June 2022

Table of Contents

• Financial
• Coding
• Applications
• General
• Upcoming Deadlines
• Staff Contact Information
• Department of Education Resources

Financial

Annual Reminder: Billing for Supplementary Weighting

Open Enrollment and Concurrent Enrollment Supplementary Weighting

Districts offering concurrent enrollment courses and eligible Project Lead the Way (PLTW) courses may bill resident districts for the supplementary weighting generated on open-enrolled students enrolled in the contracted courses. Bills for the supplementary weighting can be generated using the information provided in the Student Reporting in Iowa (SRI) application. Before paying a bill for supplementary weighting, the resident district can verify the information by reviewing the Supplementary Weighting (Non-Fall) application in the Iowa Education Portal. When computing the supplementary weighting, use the student’s resident district cost per pupil of the year in which the course was taken. Directions for generating and verifying the bills are posted on the Supplementary Weighting - Certified Enrollment page of the Iowa Department of Education (Department) website (281 IAC 17.10(8)).

Whole Grade Sharing and Concurrent Enrollment Supplementary Weighting

For districts in a whole grade sharing arrangement, supplementary weighting generated on resident students remains with the resident district unless some other arrangement has been articulated in the whole grade sharing agreement. While options for distributing the concurrent enrollment supplementary weighting exist, such as having the community college contract directly with the sharing partner for the sharing partner’s resident students or negotiating a higher per pupil rate for whole grade shared students in grades 9-12, addressing the issue of distributing the concurrent enrollment supplementary weighting in the whole grade sharing agreement may be the best alternative.

Shared Teacher and Supplementary Weighting

When two districts agree to share a teacher, only one district holds the contract for the teacher. The district buying a portion of the contract may generate supplementary weighting on their resident students enrolled in courses taught by the shared teacher. Eligibility for supplementary weighting is dependent on the purchasing district not having a licensed and endorsed teacher available within the school district to teach the course(s) being provided by the shared teacher (281 IAC 97.2(3)). The supplementary weighting incentive is for the non-contract holding district. The district holding the contract benefits by being able to retain a teacher and also have a portion of the contract paid by another district.

Other Billing Situations

1. Whole grade sharing billing for the second semester is based on the count of resident students from the sending district on the second Friday in January (Iowa Code 282.12(4)). In the 2021-2022 school year, second semester count for whole grade sharing occurred on January 13, 2022.
2. If a sharing district elects not to enter into a whole grade sharing agreement when sharing “all or a substantial portion of the students in any grade” with another school district for “all or a substantial portion of a school day, then no students in that grade level are eligible for supplementary weighting except as authorized by 281 IAC 97.5 pursuant to the supplementary weighting plan for whole-grade sharing (281 IAC 97.2(8))." An exception to the “no students are eligible for supplementary weighting” is concurrent enrollment supplementary weighting. High school students attending another district, either through a whole grade sharing agreement or a tuition agreement because of the discontinuation of grades, are eligible for generating supplementary weighting when enrolled in eligible concurrent enrollment courses.
3. There is no billing of costs incurred for students taking high school, concurrent enrollment, or postsecondary enrollment options (PSEO) courses who are enrolled in the public district as: Competent private instruction (CPI) dual enrolled (Iowa Code 257.6(3) and (7)) Open enrolled CPI  dual enrolled (Iowa Code 257.6(3) and (7) Independent private instruction (IPI) for concurrent enrollment only (Iowa Code 261E.8(2)) Nonpublic shared time (Iowa Code 257.6(3) and (7)) Junior/Senior rule (Iowa Code 257.6(4))

For the situations listed, the serving district generates funding directly through certified enrollment.

1. No parent or student shall be billed for costs incurred from concurrent enrollment courses, even if the cost to the district exceeds the billable amount (281 IAC 17.10(8)“d”).
2. Districts cannot bill students or parents for failed concurrent enrollment courses.
3. A district can bill a parent (or student if 18 years of age) for the tuition cost of a failed PSEO course, the cost of equipment that becomes the property of the student, and the cost of a school-owned textbook that is not returned (Iowa Code 261E.7(3)).
4. A serving district can only bill the resident district of an open enrolled student for tuition, supplementary weighting generated from concurrent enrollment courses, PLTW courses, English language learner (ELL or LEP) supplementary weighting, and the teacher leadership district cost per pupil (Iowa Code 282.18(9); 281 IAC 17.10(8)“c”).

If you have questions regarding reorganizations, please contact Scott Dryer at Scott.Dryer@iowa.gov or (515) 402-8700.

If you have questions regarding data in the SRI application, please contact Rachel Kruse at rachel.kruse@iowa.gov or (515) 281-4153.

Whole Grade Sharing Supplementary Weighting

Up to three years of whole grade sharing supplementary weighting continues to be available to districts studying and working toward reorganization with a reorganization effective date on or before July 1, 2024. Districts that have already passed a board resolution to study reorganization effective on or before July 1, 2019 do not need to pass a new resolution. Please review Iowa Administrative Code 281-97.5 for more information and whole grade sharing supplementary weighting.

Year 1

Districts in a whole grade sharing arrangement with a desire to work toward reorganization that have not passed a resolution to study reorganization must do so by October 1, 2021 in order to qualify for year 1 whole-grade sharing supplementary weighting.

The requirements for the resolution to qualify the districts for supplementary weighting are as follows:

1. The resolution must be a separate action noted in the school board meeting minutes of each board. The resolution may also be included in the whole grade sharing agreement, but passing the whole grade sharing agreement alone will not qualify a district for the supplementary weighting.
2. The resolution must include these three phrases:
   • the board adopts this resolution jointly with the ________ Community School District
   • to study the question of undergoing a reorganization (or dissolution, if applicable)
   • to occur on or before July 1, 2024 [an earlier date is acceptable]

This specific language is designed to inform the public of exactly what is being explored by the districts; variances from the above language will likely disqualify the districts’ eligibility for supplementary weighting. Passing the resolution qualifies the districts for the first year of whole grade sharing supplementary weighting.

Year 2 and 3

To qualify for the second year of supplementary weighting, the sharing districts will need to establish a reorganization committee by August 1 of the year when submitting the Year 2 request.

To qualify for the third year of whole grade sharing supplementary weighting, the sharing districts must have an AEA-approved plan for reorganization by August 1 and a date for an election on the proposed reorganization by the end of the calendar year when submitting the Year 3 request. If the election to reorganize is not successful, the districts may submit a request to the School Budget Review Committee (SBRC) asking to withdraw the whole grade sharing supplementary weighting request for Year 3. Districts may then resubmit the request for Year 3 supplementary weighting when another reorganization election has been set, thus allowing districts to take advantage of the reorganization incentive provided in Iowa Code 257.11A.

Requests for Year 1, 2, or 3 whole grade sharing supplementary weighting are submitted through the School Information Update (SIU) application on the Grade Sharing tab. Districts do not need to have the SIU application uncertified in order to complete the Grade Sharing portion of the application. While districts seeking Year 1 whole grade sharing supplementary weighting have a deadline of October 1 to request supplementary weighting, districts seeking Year 2 or 3 must complete the request in the SIU application by August 1. Requests for Year 2 and 3 supplementary weighting are reviewed and approved or denied by the SBRC at the October hearing.

If you have further questions, please contact Scott Dryer at Scott.Dryer@iowa.gov or (515) 402-8700.

Joint Employment Whole Grade Sharing

Districts in a whole grade sharing arrangement desiring to apply for joint employment must submit the application by July 1. According to 281 IAC 97.2(4), the minimum requirements for joint employment include:

• a joint teacher evaluation process and instruments,
• a joint teacher professional development plan, and
• one single salary schedule.

Additional evidence that the partner districts, while not yet reorganized, are functioning as one may include such items as:

• same student information system
• same financial software
• identical calendars
• one website for both districts

Applications may be emailed to Scott Dryer at scott.dryer@iowa.gov (please cc Kassandra Cline at kassandra.cline@iowa.gov) or mail to:

Scott Dryer 
Department of Education
Grimes State Office Building
400 E. 14th St
Des Moines, IA 50319-046

Teacher Leadership and Compensation and Open Enrollment FY23

All districts receive Teacher Leadership and Compensation (TLC) through state aid. The state aid amount for FY23 is $357.80.

In FY23, all districts will pay open enrollment at the rate of $349.07, which is the per pupil rate for the prior year.

If you have questions about the TLC program, please contact lora.rasey@iowa.gov or (515) 725-0648.

For questions regarding coding, please contact janice.evans@iowa.gov or (515) 281-4740.

Supplemental Aid for FY21 Special Education Deficit

Payment will go out this month to districts that had a special education deficit in 2021. The supplemental aid payment should be coded to Source/Project 3113. Use program code between 211 and 219. This revenue source does not need matching expenditures.

For questions regarding coding, please contact janice.evans@iowa.gov or (515) 281-4740.

Tuition-In Billing

The Tuition-In Billing (TIB) program is now available for districts to complete their FY22 final year billings. Please remember that all school districts will need to submit their final year billings by July 15.

You are required to enter student information by number of DAYS only. As in past years, an upload must be completed to activate the TIB program. Districts should also clear edits related to special education accounts in the CAR 2022 COA Test Records application prior to sending bills through TIB.

Between June 1 and 22, districts should ensure all students have been entered into their TIB program, including all special education foster care, termination of rights, nonpublic, and high cost claims. Also, to be entered are students educated in day programs, residential programs, and hospitals.

From June 22 to July 5, all school districts should review and verify the accuracy of the tuition out information through the Special Education Supplement (SES). If it is determined that a student has been omitted, contact the district that provided educational services to ensure they add the student in their TIB program.

If you have further questions, please contact bill.roederer@iowa.gov or (515) 281-7972.

Coding

Student Activity Fund Revenues

A recent legislative inquiry led us to review Student Activity Fund revenues and we found a few surprises. Is your district only using one or two source codes for the Student Activity Fund? If so, you might want to take a closer look at the revenue side of this fund for appropriate coding. Below are some of the more frequently used source codes:

• 151x - Interest Income
• 171x - Admissions
• 173x - Student organization membership dues and fees
• 174x - Fees - this would include entry fees for other districts to participate in a meet the district is holding (detail use 1748)
• 179x - Other Activity Income; if using detail, 1791 - Fundraisers - this could also be used for fundraisers such as concessions, or sales of clothing or other items to those that are not students
• 192x (not 1921 or 1922) - Donations
• 1958 - Other Sales of Service/Misc. Revenues from other Iowa LEAs/AEAs - sharing activity programs
• 1991 - Sale of Materials or Supplies - sale of T-shirts to students at cost
• 5311 - Compensation for loss of fixed assets - payments received from students for loss of uniform

If you have further questions, please contact janice.evans@iowa.gov or (515) 282-4740.

Iowa Chart of Account Coding Updates

The Iowa Chart of Account Coding is regularly updated to reflect changes necessary to meet fiscal reporting needs. The most recent update is provided below.

Applications

School Information Update

Thank you for the timely completion of the School Information Update review for the 2022-2023 school year. If your district experiences a superintendent or principal change over the summer, please remember to log into the portal and update the administrator information as soon as a replacement has been named. Superintendents and principals are listed in the Iowa Educational Directory. This document is printed once a year. Being able to provide the most accurate information at the time of printing depends on each district keeping the School Information Update application updated as changes in administrators occur.

School Board Officers

If your district experiences a change in chief financial officer (CFO), school business official (SBO) or other local officials, please remember to update the School Board Officers application in the Education Portal to reflect this change.

General

School Meals 2022-23

Returning to "traditional" National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and School Breakfast Program (SBP)

In SY 2022-23, School Food Authorities (SFAs) will return to the traditional NSLP/SBP program operations. SFAs will distribute the free and reduced price meal application after July 1, 2022 for the 2022-23 program year. Households will complete the free and reduced price meal application and students eligible for meal benefits will receive meals at no charge (free) or at a reduced price. Students not eligible for meal benefits will pay the student meal price determined by the SFA. Additional information on FY23 program operations will be provided as it becomes available from the USDA.

Further questions regarding the Child Nutrition Programs can be directed to your assigned School Nutrition Program Consultant, or Patti Harding at patti.harding@iowa.gov or (515) 281-4754.

Upcoming Deadlines

Staff Contact Information

Division of School Finance and Support Services

Department of Education Resources

• Iowa Department of Education Departmental Directory
• Iowa Department of Education Alphabetical Directory
• Iowa Department of Education Customer Service Guide
• Previous School Business Alerts

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.