January 2021
Explanation of January 2021 Juvenile Home and Other Deductions from State Payments to School Districts
A deduction is being made for the cost of certain programs that are paid "off the top of state aid." This deduction, which occurs every year, is for the cost of educational programs for children in the state training school, mental health institutes, other licensed juvenile and foster care facilities, or special education costs for foster care children with no resident district and district court placed children. As required by Iowa Code, the cost of these programs is distributed to all school districts based on each district's budget enrollment (line 1.1 of the Aid and Levy Worksheet). The deduction starts in January and will continue through the rest of the year. These deductions reduce cash flow, but have no impact on your general fund spending authority. Go to the State Payment Information FY21 screen for an updated breakdown of categorical funding.
If you have future questions regarding this deduction, please contact John Parker at john.parker@iowa.gov, Department of Management or 515-281-8485.
Preschool Registration and Other Fees
As districts plan for 2020-2021 Statewide Voluntary Preschool Program (SWVPP) programming, remember that no fees may be charged for SWVPP registration. In addition, fees may not be charged for items which are part of the SWVPP instructional program. It is highly recommended to clearly communicate the details of any fees to families at the time of registration, including any programming offered for which there are allowable associated fees, such as non-SWVPP programming and/or child care. For more details, see the SWVPP Frequently Asked Finance Questions.
If you have further questions, please contact Tom Cooley at tom.cooley@iowa.gov or 515-725-1120, Jennifer Adkins at jennifer.adkins@iowa.gov or 515-954-5652, or Mary Breyfogle at mary.breyfogle@iowa.gov or 515-326-1030.
Coding - COVID-19 FEMA Funding
The Bureau of School Business Operations has received several questions from districts where the state is reimbursing districts for the state and local portions of COVID-related FEMA grants with US Treasury funds. These reimbursements are coded to source/project 4059, Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF) rather than Iowa Disaster Assistance Funds. You can verify if CRF was used by looking at the Payment Details for the Coronavirus Relief Fund. Filter the Department to "Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management Department" and the Organization to the district. Click the down arrow and put part of name in the search cell. The entire name does not need to be entered. If CRF funds were used, the Federal Program states "Coronavirus Relief Fund" and the Expense Category states "State Aid''. Since the reimbursements are from different funds than anticipated, we know there will be some adjustments needed to get through the FY21 CAR. Although we don't anticipate adjusting the FY20 CAR for this, we haven't ruled out the possibility if material changes are needed for the federal fiscal reports filed by the Department.
If you have further questions, please contact Denise Ragias at denise.ragias@iowa.gov or 515-281-4741, or Janice Evans at janice.evans@iowa.gov or 515-281-4740.
Consider a 2021 New Year’s Resolution to Start Billing
Forty-six (46) of the 52 school districts that did not bill Medicaid in FY20 ended the fiscal year with a special education deficit. Is your district one of the 52 that did not bill Medicaid? For districts that had a special education deficit, Medicaid funding would have reduced dollar-for-dollar the need for additional property taxes to support the special education program. For districts that had a special education positive balance, the positive balance would have increased. If a positive balance increases to an amount in excess of the allowable carryover, the excess is distributed to other districts in the state that had special education deficits, and the excess property taxes are returned to the taxpayers in the district.
Payment Error Rate Measurement Audit
Districts and Area Education Agencies (AEA) have begun receiving calls from the Payment Error Rate Measurement (PERM) audit contractor. The caller is requesting the name of the Medicaid contact for the district and the contact’s address. The PERM contractor will then send a letter on Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services letterhead stating a list of documents requested. Follow-up communications will be by fax. Please contact Jim Donoghue when your district or area education agency (AEA) receives a call or the letter. 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 at jim.donoghue@iowa.gov or 515-281-8505 who will help you collect and coordinate the correct documents to submit.
Medicaid - Federal Share Increase Continues
CARES Act funding included an increase of 6.2 percent in the federal share of state Medicaid programs. That COVID-19 related increase that started January 2020 will continue through March 31, 2021 and possibly longer. For claims paid On October 1, 2020 - March 31, 2021, 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.
Billing Remittance Credit
Some districts and AEAs have a credit on their Medicaid Billing Remittance/ state share invoice. Districts are encouraged to apply the credit to a future invoice. The credit is not automatically applied. Please advise Jim Donoghue if you are making an invoice payment and wish to apply credit to the amount due. Jim in turn will advise DHS Fiscal.
If you have further questions regarding Medicaid, please contact Jim Donoghue at jim.donoghue@iowa.gov or 515-281-8505.
2021 Legislative Session Begins
The 2021 legislative session began on Monday, January 11. There are various resources available to access information related to any action taken or progress made by the Legislature:
Department of Education’s Legislation Tracking Tool Department of Education’s Legislative Information Page (including legislative reports) Iowa Legislature Web Site Iowa Code Iowa Administrative Code (also called Iowa Administrative Rules)
Renee Jerman is the policy liaison representing the Department of Education. For further information on legislative issues, contact Renee at renee.jerman@iowa.gov or 515-281-3399.
School Budget Review Committee Hearing
The School Budget Review Committee (SBRC) met in regular session to hold hearings on December 15, 2020. In this session, the Committee discussed unspent and unexpended balances in school district General Fund accounts; reviewed lists of late filers for Certified Enrollment, Facilities, Elections, and Sales Tax (FEST) Report, and the School Association Report (SAR); state decile ratings for unspent balance and unspent balance less categorical amounts on a per pupil basis; and set the fiscal year 2021-2022 hearing session schedule. The Committee approved modified supplemental amounts (MSA) for eligible districts for excess costs of providing a limited English proficiency (LEP) program, on-time funding for increased enrollment applications, open enrollment out applications, and LEP programs offered beyond five years. The Committee reviewed AEA and district special education balances and approved MSA for eligible districts with deficit balances. The Committee also discussed special education weightings. Iowa Code requires weightings to be reviewed each odd-numbered calendar year therefore no action was taken in calendar year 2020. The Committee also noticed intended action to amend 289 Chapter 6 “Duties and Operational Procedures”, Iowa Administrative Code.
The Committee granted requests of four districts for MSA due to hazard abatement and tabled requests for MSA from four AR/DOP late filing districts. The Committee authorized one district to transfer from its unexpended fund balance to its capital projects fund and approved an equal amount of MSA for costs necessary to complete a construction project previously approved by local voters. The Committee approved a transfer request for two districts and granted MSA for one district based on interrupted revenue streams and costs incurred due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Committee received an informational only fiscal update from one district and accepted a corrective action plan from two districts for late filing of financial reports.
Approved requests for MSA can be found on the SBRC Hearing Information website under the December 15, 2020 Summary of Actions. If you have further questions, please contact Kassandra Cline at kassandra.cline@iowa.gov or 515-281-4738.
Due Date |
What's Due |
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February 1 |
Last Date to Request Authority to Charge Administrative Cost to Special Education for the Subsequent Fiscal Year
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February 10 |
AEA Certified Budget Deadline
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February 12 |
Deadline to Request to Appear or Submit Exhibits for March 16, 2021 SBRC Hearing
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February 15 |
Last Day to Bill for First Semester Special Education Tuition
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February 15 |
Last Day to Bill for First Semester Tuition
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If you have suggestions for future SBA articles, please submit to Carolyn Engelhardt at carolyn.engelhardt@iowa.gov.
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. 14th 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.
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