Special Education Aid From Start to Finish

1. Special Education AidFrom Start to Finish 03/27/2008 Lori Ames, School Finance Consultant

2. So much information……….so little time. SO LET’S GET STARTED!!!!!!!!!!!!

3. Where does it all start? YOUR GENERAL LEDGER • You have an expense that needs to be coded and accounted for on your general ledger.

4. General Ledger Account Coding • There are five elements to a special education account code. • Fund: If related to special education, the expense should show up in fund 27! • Location (not required): Some districts elect to use a different location number to reflect fiscal agent cooperative expenses.

5. General Ledger Account Coding • Before you code any further, you have to ask yourself 3 questions. • What am I purchasing? (salary, benefit, supply) • What department is it for? (EC, OT, Admin) • How is the expense to be funded? (State aid, local dollars, grant dollars)

6. General Ledger Account Coding • Now for the elements related to the questions…….. • Object: Identifies what is being purchased • Function: Identifies the department or program • Project: Identifies the funding source

7. General Ledger Account Coding • Detailed Project Numbers: • 011: Expense is locally funded and eligible for state special education categorical aid • 019: Expense is locally funded and not eligible for state special education categorical aid. • 340 (341, 347, etc……): Expense is funded with the district’s IDEA grants (The district files the claim directly with DPI and receives payments directly from DPI.)

8. General Ledger Account Coding • Detailed Project Numbers: • 315 (state)/317 (federal): Expense is funded by either a state or federal grant that is administered by another school district. • The other district files the claim with DPI, receives the payment from DPI, and transits the grant money to your district.

9. VENDOR DPI District B files DPI Grant Claim & Receives Reimbursement –Source 730 District A files claim With District B. District B – Reimburses District A using Federal Flow-Thru Funds –Project 340 District A – Incurs Original Vendor Expense - Project 317 District A – ReceiptsReimbursement-Source 317 Project 315 & 317

10. General Ledger Account Coding • Detailed Project Numbers: • 515 (state)/517 (federal): Expense is funded by either a state or federal grant that is administered by CESA/CCDEB. • CESA/CCDEB files the claim with DPI, receives the payment from DPI, and transits the grant money to your district.

11. VENDOR DPI CESA files DPI Grant Claim & Receives Reimbursement –Source 730 District A files a claim with CESA. CESA CESA – Reimburses District A using Federal Flow-Thru Funds –Project 340 District A – Incurs Original Vendor Expense - Project 517 District A – ReceiptsReimbursement-Source 517 Project 515 & 517

12. General Ledger Account Coding • Detailed Project Numbers: • 599: Expense is funded with a district grant other than an IDEA grant. • The district files the claim directly with DPI and receives payments directly from DPI. • An example of a grant reported in project code 599 would be an AODA grant or a Drug Free Schools Grant.

13. General Ledger Account Coding • Detailed Project Numbers: • 091 (CESA)/092 (CCDEB): Expense is funded with local money from a CESA or CCDEB. • This type of arrangement is considered a “package program,” and the district is is considered a “host district.” The district’s expenses are funded in full. • Relatively few package programs exist in the State.

14. General Ledger Account Coding • How do I know if certain account elements can be used together? • Check out the new Fund 27 Matrix http://www.dpi.wi.gov/sfs/xls/fund_27_matrix.xls

15. State Spec Ed Aid Eligibility • How do I know if my expense is eligible for state special education aid? • Expenses can be coded to project code 011 assuming: • the type of expense is aid eligible; • any claimed salary/benefits are supported by an appropriately licensed staff member or allocated appropriately to fund 27; • the entity hasn’t been reimbursed for the project code 011 expense with grant money.

16. State Spec Ed Aid Eligibility • Eligible Expenses • Salary & Fringe Benefits for: • most special education teachers & assistants; • speech/physical/occupational therapists; • psychologists, social workers, nurses, guidance counselors • special education administrative staff • special transportation

17. State Spec Ed Aid Eligibility • Appropriate Licensure • The staff member must hold the appropriate licensure for the function he/she is being charged to. http://dpi.wi.gov/sfs/doc/valid_code_se.doc

18. State Spec Ed Aid Eligibility • How do we identify licenses that are not valid? • Entities complete the PI 1202 fall staffing report identifying the staff member, FTE, and assignment (including function). This report is static and does not get updated during the year. • Teacher licensing compares the staff assignment from the PI 1202 report against the staff member’s license.

19. State Spec Ed Aid Eligibility • How do we identify licenses that are not valid? • A list of staff members that do not hold a valid license for their assignment is generated and made available for entity staff and auditors. • Auditors are required to submit to DPI an excel document identifying the amount of salary and benefits paid for each staff member listed on the “no valid license list.”

20. State Spec Ed Aid Eligibility • How do we identify licenses that are not valid? • The identified salary and benefit amounts are withheld in the categorical aid calculation. • Aid is withheld until the DPI special education licensing team approves the individual’s license status.

21. State Spec Ed Aid Eligibility • Appropriate Allocation • Salaries and benefits of these professionals must be allocated between regular education (fund 10) and special education (fund 27) based on time and costs. • psychologists • social workers • nurses (registered nurses, licensed by WI Dept of Regulation and Licensing) • guidance counselors • http://www.dpi.wi.gov/sfs/ltrjan12_06.html

22. State Spec Ed Aid Eligibility • How do we identify inappropriate allocations? • Auditors will verify that staff time/costs have been: • done on an annual basis for each individual staff member claimed; • documented for review by the entity’s auditor and potentially DPI; • based on a method that is both rational and defensible.

23. State Spec Ed Aid Eligibility • How do we identify inappropriate allocations? • Auditors are required to submit to DPI an excel document identifying the amount of salary and benefits paid for each staff member that has been inappropriately allocated. • The identified salary and benefit amounts are withheld in the categorical aid calculation until the DPI pupil services team approves the individual’s allocation status.

24. State Spec Ed Aid Eligibility STAY TUNED!!! • A pending law will alter the process you use to allocate guidance, nurse, psychologist, and social work positions to fund 27. • We will provide you detailed information as soon as we have it!

25. State Spec Ed Aid Eligibility • Eligible Expenses • Purchased Services (Directly Aidable) • Occupational Therapy • Physical Therapy • Homebound Travel • Special Transportation • Out of State Tuition (special approval required)

26. State Spec Ed Aid Eligibility • Eligible Expenses • Supplies • Only supplies for the special transportation vehicle

27. State Spec Ed Aid Eligibility • Eligible Expenses • Equipment • Only equipment for the special transportation vehicle • Special permission is required to purchase a bus and apply for state special education aid.

28. State Spec Ed Aid Eligibility • Eligible Expenses • Insurance • Property insurance for the special transportation vehicle • Unemployment insurance for the cost of unemployment checks issued to former special education staff within one year IMMEDIATELY following termination

29. State Spec Ed Aid Eligibility • Eligible Expenses • Dues & Fees • Special Transportation - specifically any entry fees to activities for special education students on field trips

30. State Spec Ed Aid Eligibility • What do I do if I can’t remember anything you just told me? • Check out the revised claim directions that provide information on all eligible costs http://www.dpi.wi.gov/sfs/doc/se_claim_directions.doc

31. Special Education Report • Report Access: • The spec ed budget/annual reports are not online reports. • The program should already be resident on one of the district’s computers or on a district’s network drive. • Districts are able to “re-download” the program, but be aware of how to handle the data files from prior year reports.

32. Special Education Report • Report Completion: • Input Spec Ed Expenses • Only those functions with the potential for aidable costs are entered in detail. • If you have an expense that does not have a detail line, and the function begins with a 1, then report the expenses in function 199999. • If you have an expense that does not have a detail line, and the function begins with a 2, then report the expenses in function 299999.

33. Special Education Report • Report Completion: • Input Spec Ed Expenses • Although nurse and guidance salary/benefit expenses have the potential to be aidable, there is no detail line on the report for data entry. • If you have aidable guidance and nurse expenses coded to project code 011 on your ledger, please enter these expenses in function 299999, project 019.

34. Special Education Report • Report Completion: • Input School Age Parent Program Expenses • Districts need to report expenditures as well as numbers served. • Just a reminder that expenses for SAP Homebound are only aidable for services provided to “Moms.”

35. Special Education Report • Report Completion: • Input selected revenue accounts • Enter revenue for source 346 and 347 • These two revenue accounts are the only ones requested because they are used in the maintenance of effort calculation.

36. Special Education Report • Report Completion: • Identify entities to whom you’ve made grant payments • Not only do you need to report the payment in the correct account number, you also need to identify who you paid and how much.

37. If you paid another entity using grant money, you need to answer “yes” to this question!

38. If you paid another entity using grant funds, then you need to identify the entity and how much you paid them.

39. Special Education Report • Report Completion: • Identify any Deductible Receipts • A deductible receipt is created when an entity incurs an aidable expense (coded to project 011) that is ultimately reimbursed by another entity with grant funds. • Since DPI calculates aid based on expenses coded to project code 011, you need to tell me if some of those expenses have already been reimbursed by grant money.

40. If someone paid you for an expense that you coded to project code 011, then you must answer “yes” to this question.

41. Identify the deductible receipt amount in the function the project code 011 expense was initially charged.

42. Identify the entity that paid you using grant funds as well as how much they paid you that reimbursed an expense you had coded to project 011. The dollar amount on this screen should match the amount in the 27D function lines.

43. Special Education Report • Report Completion: • Identify any deductible receipts • Just a reminder that the flat rate amount of an open enrollment tuition is not considered a deductible receipt. Any additional student specific open enrollment tuition may be a deductible receipt if the original expense was coded to project 011.

44. Special Education Report • Report Submittal: • Report submittal involves sending an email to the department with a text file attached. • If you need to report project code 011 guidance and nurse expenses, then additional information must be included in the body of the email. (wording is available on the web) http://www.dpi.wi.gov/sfs/se_report.html

45. Spec Ed Report Auditing • Report Auditing/Amending: • Auditing is done to ensure the accuracy of both the project 011 expenses and aid payments. • Any detected errors may require changes to either the SAFR annual report or the Spec Ed Annual Report • SAFR – changes made online • SE Report – changes made locally and faxed

46. You know you have the right amendment report because it only shows you the account numbers that have changed.

47. Spec Ed Report Auditing • Common Reporting Errors: • SAFR does not equal the SE Annual Report Sample: ERROR: 218200 SE Does Not Equal 218200 SAFR AMT SAFR: $21,541.54 AMT SE: $21,541.54 AMT Difference: $0.00 MESSAGE: Expenses reported in this function series should equal at both the function and object level between the SE and full SAFR report. HYPERLINK: Click here for correction instructions - http://www.dpi.wi.gov/sfs/doc/sesacompare.doc

48. Spec Ed Report Auditing • Common Reporting Errors: • SAFR does not equal the SE Annual Report • The district will need to determine which report is accurate and either correct the SAFR Report, the SE Annual Report, or both.

49. Spec Ed Report Auditing • Common Reporting Errors: • Not Reporting Grant Payments by Entity Sample: ERROR: Grant Payment Made AMT: $12,729.27 (at least) MADE TO: CESA MESSAGE: CESA reported a deductible receipt from you in the amount listed above. Did you make a grant payment to CESA? If you did, you will need to amend your special education annual report to reflect that you made a grant payment to them. If not, please contact CESA to let them know your payment was not grant dollars. Please let me know your findings via email. Thank you.

50. Spec Ed Report Auditing • Common Reporting Errors: • Not Reporting Grant Payments by Entity • This error gets back to needing to answer “yes” to the question in your report, identifying the entity you paid, and identifying how much you paid them. • Please note that the amount you paid them should be equal to or greater than the amount they reported as a deductible receipt.