Office of Federal Programs
MISSION: To ensure that federal and state education funds contribute to the goal of all students meeting or exceeding rigorous state standards.
Senior Director: Alex Charles 984-236-2796 alex.charles@dpi.nc.gov
Office of Federal Programs Contact List
Public Comment Page
Please click on the link below to access the public comment page for the amendment to the ESSA State plan and follow the steps to submit your correspondence.
FY26 Federal Programs Handbook 6.26.2025
Selected Links
Notice regarding CARES-ESSER Equitable Services, as of September 24, 2020:
Until more specific updated guidance can be provided here, please consult the weekly Federal Program Monitoring and Support Updates for recent information about changes in ESSER equitable servcies in the wake of the US Department of Education’s invalidated Interim Final Rules. For calculation of ESSER proportionate, please use the Title I tab of the Proportionate Share Calculator on our equitable services web page. (The ESSER allotment, instead of the Title I allotment should be used for the calculation.)
- CARES Act HR 748
- CARES Act Overview - 04.27.2020
- ESSER Application
- ESSER Training PowerPoint
- ESSER Application Checklist
- ESSER Example Applications
- NCDPI ESSER Early Learning Funding Guidance
- ESSER Collected Q and A
As of 9/29/20, information previously appearing here regarding CARES-ESSER Equitable Services has been removed. Updated information on this topic can now be found on DPI's equitable services web page.
Comparability and Equity Reporting
The window for submission of the FY24 Equity Plan and Comparability Report is now open in CCIP and the deadline for submission is December 6, 2024. Please find a video tutorial for completing both the Comparability Report and Equity Plan along with the planning and reporting templates below.
Please contact the following administrators if you have Comparability Report questions:
East Region – Dr. Sue Hatley Sue.Hatley@dpi.nc.gov
West Region – Judi Godfrey Judi.Godfrey@dpi.nc.gov
Please contact the following administrators if you have Equity Plan questions:
East Region-Robin Roberson Robin.Roberson@dpi.nc.gov
West Region-Melanie Rhoads Melanie.Rhoads@dpi.nc.gov
Other Resources
Early Learning and the Every Student Succeeds Act in North Carolina
The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), signed into law in December 2015, bolsters federal support for early learning and provides the opportunity to strengthen the birth-through-third grade continuum — a critical strategy to improve third-grade reading proficiency. In September 2017, North Carolina submitted its state plan to comply with the federal law. Now, North Carolina Local Education Agencies (LEAs) are preparing their district ESSA plans for the 2018-19 academic year.
As LEAs build their district ESSA plans, they will be required to engage early learning stakeholders. Stakeholders may include, but are not limited to, Head Start, Title 1, Smart Start, elementary school principals and teachers, childcare administrators and teachers, Child Care Resource and Referral, Exceptional Children, McKinney Vento, NC Pre-K Committee, family engagement professionals, community college system, community organizations supporting dual language learners, health care providers, existing early childhood collaboratives (e.g., Campaign for Grade-Level Reading), higher education and others.
The North Carolina Early Childhood Foundation (NCECF) is partnering with the Office of Early Learning and the NC Head Start Collaborative Office at the Department of Public Instruction to support LEAs and early childhood community leaders in collaborating to develop the early learning components of the LEA's ESSA district plans.
For additional information and/or contact:
- Carla Garrett, Title I Preschool Consultant, Office of Early Learning, NC Department of Public Instruction
- Karen McKnight, M.Ed., Director, NC Head Start State Collaboration Office
Environmental Science using ESSA Funding
NEW!! ESSA and School Counseling
Spring Regional Meeting Resources/CCIP Revisions 2018-2019
- Sample Contract Agreement
- Sample Contract Agreement (Charter School)
- Example Methodology for Distributing State & Local Funds
- Regional Meetings 2018
- Sample Equity Plan
Parent and Family Involvement Guide
This guide underscores the importance of parent and family involvement as it relates to student achievement and includes suggestions and resources for program enhancement.
This spreadsheet provides contact information for Title I directors across North Carolina. (Last updated Aug. 24, 2018)
Federal Guidance
Click on a topic below for guidance from the US Department of Education.
- Schoolwide Program Non-Regulatory Guidance, September 2016
- Homeless Student Guidance (Updated March 2017)
- Ensuring Educational Stability for Children in Foster Care
- ESSA Early Learning Guidance (Jan. 17, 2017)
- ESSA Fiscal Changes & Equitable Services Guidance (Nov. 21, 2016)
- ESSA Title IV, Part A Guidance — Student Support and Academic Enrichment Program (Oct. 21, 2016)
- Non-Regulatory Guidance: Title II, Part A (Oct. 13, 2016)
- Non-Regulatory Guidance: English Learners and Title III Program (Oct. 5, 2016)
- ESSA Schoolwide Guidance (Sept. 29, 2016)
- ESSA Dear Colleague Letter on Tribal Consultation (Sept. 26, 2016)
NEW!! Educational Stability of Children in Foster Care under Title I, Part A (Title I) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), contains key protections for children in foster care that require state and local educational agencies (SEAs and LEAs) to collaborate with child welfare agencies (CWAs) to ensure the educational stability of children in foster care. These provisions, which took effect on December 10, 2016, require SEAs and LEAs to work with CWAs to ensure that children in foster care experience minimal educational disruption as the result of their foster care placement and receive the same educational opportunities as their peers.
At the state level, staff from the Division of Social Services (DSS) at the North Carolina Department of Human and Health Services (DHHS), the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI), and the SERVE Center at UNCG have identified state-level POCs for both education and child welfare and collaborated to develop clear procedures to serve foster children.
If you have any questions, please reach out to the SEA Foster Care Point of Contact at 1-800-352-6001 or by email.
- NC Foster Care
- Yatisha Blythe — Foster Care Provisions (SERVE)
- Joint Guidance on Educational Stability
MOA — Title I and Child Nutrition (Last updated September 1, 2022)
The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) includes a number of provisions that promote equitable access to educational opportunity, including holding all students to high academic standards, ensuring meaningful action is taken to improve the lowest-performing schools and schools with underperforming student groups, and providing more children with access to high-quality preschool. The Student Support and Academic Enrichment (SSAE) program, authorized under subpart 1 of Title IV, Part A of the ESSA, is intended to help increase the capacity of local educational agencies (LEAs), schools, and local communities to: 1) provide all students with access to a well-rounded education; 2) improve school conditions for student learning; and 3) improve the use of technology in order to improve the academic achievement and digital literacy of all students.
USED Non-Regulatory Guidance Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants
For more information, email Timothy Dryman or call at 919-807-4049.
For the 2017-18 school year, the General Assembly of North Carolina appropriated six million dollars ($6,000,000) from the At-Risk Student Services Alternative School Allotment for the Extended Learning and Integrated Student Supports (ELISS) Competitive Grant Program [Session Law 2017-57]. The purpose of the Program is to fund high-quality, independently validated extended learning and integrated student support service programs for at-risk students that raise standards for student academic outcomes.
Nonprofits and nonprofits working in collaboration with local school administrative units may participate in the ELISS program. Programs must serve one or more of the following student groups:
- At-risk students not performing at grade level as demonstrated by statewide assessments
- Students at-risk of dropout
- Students at-risk of school displacement due to suspension or expulsion as a result of anti-social behaviors.
Grant participants are eligible to receive grants for up to two years in an amount of up to five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) each year. Grants must be matched on the basis of three dollars ($3.00) in grant funds for every one dollar ($1.00) in non-grant funds. Matching funds shall not include other State funds. Matching funds may include in-kind contributions. Matching funds may include in‑kind contributions for up to fifty percent (50%) of the required match.
Extended Learning and Integrated Student Support Grant Program Technical Assistance Webinar
Power Point Presentation | Power Point Presentation 2
Excerpt from Session Law 2017-57
For more information, contact Jennifer Smith at 919-807-3949.
PowerSchool — Federal Modules
PowerSchool collects data for federal programs under the Program Monitoring section.
How to register for the Federal data collection modules
Access to the Federal data collections within PowerSchool is managed by the LEA/charter Power School Administrator. Please contact your local administrator to request access.
2022-23 Federal Program Monitoring Data Collection Schedule
22-23 Data Collection Schedule
Terminology used in schedule:
- USED = U.S. Department of Education
- CEDARS = Common Education Data Analysis and Reporting System, NC's PreK-13 State Longitudinal Data System. The system is composed of various DPI source data collection systems, a student and staff identification system, a centralized data repository, and associated reporting and analysis (or "business intelligence") tools.
PowerSchool-Eligible Schools Summary Report
PowerSchool-ESSR system collects Title I School eligibility and program model information to determine poverty percentage. The school data is also used for the Title I grant application in the FPM grants management system, CCIP. ALL LEAs and charter schools, both those that receive Title I funds and those that do not receive Title I funds, must report ESSR data through this PowerSchool module. In PowerSchool menu, found under Federal – Title I.
Targeted Assistance School (TAS)
Title I funds are used to support programs for eligible students who are failing or at risk of failing to meet state academic standards.
The following are key dates and resources related to the TAS submission process for both IC (Infinite Campus) and PS (PowerSchool):
Dates to Know:
- March 3, 2025: IC and PS will go live for PSUs (Public School Units) to submit TAS data.
- June 23, 2025: TAS data submissions due from PSUs with TAS data.
- June 30, 2025: FY25 TAS data will be finalized.
Requirement:
Schools that are either SW-TAS or TAS-TAS are required to submit TAS data in PowerSchool or flag in Infinite Campus
- SW-TAS – The first “SW” indicates that the school is eligible to operate a schoolwide program (SW), the second “TAS” confirms that the school implemented a “TAS” program.
- TAS-TAS – The first “TAS” indicates that the school is eligible to operate a TAS program, the second “TAS” confirms the school implemented TAS program.
List of SW-TAS and TAS-TAS schools (pulled from 2024-2025 ESSR Report)
PowerSchool:
TAS – Student Served Data Collection Process for PowerSchool
Infinite Campus:
Video Link: TAS - Student Served Data Collection (Infinite Campus)-20250225 2037-2
Password: QgUcknT2
Infinite Campus core documentation on Flags Link: https://kb.infinitecampus.com/help/flags-student
Important Access Note: The tool rights assigned to staff are essential for managing access within the upper right corner of the Infinite Campus platform. If you are responsible for assigning the TAS flag in Infinite Campus and you experience difficulties accessing or managing the tool, or if you are unable to view all schools, please reach out to the designated individual within your PSU who oversees access rights (ex: SIS Coordinator or School Data Manager).
If you have any questions, please contact your Consolidated Program Administrator.
PowerSchool-Student Participation
PowerSchool-Student Participation collects count by grade level of children served with Title I Part A funds in private schools, neglected, and delinquent facilities during the school year. It includes October headcount. In PowerSchool menu, found under Federal – Title I.
PowerSchool-Homeless
PowerSchool-Homeless collects information on homeless students and services provided by Local Education Agencies (LEAs). All LEAs and charter schools must report Homeless data through this module, even if there are no homeless children to report. In PowerSchool menu, found under Federal – Title X.
PowerSchool-Neglected or Delinquent October Head Count
For more information, email Anita Harris or call 984-236-2808