November 2020

Table of Contents

• Financial
• General Information
• Coding
• Applications
• Upcoming Deadlines

Financial

Sales Tax Revenue Reconciliation Payment

Each year districts receive an estimated sales tax payment from the Department of Revenue beginning with July (received in August) and ending in June (received in July). These estimates are found on the Department of Revenue's website.

A reconciliation of the actual sales tax takes place after the end of the fiscal year and any remaining money due the district is normally paid out in November. We wanted to make districts aware of this as many times districts receive this payment and can't identify it.

Any payments coming through the Department of Education are posted in the Portal application "Department Warrants". This is found under the Edinfo section - Finance folder (where the CAR and SES are located). Any payments coming through a State Agency may be identified through this link: DAS Vendor Payment Portal.

Special Education Billing

Special Education Billing - Days Only

The Tuition In Billing (TIB) program will be available for districts to complete their first semester billings on December 21. As has been the case in the past few years, you will be required to enter student information by the number of “DAYS” the student was enrolled for FY21.

Special Education Estimated Billing

The Department will continue to use the predetermined daily rate feature as implemented in the TIB program, which allows an additional option in determining the amount billed for the first semester. A CAR upload is not required if this option is selected. The goal is to simplify the process and assure that every district is sending/receiving first semester bills. This option includes a basic daily rate for special education costs and general purpose percentages. Refer to the examples below.

Basic Daily Rate for a Level 1 Student
Special Education Cost:
DCPP X Special Ed Weighting / 180 X 1st Semester Billing Days = Special Ed Expenditures
[($7,048 X .72) / 180] X 90 days = $2,537.10

General Purpose Percentage
DCPP X Level I GPP Per Pupil % (each district is different) / 180 X 1st Semester Billing Days = GPP
[($7,048 X .82) / 180] X 90 days = $2,889.90

Basic Daily Rate for a Level II Student
Special Education Costs:
DCPP X Special Ed Weighting / 180 X 1st Semester Billing Days = Special Ed Expenditures
[($7,048 X 1.21) / 180] X 90 days = $4,264.20

General Purpose Percentage
DCPP X Level II GPP Per Pupil % (all districts are the same) / 180 X 1st Semester Billing Days = GPP
[($7,048 X .32) / 180] X 90 days = $1,127.70

Basic Daily Rate for a Level III Student
Special Education Costs:
DCPP X Special Ed Weighting / 180 X 1st Semester Billing Days = Special Ed Expenditures
[($7,048 X 2.74) / 180] X 90 days = $9,656.10

General Purpose Percentage
DCPP X Level III GPP Per Pupil % (all districts are the same) / 180 X 1st Semester Billing Days = GPP
[($7,048 X .27) / 180] X 90 days = $951.80

“First semester billing days” means the number of days the student was enrolled and served pursuant to the student’s Individualized Education Program (IEP). The examples above assume the student was present for the full semester or 90 days. However, some students will be enrolled and served less than a full semester. In those cases, the district would enter the actual days enrolled and served rather than 90 (i.e., ($7,048 X 1.21)/ 180 X 25 days = $1,184.50)). If a student was Level II for part of the semester and then became Level III, the student would be shown once as Level II for the number of days served pursuant to the IEP at Level II, and again shown once as Level III for the number of days served pursuant to the IEP at Level III.

Upon entering the program, select which option to use. The first option, “Per Day Estimated Rate,” is the option described above. The second option, “Per Day Actual Costs from Screen 1,” is what districts have used in past years. The Department was able to pull in basic pieces of student information, such as student name, student ID, and resident district, from districts’ certified enrollment. Although the program allows this to happen, it is imperative to make sure every student’s information has been transferred successfully. The program still allows districts to add/edit student information if needed. Additionally, districts must include the information on the student information screen that did not pull from the certified enrollment (e.g., weighting, days enrolled, and individualized costs).

The Department will continue to look at ways that will save valuable time in the process. If you have further questions or suggestions regarding TIB, please contact Bill Roederer at bill.roederer@iowa.gov, or 515-281-7972.

Limited English Proficient Program

LEP Expenditure Coding

This article serves as the annual reminder regarding expenditure coding for the district’s English Language Learner (ELL) program. While district expenditures coded to Project 1112 or 4644 cannot exceed the revenues coded to Project 1112 (property tax and state aid-financed weighted limited English Proficiency [LEP] and School Budget Review Committee [SBRC] MSA for LEP) or Project 4644 (Title III, English Language Acquisition State Grants), the expenditures should not be changed from program codes 410 through 419. Expenditures without a program code of 410 through 419 will not appear in the LEP Allowable Cost Application. Continue to report LEP expenditures to Program 410 through 419, even though the project code may be changed to 0000. The LEP Allowable Cost application only includes expenditures with these program codes.

Appropriate and Inappropriate uses of LEP funds are found in Iowa Administrative Code 281—98.16. Very few expenditures that fall into the executive, building, or business administrative functions, or the operations and maintenance, transportation, and community service functions are appropriate uses of LEP categorical funds. While these are still costs of providing the program, they are not direct costs of providing the district’s ELL program; therefore, the costs cannot be included in a request to the School Budget Review Committee (SBRC) for excess costs of providing the program. 

Reporting LEP Instructional and Support Staff in Fall BEDS Staff

For districts that report expenditures for salaries but no teachers are identified with an appropriate English as a Second Language (ESL) assignment code in Fall BEDS Staff, those districts will not be able to submit a request to the SBRC for excess LEP costs incurred during the 2020-2021 school year. Please review Fall BEDS Staff to ensure teachers in a district’s LEP program have been appropriately identified with the position of Regular Education Teacher and assigned to the ESL program.

In the Iowa Education Portal, go to the Fall BEDS Staff application. Under “Staff Filters” in the upper right on the home page, set the Program field to ESL. All teachers and paraprofessionals assigned to the program must appear when filtering on ESL. Additional individuals, such as administrators or coordinators of the LEP program, may also appear.

Common Reporting Problems

Problem 1: Missing staff

The teacher will not appear when filtering on program = ESL if the program assignment has been identified as “No special program.” Edit the position and change the program to ESL.

Problem 2: Missing staff when a teacher has multiple assignments, not all of which are in the LEP program.

In this example, the teacher has two assignments, one of which belongs under “No special program”. The other assignment belongs under the ESL program. For this teacher, the English as a Second Language assignment will need to be deleted from the “No special program” and the FTE will require a modification from 1.00 to 0.78. A new position must be added with the position of Regular Education Teacher, FTE = 0.22, and program = ESL. The English as a Second Language assignment will then be added to the added position. Seventy-eight percent of this teacher’s salary and benefits will be paid from noncategorical funds while 22 percent can be paid from LEP categorical funds.

Problem 3: A teacher with a regular curriculum course assignment coded to a categorical program.

This teacher is coded to two different categorical programs (ESL and Special Education); however, a third program (No special program) is required. The entry for the third program must have a position of regular education teacher and an FTE equivalent to the proportion of contract time the teacher is assigned to teach the Creative Writing course. The Creative Writing assignment must be moved to the newly created position. The FTE must also be modified to reflect only the portion of time the teacher is assigned to the ESL assignment. The portion of time (FTE), the program, and the funding stream from which the teacher will be paid should be in agreement.

Problem 4: A teacher assigned to teach a regular curriculum course under the ESL program.

If the teacher has an ESL endorsement, is appropriately licensed to teach physical science, all students in the sections taught by this teacher are ELL students.  It may be possible to have that portion of the teacher’s assignment paid from LEP categorical funds. If students enrolled in the course are also generating credit toward graduation, the teacher would need to be appropriately licensed in the content area as well.

Please make sure all data submitted to the Department are reviewed for accuracy. Inaccurate reporting in one application can impact other applications as well.

If you have any further questions, please contact Carla Schimelfenig at carla.schimelfenig@iowa.gov, or 515-242-5612.

General Information

Medicaid

Payment Error Rate Measurement Audit

Iowa's 2020-2021 Payment Error Rate Measurement (PERM) audit of supporting documentation for a sample of paid claims has begun. If your district or area education agency (AEA) has a claim selected, the PERM contractor will call first, then send a letter on Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services letterhead stating a list of documents requested. Documentation is to be submitted within 75 days and the Department wishes to help districts and AEAs prepare materials. If you do receive a PERM request, please contact Jim Donoghue who will help you collect and coordinate the correct documents to submit. Please make sure office staff know to contact the Medicaid lead at your district or agency or, if the lead is unavailable, the School Business Official (SBO) or Jim Donoghue. This year's review will hopefully be as successful as past years. In the 2013-2014 audit, 25 claims from 17 districts were selected and zero documentation errors were found. In the 2016-2017 audit, 131 claims from 64 districts and two AEAs were selected and 1 error was found. In the one claim with an error, three more units were billed than the total minutes documented.

Medicaid - Federal Share

CARES Act funding included an increase of 6.2 percent in the federal share of state Medicaid programs starting January 2020 and continuing through December 31, 2020 and possibly longer. On October 1, 2020, the federal share, without the additional COVID-19 dollars, increased from 61.2 percent to 61.75 percent. Claims paid July 2020-September 2020 had a federal share of 67.4 percent and a state share of 32.6 percent. For claims paid October 1, 2020 through December 31, 2020, the federal share is 67.95 percent and the state share is 32.05 percent. When there is an announcement about continuation of the increased federal share in 2021, the Department will advise districts through the School Business Alert.

Private Duty Health Care Agency Nurse

If your district participates in Medicaid and paid for any private duty nurses during the 2019-2020 fiscal year, please contact Jim Donoghue with the hours and dollars paid for these individuals. These data are worked into the Medicaid rate setting for 2021-2022.

If you have further Medicaid questions, please contact Jim Donoghue at jim.donoghue@iowa.gov or 515-281-8505.

School Budget Review Committee Meeting October 13

The School Budget Review Committee (SBRC) met in regular session to hold hearings on October 13. The Committee took action on districts that were late filing financial reports and received an update on whole grade sharing districts making progress toward reorganization.

The Committee approved modified supplemental amounts (MSA) for hazard abatement and initial staffing costs. The Committee also authorized an interfund transfer request related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Summary of Action is available on the SBRC website.

If you have further questions regarding the School Budget Review Committee, please contact the SBRC Liaison, Kassandra Cline at kassadra.cline@iowa.gov, or 515-281-4738.

PMIC Placements and Psychiatric Hospital Stays: Who Pays?

If the student:

• Is served pursuant to an Individualized Education Program (IEP), the resident district pays.
• Is a regular education student, the resident district pays.
• Is home schooled, the resident district pays.
• Attends a nonpublic school, the resident district pays.
• Dropped out of school, the resident district pays.
• Recently moved into your district, the current resident district pays.
• Was placed by a parent, the resident district pays.
• Was counted in certified enrollment by another district, the current resident district pays.
• Was under open enrollment prior to the placement, the resident district pays.

Is there a way a district can get out of paying for the educational services a student receives while at a Psychiatric Medical Institution for Children (PMIC) or psychiatric unit of a hospital?
If the student has an IEP and parental rights were terminated, then the host district is responsible for paying. However, the district with the PMIC or hospital may file the claim with the state through the Tuition In Billing (TIB) application.

How is the resident district determined? 
According to Iowa Code 282.1, subsection 2, the resident district is the location where a student is physically present, whose residence has not been established in another district by operation of law, and is in the district for the purpose of making a home and not solely for school purposes.

What if I didn’t get to count the student in certified enrollment? Do I still have to pay?
Yes, the current resident district is still responsible for the educational costs incurred for a student in a PMIC facility or psychiatric unit of a hospital. Iowa Code 282.27, subsection 5 was added to allow districts to include in the regular education foster care claim students who were not included in the resident district’s certified enrollment count and who were placed in either a PMIC facility or psychiatric unit of a hospital. The district with the PMIC facility will do all the work for you. The students who were not in the resident district’s count will be automatically included in the regular education foster care claim. For students in a psychiatric unit of a hospital, the resident district will need to enter the student in the local student information system in order to generate the record that will populate the regular education foster care claim. For more information, refer to the PMIC article on page 70 of the 2019-2020 School Business Alerts (April/May 2020 issue).

For situations not described above, or when the resident district is not known, please contact Carla Schimelfenig at carla.schimelfenig@iowa.gov, 515-242-5612, for assistance.

Coding

Teacher Leadership and Compensation

The Department has received numerous questions regarding coding and FY21 amounts for Teacher Leadership and Compensation (TLC).

• Source/project code 3116 is used for funding the district receives through the school funding formula. All districts have expended their grant funds, Project 3387, therefore no districts should be using Project 3387 in any of the revenue, expenditure or balance sheet account codes. Unused funds should be restricted at the end of the year.
• A district’s allocation is based on the budget enrollment x per pupil amount of $340.89
  for FY21.
• The expenditure functions will depend on how the district uses the funds. Many of the expenditures will be coded to Instructional Staff Support Services (Function 221x). Keep in mind that use of the Instruction function code ( Function 1xxx) requires instruction to students, not other teachers.
• Open enrollment in (Source 1323) and open enrollment out (Object 567) should include the TLC project code (3116). The resident district pays to the receiving district any moneys received for a pupil. All districts should be using Project 3116 with these codes and will pay the open enrollment amount of $333.23 per pupil.

If you have further questions regarding the TLC program, please contact Lora Rasey at lora.rasey@iowa.gov, or 515-725-0648. For coding questions, contact Denise Ragias at denise.ragias@iowa.gov, or 515-281-4741, or Janice Evans at janice.evans@iowa.gov, or 515-281-4740.

FY21 Commercial and Industrial State Replacement Payment and Property Taxes – Types and Coding

There is a tool on the Department of Management’s website to help districts estimate their FY21 Commercial and Industrial (C & I) state replacement payment. See Commercial & Industrial Replacement Payments. C & I is received from the counties twice a year with property taxes and is coded to Source 3803. See the Department of Education’s Property Taxes—Types and Coding document for guidance on how to code the various types of taxes districts receive on property tax orders from counties.

If you have further coding questions, please contact John Parker at john.parker@iowa.gov, or 515-281-8485, or Janice Evans at janice.evans@iowa.gov, or 515-281-4740.

Applications

School Budget Review Committee Requests for Modified Supplemental Amounts – Due Dec. 2

The SBRC Application is currently open and available for requesting modified supplemental amounts (MSA) in the following areas:

• Increasing Enrollment—for districts showing fall 2020 actual enrollment (formerly known as row 7) greater than fall 2019 actual enrollment. (Iowa Code section 257.31(5)(a))
• Open Enrollment Out—for students identified as open enrolled out in fall 2020 who were not included in the district’s fall 2019 certified enrollment count, minus any increase in enrollment described in paragraph “a” above. (Iowa Code section 282.18(9)(e))
• Limited English Proficient (LEP) Instruction Beyond 5 Years—for resident students included in fall 2019 certified enrollment who have already received the maximum English language learner (ELL) supplementary weighting and who are continuing to receive ELL instructional services. (Iowa Code section 257.31(5)(j))

This application is prepopulated from the district’s certified enrollment and Student Reporting in Iowa (SRI) submission. In order to complete a request:

• Verify the accuracy of the data.
• Enter the amount of each request or click request max and modify the value as needed.
• Save Values.
• Enter the date of the board meeting when the board will act upon the request(s).
• Save Minutes information.
• Add the contact information.
• Save Contact Information.
• Certify the application.
• Add each request as a separate action item on the agenda for the next board meeting.
• Enter the link to the board minutes in the SBRC Application or send a copy of the unofficial board minutes to Carla Schimelfenig at carla.schimelfenig@iowa.gov.  

Directions for completing the SBRC Application can be found on the Department’s website, or you may want to watch the SBRC Application Video. Any references to 2017 should be interpreted as 2020. The only change to the information presented is the year.

Below is a suggested format for the board minutes. Each of the three areas for which MSA is requested should be noted separately. It should not be a single, combined amount.

Motion was made by __, seconded by ____ to authorize the district’s administration to submit a request to the School Budget Review Committee in the amount of $xxxx for MSA for the purpose of yyyyy. The motion _____ by a vote of __-__.

At-Risk/Dropout MSA Application – Due Jan. 15

The Department’s intent is to have the revised SBRC application for At-Risk/Dropout modified supplement amount (MSA) available via the Iowa Education Portal by early December. The application will not open until the Fall 2020 Certified Enrollment numbers have been finalized. Only those districts wishing to request SBRC-granted MSA (Project 1119) will need to complete a submission.

The purpose of the requested MSA is to provide additional resources for the 2021-2022 school year that are necessary to implement the at-risk, dropout prevention, and returning dropout services for identified students that are included in your local School Board’s adopted plan. The purpose is not for increasing regular program spending authority.

As in the past year, the Department intends to maintain the general structure of the pre-2020 application for MSA as a tool for developing/housing the local program plan for those districts desiring to use it. This includes planning components, including budget forms, which districts have reported as being useful in developing the program plans for the local school board’s approval. Use of the planning components is not required; they are not connected to the form used to request the MSA.

If you have additional questions regarding programming, please contact Steve Crew at steve.crew@iowa.gov, or 515-326-1029. If you have budget questions, please contact Rob Olsen at rob.olsen@iowa.gov, or 515-281-4743 or Tom Cooley at tom.cooley@iowa.gov, or 515-725-1120.

Nonpublic Transportation Parental Claims – Due Dec. 1

First semester parental claims for nonpublic transportation are due to the districts no later than Dec. 1. Parents providing transportation for their children to attend an accredited nonpublic school are required to file these claims with their resident public district. Please make sure to communicate this information with the nonpublic schools within your district.

Once the requests have been received by the district, it is important to establish a good record-keeping process to ensure accurate information is reported at the end of the school year by the district to the Department. The most common information to track, possibly on a spreadsheet, are the names of the parent(s) and their child(ren), their legal address, the name and address of the nonpublic school, and the mileage distance for which the parent is transporting. This will make the claim from the district to the Department at the end of the year much easier to file and verify.

Please be sure to check for errors on parental claims. Including incorrect data in the Nonpublic Reimbursement application has an impact on the amount of funding per claim for all districts at the end of the year. Each year, the Department receives a number of requests for correction after the claims have been paid. Due to the funding mechanism, these are difficult, and in some cases impossible, to resolve.

As a reminder, second semester claims from parents to the districts will be due by May 1, 2021. Information regarding this program can be found in the Nonpublic Reimbursement page of the Department’s website. If you have further questions, please contact Max Christensen at max.christensen@iowa.gov, or 515-281-4749.

Upcoming Deadlines

It is the policy of the Iowa Department of Education not to discriminate on the basis of race, creed, color, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, sex, disability, religion, age, political party affiliation, or actual or potential parental, family or marital status in its programs, activities, or employment practices as required by the Iowa Code sections 216.9 and 256.10(2), Titles VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. § 2000d and 2000e), the Equal Pay Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. § 206, et seq.), Title IX (Educational Amendments, 20 U.S.C.§§ 1681 – 1688), Section 504 (Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C. § 794), and the Americans with Disabilities Act (42 U.S.C. § 12101, et seq.). If you have questions or complaints related to compliance with this policy by the Iowa Department of Education, please contact the legal counsel for the Iowa Department of Education, Grimes State Office Building, 400 E. 14^th Street, Des Moines, IA 50319-0146, telephone number: 515-281-5295, or the Director of the Office for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Education, Citigroup Center, 500 W. Madison Street, Suite 1475, Chicago, IL 60661-4544, telephone number: 312-730-1560, FAX number: 312-730-1576, TDD number: 877-521-2172, email: OCR.Chicago@ed.gov.