Update: April 19th

Dear Advanced Opportunities Users,

As the end of the school year is quickly approaching, I would like to inform you about several items that may impact your work with Advanced Opportunities.

Portal Submissions:

Please plan to complete your portal submissions in the next couple weeks. More than 70% of the state has data that is matched and ready for submission. Our goal is to have it all submitted early and have payments made well before the June 3^rd deadline. If you still have data that has not been verified by the college, please make this a priority in the next week or so.

Changes for Next Year:

As many of you know, the Fast Forward program is significantly expanding for next year. Students in grades 7-12 will have $4,125.00 to use towards overload courses, dual credits, and exams.  Details related to these changes can be found on the Idaho Legislature website: House Bill 458. Changes will take affect July 1^st.

Summer Courses:

Due to the change in programs limits on July 1^st, summer courses will need to be entered into the portal after July 1^st. Submission deadline for these courses will be August 5^th.    If your school district offers summer dual credit courses that end before July 1^st, please contact me right away for special instructions.

AP Exams:

As many of you may know, we’ve been waiting for a verdict on reduced fee for AP exams from the federal government. After multiple communications of a cost of $20 or $21,  the actual cost came in as $15.  This means that students who qualify for a reduced fee for AP exams will only need to pay $15.  For those of you who entered $20 or $21 into the Advanced Opportunities Portal, our developers will be able to adjust this amount in bulk in the next few days. All AP exams that were entered into the portal for those amounts will be changed to $15 by the SDE.  If this a concern for you, or if you’d like further clarity, please feel free to give me a call.

Roadshow:

Our team will be doing a tour around the state providing training on the new legislative changes and portal updates.  Additionally, they may be an opportunity for your to have an Advanced Opportunities parent night with our team present.  If this is of interest to you, please contact your regional coordinator. Specific times and locations will be provided in the near future. Dates for the roadshow are as follows:

·         Coeur d’Alene, May 24  

·         Moscow, May 25

·         Treasure Valley, May 26

·         Twin Falls, May 31

·         Pocatello, June 1

·         Idaho Falls, June 2

We hope all of you will be able to join us.

Conference:

Registration for the Advanced Opportunities Conference is now open. Please visit the conference website for details.

Thank you for your hard work, particularly during this time of year. With all that is going on, things can get very hectic.  We appreciate all that you are doing. Your Advanced Opportunities Support Team is always available to assist.

Warmly,

Tina Polishchuk

Coordinator of Advanced Opportunities

Idaho State Department of Education

Office: (208)332-6944