PRIORITY NOTICE: Collecting Student Economic Status Data for Essential Programs and Services Funding

Recognizing that school administrative units (SAUs) are in the midst of the fall data collection season, the Maine Department of Education (DOE) would like to clarify requirements related to the collection of student economic status data for the October 1 student enrollment report.

The calculation of state public school funding through the Essential Programs and Services (EPS) model requires an annual collection of student economic status data. This data is collected using one or more of the following sources:

• Direct certification counts from the Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), as of October 1
• Free/Reduced-Price Meal Application Form
• Alternate Economic Status Form (only for purposes of calculating EPS subsidy)

SAUs participating in Special Provision programs, including the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) and Special Provision II (SPII) are encouraged to use the Alternate Economic Status Form to collect student economic status data for EPS funding purposes.

All superintendents must certify the October 1 student enrollment report by October 30, 2025. Please be sure to collect student economic status data before that deadline. This data may be collected using either a hard copy or an online form. It must be entered into the SAU's Student Information System for each student and retained for up to 10 years.

Additional resources include:

• Alternate Economic Status Form template
• Economic Status explanation document
• Economic Status reporting webinar

If you have questions about or need technical assistance with the Alternate Economic Status Form, please contact Charlotte Ellis at [email protected]. All other questions related to CEP and SPII should be directed to David Hartley at [email protected]. For general questions regarding student data collection, please contact the Maine Education Data Management Support (MEDMS) Support Team at 207-624-6896 or [email protected].

Thank you for your prompt attention to this important requirement, which directly impacts state public school funding calculations.