March 2021
Special Education Excess Positive Balance Deduction from State Payment to School Districts
If you had a 2019-2020 special education excess positive balance, this amount is being deducted beginning with the March 2021 state foundation aid payment. These deductions will continue through the end of the fiscal year. Districts without an excess positive balance may also see a small change in their state aid payment (one-dollar increase or decrease) due to the March recalculation. Payment summaries can be found in the State Payment Information FY21.
If you have additional questions regarding this deduction, please contact John Parker at john.parker@iowa.gov or 515-281-8485.
School Nutrition Finance Webinar
School Nutrition News to Know Webinar: Making Sense of School Nutrition Finances
Are you confused by what is considered an allowable expense for School Nutrition funds? Do you understand the difference between direct and indirect costs? You are not the only one with questions. The April News to Know in School Nutrition Webinar will feature Janice Evans and Denise Ragias from the Bureau of School Business Operations. They will share updates of how finance codes apply to School Nutrition as well as answer some frequently asked questions.
School Business Managers, Superintendents, Food Service Directors, and others responsible for coding expenses to the non-profit food service account will not want to miss this informative presentation on Monday, April 26 from 2:00-3:00 p.m.
Register here
If you have additional questions, please contact Brenda Windmuller at brenda.windmuller@iowa.gov or 515-681-5752.
Special Education Reminders
Special Education Foster Care Claims “Foster Care” is used as the title for this claim, but this could be misleading to school districts. It does not mean all students under foster care should be reported as such on a claim. This student status should only be used if all the following items are applicable:
- The student is served pursuant to an Individualized Education Program (IEP).
- Parental rights have not been terminated.
- The student's parents do not live in Iowa, or where the parents live cannot be determined after reasonable efforts to locate them.
- No Iowa school district counted the student on the special education weighted headcount in October of the current school year.
If any one of these items is not applicable, the district needs to bill the district where the parents lived on the dates served, or bill the district that counted the student on the special education count if the parents moved out of state or could not be located after due diligence. Use the Look Back Tool Application to find which district, if any, counted the student on the special education weighted headcount in October of the current school year.
Special Education Termination of Parental Rights Claims This student status should only be used if all the following items are applicable:
- The student is served pursuant to an IEP.
- The parental rights of the student have been terminated.
- No Iowa school district counted the student on the special education weighted headcount in October of the current school year.
The district needs to bill the district where the parents lived on the dates served prior to termination of rights or bill the district that counted the student on the special education count if the parent's rights were terminated on the days served. Use the Look Back Tool Application to find which district, if any, counted the student on the special education weighted headcount in October of the current school year.
Special Education Nonpublic Claims This student status should only be used if all the following items are applicable:
- The student is served pursuant to an IEP.
- The student is attending an accredited nonpublic school for general education services while receiving special education services from the public school district.
- The cost of providing special education services to the student exceeds the funds generated by the resident district for counting the student on its special education count (billed to the resident district if you are not the resident district) and those funds generated by your district by counting the student as nonpublic shared time on the certified enrollment (if services were provided in the public school and not at the nonpublic school location).
Special Education High-Cost Fund Claims This student status should only be used if all the following items are applicable:
- The student is served pursuant to an IEP.
- The costs of educating the student exceed three times the state’s average per-pupil special education expenditure, as calculated annually by the Department of Education, plus the calculated amount of Medicaid eligible expenditures.
- The claim filed by the district or area education agency (AEA) does not qualify as a foster care claim, termination of rights claim, or a nonpublic claim under current Iowa law.
High-Cost Fund Claims are paid by the state from a set-aside portion of IDEA, Part B. The amount set aside might be less than the total of high-cost fund claims received. In that case, the amount paid to each district will be prorated. If a claim is filed late, funding will not be available to cover that high-cost fund claim because the available funding will already have been allocated to districts that timely filed.
Contracts and Agreements Between a District and Another Party School districts may enter into written agreements with specified parties. Best practice would follow the guidelines noted in Iowa Code 28E, even if the agreement is not a 28E contract. All contracts and agreements obligating funds of the district must be signed by the board president. Contracts signed by other school officials may not be enforceable. It is always wise to have the district's attorney review a contract or agreement prior to signing.
If you have further questions, please contact Bill Roederer at bill.roederer@iowa.gov or 515-281-7972.
Iowa School Business Management Academy
The Iowa School Business Management Academy will hold its Spring Academy VIRTUAL for Levels I-IV April 28-30, 2021. Due to the limitations of this online delivery, the graduate-level program will not be offered again this year. Online registration for Levels I through IV opened Monday, March 1 at 7 a.m. Register on or before April 6 and save! Registration will not be accepted after Monday, April 19.
Bus Evacuation Drills
All students who are transported in a school vehicle are required to be instructed in safe riding practices and must participate in emergency evacuation drills at least twice per school year, per Iowa Administrative Code 281 – 43.40. This includes all students who are transported any time during the year, which would include not only bus routes but also activity trips and field trips. The rule requires the drills to be performed once in the fall and once in the spring. Additionally, documentation of the drills must be maintained at the local level for five years and made available upon request.
If you have additional questions, please contact Max Christensen at max.christensen@iowa.gov or 515-281-4749.
School Bus Driver Licensing and Entry Level Driver Training Update
With recent rule changes at the state level and actions at the federal level, questions have been raised regarding licensing for school bus drivers. Licensing requirements for school bus drivers will remain as they have been for many years. If a school bus driver is operating a vehicle with a capacity of 16 passengers or more, including the driver, the driver is required to have a Commercial Driver’s License (CDL). If a school bus driver is driving a vehicle with a capacity of 15 passengers or fewer, including the driver, the minimum requirement is a Chauffeur’s Class D3 license. This has been the standard requirement for years and has not changed.
The Entry-Level Driver Training (ELDT) mandate from the federal government, originally scheduled to go into effect on February 7, 2020, has been delayed until February 7, 2022. The delay in implementation is due to technical reporting issues with the Training Provider Registry (TPR) at the federal level. All requirements of the mandate remain the same but have been postponed until next year. Additional information is available on the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) website.
If you need further clarification, please contact Max Christensen at max.christensen@iowa.gov or 515-281-4749.
Use of 12-Passenger Vans for Student Transportation
In October 2019, new legislation made the use of larger vans legal in the State of Iowa by Iowa schools . The legislation allows the use of new vans up to 10-passenger and used vans up to 12-passenger (see Iowa Code section 321.373(3)). Be sure to draw the distinction between a new and a used van, dependent on passenger capacity. If your school acquires a NEW 11 or 12-passenger van, it will NOT be allowed for use for student transportation and the school bus inspector will put it out-of-service for this purpose.
Any van over 10-passenger for student transportation must be acquired in used condition. The definition of "used" is spelled out in Iowa Administrative Code 281 – 44.5(1)(b)(2) and emphasized below:
b. The manufacturer’s rated capacity of this vehicle, which shall be determined only by the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) on the date of manufacture, shall not exceed 12 persons including the driver. The capacity rating may not be changed or modified except by the original equipment manufacturer. Secondary stage or vehicle conversion manufacturers shall not establish vehicle capacity. (1) Vehicles with a capacity of ten or fewer passengers including the driver may be acquired new or used. (2) Vehicles with a capacity of 11 or 12 passengers including the driver shall only be acquired used. For purposes of this sub-rule, a used vehicle is defined as a vehicle that has had a title transfer from a dealer to one or more previous retail owners.
Why must 11 or 12-passenger vans be purchased in used condition?
Federal law requires that any vehicle over 10-passenger capacity being used for student transportation must be built to yellow school bus specifications. Vans do not meet those specifications. This means that 10-passenger vans are allowed and anything larger must be a yellow school bus. However, Federal vehicle regulations only apply to new vehicles. The Iowa Legislature chose to allow schools to use vans up to 12-passenger, but the only way to allow that was for the 11 and 12-passenger vans to be purchased in a used condition.
Also, when acquiring any van, be sure it was manufactured as nothing larger than 10-passenger (if buying new) or 12-passenger (when buying used). The passenger capacity is determined by the manufacturer at the time the vehicle is built. Taking seats out of a vehicle does not change the legal passenger capacity. For example, if you acquire a 15-passenger van and take the rear seat out of it to allow for only 12 passengers, legally, it's still a 15-passenger van. So, just be certain of what you are getting before adding a van to your fleet.
Bus Inspection Reminders
School bus inspections are conducted twice a year at your facility. While we do remind you of upcoming inspections, the School Bus Inspection Schedules are available at any time. Please make sure to review the posted schedule and inform all necessary personnel of the inspection date. Any change of date must be arranged through the bus inspector for your region.
In addition to Department of Education (Department) inspections, school bus drivers are required to perform a pre-trip inspection prior to, and a post-trip inspection after, every trip of a school bus. Refer to Iowa Administrative Code 281 – 43.41. The twice-yearly inspections performed by the Department inspectors reveal that most vehicle deficiencies identified are related to items that should be found during the pre- and post-trip inspections performed by school bus drivers. This includes keeping the interior of the bus clean.
Pre-trip and post-trip inspections are a means of finding the day-to-day issues that happen during normal use of the school vehicles. If you have questions about the proper way to perform these daily inspections, please contact your Department inspector or our office. Sample pre-trip inspection forms are available from the Forms – Inspections page of the Department website.
Due Date |
What's Due |
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March 31 |
Last date to submit LEA and AEA electronic annual audit of prior year to the Department and Auditor of State’s Office |
April 15 |
Board resolutions for the budget guarantee due to the Department of Management (DOM) |
April 15 |
Copy of ballot question or resolution for new VPPEL (that is not 100 percent property tax) or Instructional Support Levy (ISL) to DOM |
April 15 |
Electronic budget certification date (Iowa Code section 24.17) |
April 15 |
Budget filed with control county auditor |
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If you have suggestions for future SBA articles, please submit them 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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