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November 2021
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 website.
A reconciliation of the actual sales tax takes place after the end of the fiscal year and any remaining money due to the district is normally paid out in November. We want to make districts aware of this as many times districts receive this payment and can not 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 Certified Annual Report (CAR) and Special Education Supplement (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 20. 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 FY22.
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
[($7,227 X .72) / 180] X 90 days = $2,601.72
General Purpose Percentage
DCPP X Level I GPP Per Pupil % (each district is different) / 180 X 1st Semester Billing Days = GPP
[($7,227 X .82) / 180] X 90 days = $2,963.07
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
[($7,227 X 1.21) / 180] X 90 days = $4,372.34
General Purpose Percentage
DCPP X Level II GPP Per Pupil % (all districts are the same) / 180 X 1st Semester Billing Days = GPP
[($7,227 X .32) / 180] X 90 days = $1,156.32
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
[($7,227 X 2.74) / 180] X 90 days = $9,900.99
General Purpose Percentage
DCPP X Level III GPP Per Pupil % (all districts are the same) / 180 X 1st Semester Billing Days = GPP
[($7,227 X .27) / 180] X 90 days = $975.65
“First semester billing days” means the number of days the student was enrolled and served pursuant to the student’s Individualized Education Plan (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., ($7,227 X 1.21)/ 180 X 25 days = $1,214.54)). 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 (LEP) Reporting
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) modified supplemental amount (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 may be related costs, they are not direct costs of providing the district’s ELL program; therefore, the costs cannot be included in a request to the 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 2021-2022 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 ESL 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 ESL 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, and all students in the sections taught by this teacher are ELL students, then 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 Tom Cooley at tom.cooley@iowa.gov, or 515-725-1120.
Medicaid
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 March 31, 2022 and possibly longer. On October 1, 2021, the federal share, without the additional COVID-19 dollars, increased from 61.75 percent to 62.14 percent. Claims paid July 2020-September 2020 had a federal share of 67.95 percent and a state share of 31.05 percent. For claims paid October 1, 2021 through March 31, 2022, the federal share is 68.34 percent and the state share is 31.66 percent. When there is an announcement about continuation of the increased federal share in 2022, 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 2020-2021 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 2022-2023.
Providing Medicaid Reimbursement Documentation
During the last legislative session, Governor Reynolds signed SF260 into law. This legislation relates to the Medicaid-eligible health services provided by a receiving district to open-enrolled students receiving special education services. SF260 requires the attending districts to provide to the resident districts the documentation necessary to seek Medicaid reimbursement for the eligible IEP-ordered health services. Below are questions received about this expectation.
May the attending district continue to bill Iowa Medicaid and credit the resident district for the amount received on their annual bill for services?
Yes. SF260 does not limit who can do the billing; it does not require that the resident district do the billing. The legislation only requires that the resident district receive the documentation necessary to do the billing. A contract/agreement between the resident and attending districts can specify roles and clarify intentions. Additionally, the requirement applies only to open-enrolled students.
Districts have previously been able to charge their cost to provide this documentation. Are they still able to do this?
This charge would not be allowed for open-enrolled students as providing the documentation is now required. There is no limitation on the attending district charging an administrative fee for tuition students.
The parental consent form specifically indicates the 'attending' district for the consent. Are attending districts required to obtain a parental consent form from the resident district?
Yes. Parent consent is one of the documents necessary to seek Medicaid reimbursement. An agreement between the resident and the attending districts can specify roles and clarify intentions.
Who is responsible for the documentation to meet Medicaid standards?
The billing provider has this responsibility as they are responsible for services they are billing. SF260 applies only to open-enrolled students. A guidance document containing a list of the required documentation is available on the School-based Medicaid page of the Department's website.
Eligibility Information
The Protected Health Information (PHI) that your Local Education Agency (LEA) or Area Education Agency (AES) have from Iowa Department of Human Services (e.g., Medicaid ID number and Eligibility) can only be used for certain purposes and must be protected. In the case of School-based Medicaid services, those purposes are billing and audits. For purposes of billing, the end date for retention of eligibility PHI issued before July 1, 2021 will be June 2022, since this program allows claim submission to a maximum of 12 months from the date of service. For purposes of audit or documentation review, the end date for retention of the eligibility PHI issued before July 1, 2021 will be June 2023, as we have found that recent Payment Error Rate Measurement audits request documentation for claims up to two years prior to the date of the request. More details will be posted on the School-based Medicaid page of the Department's website, under the "Statement to Downstream Providers" heading.
If you have further Medicaid questions, please contact Jim Donoghue at jim.donoghue@iowa.gov, or 515-281-8505.
School Budget Review Committee Hearing October 12
The SBRC met in regular session to hold hearings on October 12. The Committee received final FY22 cash reserve levy amounts totaling $204,983,990, down 9% from FY21. The Committee received an update on whole grade sharing districts making progress toward reorganization and reviewed whether districts fully expended MSA awarded in FY21 based on anticipated costs. Action was taken to adopt amendments to 289 Iowa Administrative Code (SBRC rules) and to direct districts that were late filing financial reports to appear at the December 14 hearing to present corrective action plans.
The Committee authorized a request for a $25,000 transfer from the General Fund to the Student Construction Fund and denied related MSA for a new student construction program. The Committee also authorized an interfund transfer request related to the COVID-19 pandemic in the amount of $1,030,297. The Summary of Action is available on the SBRC website.
If you have further questions regarding the SBRC, please contact the SBRC Liaison, Kassandra Cline at kassandra.cline@iowa.gov, or 515-281-4738.
Federal Procurement Requirements Related to Food Service Management Companies
The Bureau of Nutrition and Health Services offers the following reminder about federal and program-specific procurement regulations for LEAs who are considering contracting with a Food Service Management Company (FSMC).
Federal regulations at 2 CFR 200.319(a) require that all organizations that receive federal funding must provide a level playing field that allows for full and open competition for all potential vendors. When one FSMC is allowed to promote their business to district officials, then an equal opportunity must be provided to other FSMCs. Only allowing one FSMC to promote their business is providing them with an unfair advantage in the bidding process. If a FSMC is found to have an unfair advantage they may be excluded from bidding on potential contracts. Additionally, vendors who assist with contract language or specifications shall be excluded from competing for the procurement.
For additional information, refer to USDA Guidance - Contracting with Food Service Management Companies: Guidance for School Food Authorities.
If you have any questions, contact Shea Cook at shea.cook@iowa.gov or 515-326-1682.
Psychiatric Medical Institution for Children Placements and Psychiatric Hospital Stays: Who Pays?
If the student:
- Is served pursuant to an 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 avoid 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 have been 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 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.
If the resident district did not get to count the student in certified enrollment, does the resident district 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 allows 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 the work for you - 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 their 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).
Teacher Leadership and Compensation
The Department has received numerous questions regarding coding and FY22 amounts for Teacher Leadership and Compensation (TLC).
- Source/project code 3116 is used for funding the district receives through the school funding formula. 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 $349.07
for FY22.
- 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 monies received for a pupil. All districts should be using Project 3116 with these codes and will pay the open enrollment amount of $340.89 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.
FY22 Commercial and Industrial State Replacement Payment and Property Taxes – Types and Coding
There is a tool on the Department of Management website to help districts estimate their FY22 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 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.
Iowa Chart of Account Coding Updates
The Iowa Chart of Account Coding, found on the Uniform Financial Accounting page of the Department website, is regularly updated to reflect changes necessary to meet fiscal reporting needs. The most recent update is provided below.
October 2021
Source/Project 4366 Emergency Connectivity Fund Program (CFDA 32.009) (USAC-ARP)
LEP Allowable Costs Application
The Department has been informed by a number of districts that information contained in the LEP Allowable Costs application is not populating. This issue relates to a recent update to the portal. If your district's numbers are not populating, the solution is to click the "update" button at the top of the page.
Please note that submission of the LEP Allowable Costs Application, which is a request to the SBRC, is optional. If the district does not have an eligible amount, or does not desire to seek an MSA for this purpose, no action is needed.
If you have questions completing this application, contact Kassandra Cline at kassandra.cline@iowa.gov, or 515-281-4738.
SBRC Application for MSA – Due Dec. 1
The SBRC Application is currently open and available for requesting MSA in the following areas:
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Increasing Enrollment—for districts showing fall 2021 actual enrollment (formerly known as row 7) greater than fall 2020 actual enrollment. (Iowa Code section 257.31(5)(a))
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Open Enrollment Out—for students identified as open enrolled out in fall 2021 who were not included in the district’s fall 2020 certified enrollment count, minus any increase in enrollment described in paragraph “a” above. (Iowa Code section 282.18(9)(e))
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LEP Instruction Beyond Five (5) Years—for resident students included in fall 2019 certified enrollment who have already received the maximum 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:
Board Action: Each of the three areas for which MSA is requested should be noted separately. It should not be a single, combined amount.
Sample Format:
Sample formats were provided in the September/October 2021 SBA. In general, they read:
Title of Reason - The district's administration is authorized to submit a request to the School Budget Review Committee for a modified supplemental amount of $XXXX related to (state reason). Ayes ____ Nays: ____ The motion ____ unanimously/by a vote of _____.
If you have questions as you complete the SBRC Application, please contact the SBRC Liaison, Kassandra Cline at kassandra.cline@iowa.gov, or 515-281-4738.
At-Risk/Dropout MSA Application – Due Jan. 17
The Department’s intent is to have the revised SBRC application for At-Risk/Dropout MSA available via the Iowa Education Portal by early December. The application will not open until the Fall 2021 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 2022-2023 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 past years, 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; the planning components 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 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 2, 2022. 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.
| Due Date |
What's Due |
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| Dec. 1 |
SBRC Application for MSA for Increased Enrollment, Open Enrollment Out, and Limited English Proficient Beyond Five Years of Weighting for Districts that want MSA
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| Dec. 1 |
First Semester Parental Claim Forms for Nonpublic Transportation Reimbursement
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| Dec. 15 |
School Board Officers Report Due
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| Jan. 17 |
Application for At-Risk Dropout Prevention MSA
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Division of School Finance and Support Services
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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