layout will be modified to add ‘private PSO institution’ as a valid value for Location of Service and Fiscal Agent.

Enrollment  What is the guideline for students less than 6 years old that enroll and withdraw after a period of time? Do these students fall under the compulsory attendance law?  Yes, students under the age of 6 are subject to compulsory school attendance if they have been enrolled in a Georgia public school for at least 20 school days.  As it relates the withdrawal code ‘5’ the withdrawal code may be used for students under the age of 6, regardless of whether or not they are subject to compulsory school attendance

Enrollment  What will be the impact of furlough days on reporting enrollment data in Student Record? Will we still report 180 days or the actual number of days?  Report the actual number of days. School districts may have 180 days or the equivalent.

Attendance Recovery  The new data element, “Days Made Up” is described as reporting the total number of days made up through Saturday School attendance. Does that mean that we cannot report days made up by attendance before school and after school?  The description for Days Made Up has been updated to indicate the total number of days made up through an attendance recovery program.

Attendance Recovery  Are OSS days eligible to be made up through the attendance recovery program?  Attendance recovery programs are locally developed programs. Days eligible for attendance recovery are determined by local district policy or procedures.

Application Development  Can GaDOE create user accounts by student groups (i.e. special education users, ESOL users, etc.) so that school/district staff can access student data within their program and still comply with FERPA guidelines?  This suggestion will be taken into consideration as the security model for the LDS is developed.

 Will the GHSWT be loaded into the Student Profile?  Yes, there are plans to integrate all the writing assessments this year. Application Development

 Will GaDOE load SAT data along with other assessment data in the Student Profile?  We are currently hampered in that regard because the records that the state receives for SAT, ACT, etc. do not contain sufficient information to link the scores to a student's longitudinal record. We are evaluating means to complete that linkage and expect to have a plan developed this year. Application Development

 Can districts use the completed courses in Student Profile as the official course record for a student?  Not at this time because we know the list is incomplete. Courses taken out of state or otherwise not reported in an SR data collection do not appear. It is provided to support placement and planning at this time. We hope that the LDS will address this need in the future. Application Development

 Will districts have a document that shows which applications are default for specific user roles?  Actually that already exists in the portal. It can be located at:  Also, the new Security provisioning process is working on a document that describes what the application roles provide within each application. Application Development

 Will the Special Education Event codes from Student Record Data Collection be added to the information that is available through the State Student Profile?  This will be taken into consideration as a future enhancement. Application Development

Questions & Answers