SFS COVID-19 Update #5

Membership Updates

4K Outreach

School districts that receive waivers from the hours of instruction requirement will also have the 0.6 FTE membership requirement for 87.5 hours of 4K parent outreach waived. A separate or additional waiver for 4K outreach hours is not required. That said, DPI encourages districts to continue engaging 4K parents as much as possible during the COVID-19 disruption. Auditors conducting membership audits of districts with 4K should not issue findings related to this requirement. Districts that do not have 4K parent outreach will still count those students as 0.5 FTE.

Summer School

Many districts have contacted DPI about this coming summer 2020 and the impact on membership. DPI has begun the process of potentially expanding the grade levels in which districts may provide virtual instruction eligible for membership. Regardless of the outcome, most of the comments received to date anticipate a significant reduction in student participation this summer.

As was confirmed last fall during the Palmyra-Eagle process, DPI does not have the legal authority to reassign or substitute prior year membership. Any modification to summer 2020 membership would require a change in law; as of this afternoon (Monday, April 13) there is no language on summer membership included in the publicly released draft legislation for this week’s extraordinary session.