Louisiana Pathways Newsletter

Dear Colleagues,

This Newsletter contains LOTS of very helpful information.  We know it is long but this information will only benefit you so PLEASE read it carefully.  Pathways receives hundreds of phone calls and emails every day and unfortunately, our staff of 8 cannot answer every one in the time frame we would like to.  W e hope that this newsletter will answer most of your questions.  

We know you all work so very hard and deserve the tax credits you are entitled to, and we want to help make sure we are able to provide you with the support you need to climb the Pathways Career Ladders, maintain your Career Ladder levels each year, and then provide you with your tax forms. 

Thank you, Directors and Teachers, for all that you do for the children of Louisiana! Have a great week!

Sincerely,
Louisiana Pathways
CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL 7,696 MEMBERS ON A SCHOOL READINESS TAX CREDIT LEVEL 
FOR 2019 !!! 


2019 School Readiness Tax Credit forms were mailed out on January 31, 2020! 7696 Pathways members should receive their tax forms this week if they haven't already. This is what we have all worked so hard for during the year and Pathways is so happy to support your accomplishments and we congratulate you for your achievements! We sincerely hope that you receive the tax forms you were hoping for.

If for whatever reason your tax documentation for 2019 was not received on time and it caused your Pathways level to drop, you may submit your documentation to qualify for a higher level now. Please include your full name, last 4 digits of your social, and a written request to be re-evaluated for 2019 tax credit eligibility. Pathways will be mailing a 2nd group of "revised" tax forms out on February 28th and again on March 31st. The final list of tax credit eligible members will be sent to the Louisiana Department of Revenue in early April. The initial list was sent today.
It is very important that you follow the directions that are being sent with the tax forms and that you return a complete 2019 tax form back to Pathways.

Here are copies of the letter and instructions that will accompany the tax credit forms this year.



It has been brought to our attention that the link for star level information in the above instructions does not work.  Please use these steps to find your center's star information instead.......

How can I verify my center's star level information to make sure I can claim a School Readiness Tax Credit and that my forms are filled out correctly?

Follow these steps to access your center's star information:
  • Go to the Louisiana Department of Education's website: www.louisianabelieves.com
  • In the search bar, type SRTC and hit enter
  • This will pull up 4 links, click on the 1st link
  • This will take you to the Child Care Provider Resource Library
  • Scroll to the bottom of the page and look on the left-hand side for the School Readiness Tax Credit Information
  • Here you can click on and download the 2019 School Readiness Tax Credit Center Star Level list
  • You can search for your employer here (they are listed alphabetically by Network)
  • Your center must have had at least a zero star on July 1, 2019 for its staff to claim the Staff School Readiness Tax Credit
  • This information should be used to fill out 2019 SRTC forms
If you still need to complete and return 2018 tax forms to Pathways, use these same instructions but look for the 2018 SRTC Star Level list for the correct information.

This list of information also includes the Frequently Asked Questions for all 4 types of School Readiness Tax Credits (Child Care Provider, Parents and Families, Staff and Directors, and Businesses). Please share this information with whomever may need it.


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Please help us help you

Please be  especially  diligent in filling out your forms correctly and  completely  before sending them to The Louisiana Department of Revenue, or to LA Pathways.

*Example of an incomplete SRTC form:  
 

A tax form submitted to Pathways like this will be returned to sender:
  • Employment dates do not verify member worked for 6 months, for 30 hours a week during the tax year. (Dates of employment, from and to, need to be input in the  format of mm/dd/yyyy.  These dates should be specific to the tax year calendar dates and should document at least 6 months between January 1st and December 31st of the current tax year. Dates do not have to be consecutive but do have to be from the SAME star rated center) *Directors should not sign tax forms if the Director or Staff member did not work an average of 30 hours a week for at least 6 months of the calendar year.
    • This is an example of a 2018 tax form.  The employment dates for this tax form should range from 01/01/2018 to 12/31/2018. Employment dates for 2019 tax forms should range from 01/01/2019 to 12/31/2019. 
  • Taxpayer did not sign their own form. The bottom section of the tax form is to be filled out by the Pathways member / taxpayer and should include their current address, signature, and date.
    • The Director should not sign both signatures unless they are also the taxpayer and the owner of the center.
  • Please make sure tax forms are filled out completely and correctly before mailing them back to Pathways.
  • Tax forms cannot be sent to Pathways by email or fax. A delivery method in which the sender receives, delivery to Pathways confirmation, is recommended. No need to pay for overnight delivery but you will want verification that your tax form has been received because if it is not, it could effect your tax credit eligible level for 2020 and beyond.
Additional SRTC Eligibility Tips:

TEACHERS:
  • New career ladder for teachers went into effect beginning with 2019 and is not due to change again. Please familiarize yourself with these new requirements. Teacher Track Career Ladder
  • Career ladder levels must be achieved or maintained by the end of each tax year (Dec. 31st).
  • Expired credentials (CDA and Ancillary) cannot be used to meet leveling requirements. If credentials are due to expire before the end of the tax year, you must submit renewal documentation.
  • You do not have to renew your CDA to renew your Ancillary.
  • Individuals must have worked for an average of 30 hours a week for at least six months of the 2019 calendar year at the same participating Type III Child Care Center to qualify.
  • Pathways mails all active members on eligible career ladder levels (Teacher 1 and above, or Director 1 and above) tax forms on January 31st.  It is up to each member and their employer to determine if all other tax credit requirements have been met in order to claim the School Readiness Tax Credit for directors and staff.
  • Because Pathways does not determine who can use the tax forms Pathways provides, beginning in 2017, Pathways has submitted 2 identical tax forms to members who may be eligible for the school readiness tax credit and asked that 1 be returned to Pathways in order to "demonstrate evidence of tax credit eligibility" for each tax year.
  • There are multiple options for meeting tax credit eligible levels. If you would like to use the last option on the career ladder for Teacher 3 or Teacher 4 which requires an ancillary and demonstrated evidence of eligibility for staff school readiness tax credit, please see the following examples. For 2019, Teacher 3 requires a valid ancillary and a complete 2018 tax form, and Teacher 4 requires a valid ancillary and a complete 2017 and 2018 tax form. (Prior tax credit eligibility must be for years immediately prior to current tax year and multiple years of eligibility must be consecutive.)
  • In order to be awarded your level on the career ladder, you must submit evidence to Pathways that you meet at least 1 option for the level you would like to achieve. Credentials must be current, demonstrated evidence of tax credit eligibility must be submitted every year if using that option, and submitting unofficial transcripts is best to prove degrees earned so individual courses can be evaluated.
  • Teachers on the Teacher Track who have already met Teacher 1 level or above, no longer need to submit their annual workshop certificates to Pathways.
  • Teachers on the Teacher Track no longer need to submit annual membership to an early childhood professional organization or service to the profession documentation to Pathways.
 

DIRECTORS:

  • Directors and Assistant Directors on the Administrator Track must be leveled at Director I or above to qualify for the School Readiness Tax Credit. Administrator Track Career Ladder
  • Career ladder levels must be achieved or maintained by the end of each tax year (Dec. 31st).                                                                  
  • Expired credentials (CDA and Ancillary) cannot be used to meet leveling requirements. If credentials are due to expire before the end of the tax year, you must submit renewal documentation.                            
  • You do not have to renew your CDA to renew your Ancillary.                         
  • Individuals must have worked for an average of 30 hours a week for at least six months of the 2019 calendar year at the same participating Type III Child Care Center to qualify.                                                            
  • Pathways mails all active members on eligible career ladder levels (Teacher 1 and above, or Director 1 and above) tax forms on January 31st.  It is up to each member and their employer to determine if all other tax credit requirements have been met in order to claim the School Readiness Tax Credit for directors and staff.                                      
  • Because Pathways does not determine who can use the tax forms Pathways provides, beginning in 2017, Pathways has submitted 2 identical tax forms to members who may be eligible for the school readiness tax credit and asked that 1 be returned to Pathways in order to "demonstrate evidence of tax credit eligibility" for each tax year. (For Directors, returning a complete tax form will not effect your level but will verify that you are still working in the child care field.)                
  • There are multiple options for meeting tax credit eligible levels.             
  • In order to be awarded your level on the career ladder, you must submit evidence to Pathways that you meet at least 1 option for the level you would like to achieve. 
    • Credentials must be current.
    • Director I and above must maintain annual membership to an early childhood profession organization and submit this documentation to Pathways annually.
    • Director II and above must maintain service to the profession every 3 years and submit this documentation to Pathways at least every 3 years.
    • Submitting unofficial transcripts is the best way to prove degrees earned so individual courses can be evaluated.
  • Directors can move to Director II or higher based on their center's star rating
    • Director Star Level letters are sent annually to Directors from The Department of Education (these letters are emailed in November each year)
    • If the Director would like to use this letter to meet that option on the career ladder, they must submit a copy of the letter to Pathways (along with annual membership and current service to the profession documentation).  This option is only valid for that tax year.
    • If a Director already meets a higher level based on their personal achievements, these letters can be disregarded. 
  • Directors are no longer required to take Infant/Toddler college courses to move to higher levels of the Career Ladder.
 
 
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For Your Information...

 
* Returning your SRTC tax forms to Pathways has no bearing on you actually receiving your tax credit from the Louisiana Department of Revenue.  
 
* Tax refunds/credits DO NOT come from Pathways. Any questions regarding your refund/credit should be directed to the LA Dept. of Revenue in Baton Rouge, 1-888-829-3071.
 
* Pathways DOES NOT have access to your center's 'Star' rating information other than what you can also see on the Star Level List published by the Dept. of Education.  Any question regarding your 'Star' rating should be addressed with the Dept. of Education (email: [email protected]). 
 
* A new Employment Verification form should be sent to Pathways any time you move to a different center, or change job positions (example: Lead Teacher to Director).  The employment verification form should reflect the date that you started at the new center and not the date that you started in child care.  These forms must be filled out by the Employer, and Directors cannot fill out their own forms. Employment Verification
 
* Only Early Childhood Teacher I  or higher and Director I or higher can receive the tax credit.  If you are not at these levels, you will NOT receive a SRTC form.
 
* Please be aware that the Career Development Department (for Career Ladder leveling/placement), the Pathways Trainer Registry, and the Scholarship Department are three separate departments and very rarely share information. When submitting information to Pathways, please specify which department you are sending it to and why (example: submitting transcript to complete scholarship application).

* Pathways has multiple members with the same name.  It is very important that you always sign your communication to Pathways with your full name and include the last 4 digits of your social security number.  It is also helpful to include a contact telephone number.

* In order to update your information (name change-should match social security card, address change, ect.), please send in the Request to Update Information Form. Request to Update Info form
  • Putting your new address on a tax form or scholarship application without bringing it to our attention, will not alert us to the fact that you need us to update your mailing address.
Pathways Enrollment


The first step to tax credit eligibility and scholarship eligibility requires complete Pathways Enrollment. To enroll in Pathways, you must submit a Pathways Enrollment Form, Employment Verification form, and copies of your training documents (if you do not have any early childhood training yet, there is a line you can check on the bottom of the first page of the Enrollment Form to indicate so).




To keep your Pathways membership active, you must:
  • Notify Pathways if you have a name change or address change and submit updated Employment Verification if you change job positions or employers.                                                                                       
  • If you qualify to claim a School Readiness Tax Credit, you must return a complete SRTC form to Pathways each year.                                              
  • Teachers on the Teacher Track who have already met Teacher 1 level or above, no longer need to submit their annual workshop certificates to Pathways (Pathways does not verify Licensing requirements).                            
  • Teachers on the Teacher Track no longer need to submit annual membership to an early childhood professional organization or service to the profession documentation to Pathways.                                     
  • Directors and Assistant Directors on the Administrator Track do need to submit annual membership to an Early Childhood Professional organization and Service to the Profession documentation every 3 years.                                                                                                      
  • Expired credentials (CDA and Ancillary) cannot be used to meet leveling requirements. If credentials are due to expire before the end of the tax year, you must submit renewal documentation to Pathways.


Early Childhood Ancillary Certificate (ECAC)


All Lead Teachers of Type III centers are required to obtain an Early Childhood Ancillary Certificate (ECAC) and keep it current. Assistant Teachers and Directors are not required by licensing to obtain an ECAC but doing so may help them move up the Pathways Career and maintain their career ladder levels for tax credit eligibility.

Expired credentials (CDA and Ancillary) cannot be used to meet leveling requirements. If credentials are due to expire before the end of the tax year, you must submit renewal documentation to Pathways.
 
A CDA renewal is not required for ECAC renewal but is an option that Pathways highly recommends.
 
We suggest that you apply for renewal at least 3 months prior to expiration. 

*  ECAC initial and renewal applications must be submitted online through the Teach Louisiana certification portal.
 
Here is some guidance to help you do so along with the ECAC Frequently Asked Questions:

Ancillary Guidance      



How can you qualify for an ECAC using a CDA?

Individuals who have completed more than 36 hours of CDA training prior to July 1, 2018, may complete their training at any location or program. Individuals who can document this training may be eligible for a Pathways CDA Assessment Fee Scholarship:   CDA Assessment Scholarship Application 

If a candidate cannot document having earned more than 36 hours of CDA training prior to July 1, 2018, they will have to attend a BESE approved Ancillary Program to complete their CDA training in order to obtain a CDA that will meet ECAC requirements. Here is a link to the list of BESE approved programs:

 
* The candidate must select a program and can apply for an Ancillary Training Scholarship through the program. The program will collect the scholarship application and forward it to Pathways on the candidate's behalf. This is the only type scholarship that cannot be sent to Pathways directly from the candidate.


Scholarship Reminders



*No funding will be available for Summer  2020  tuition for college scholarships.

Here are some reminders that will improve scholarship processing time:
 
1. The most current scholarship applications can always be found on our website. Please use the most current forms and destroy any outdated forms that you may have. 

2. Prior to submitting applications, review the criteria and checklist that goes with the scholarship for which you are applying.

3.  When applying for a scholarship make sure that you submit a complete (no blank responses) application and all documentation required by the checklist.  For college tuition only, you may submit your schedule and fee bill at a later date if not available prior to the submission deadline.

4.  Return any requested information to Pathways by the deadline given.  This is especially important for the Award Agreements. Your scholarship cannot be finalized until you have returned the form accepting the scholarship awarded to you. 

       
Yeah, you read to the end of the newsletter!

       
Louisiana Pathways |  [email protected] |800-245-8925|  
http://pathways.nsula.edu
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