Memo Text
Per the process described in Commissioner's Memo LS-20-009, the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education
(DESE) has released the December disbursement of State Categorical ELL funds in
the amount of $366 per identified English Learner. The attached document (on
the "Dec 2023 EL Funds Disbursed" tab) will indicate which
districts received the disbursement (issued Thursday, December 21, 2023). The attached document (on
the "Dec 2023 ELL Count Source" tab) indicates whether the ELL
enrollment count came from Cycle 2 or from a verified count (DESE Confirmation
Pull) after the district submitted a corrected Language Minority Student (LMS)
Error Report and adjusted ESL/LMS roster. Final ELL count/numbers will be
reflected on upcoming State Aid Notices.
Districts whose December EL
Count/Payment Count Source were marked as TBD on the attached document (on the
"Dec 2023 EL Count Source" tab) will receive the ELL Categorical
fund disbursement February 2024 pending receipt of a corrected Language
Minority Student Error Report (LMS Error Report) and adjusted ESL/LMS Roster
for October 1, 2023. For funding to be disbursed February 2024, the corrections
and adjustments are to be completed by no later than February 23, 2024.
When the LMS Error Report for
October 1, 2023 is clear, the ESOL Coordinator must notify english.learners@ade.arkansas.gov. Ongoing technical assistance from the ESOL/English
Learners office will continue to be provided to support districts in meeting
this expectation.
Districts are responsible for
ensuring ELL funds are spent on eligible activities as described in the Special
Needs Funding Rules. See the Student Special Needs Funding Rules, Section 5 for further details. The revenue code is 32371 and the
source of fund code is 2276 for State Categorical ELL Funds.
Please consult
the "EL: Data Reporting and Processing" presentation (PDF) and the COGNOS Reports Information document for further
details regarding data entry into eSchool and COGNOS reports pertaining to
Language Minority Students. Additional materials regarding the Arkansas English Learner Entrance and Exit Procedures are available on DESE's English Learner webpage.
If you have
further questions about this process or ESOL services, please contact english.learners@ade.arkansas.gov or your ESOL Regional
Specialist.