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December 2022
School Board Officers Report - Due December 15
Updated contact information for school board officers and other key stakeholders in your district or AEA was due by December 15. Please be sure this information was updated this month and as staff change throughout the year. The School Board Officers application is available on the EdPortal. This application is used by the Department for email distribution lists and other important communications so it is vital to keep the information current at all times to help ensure correct routing.
If you have any questions, please contact holli.marolf@iowa.gov or 515-281-5812.
At-Risk/Dropout MSA Application – Due January 17
The Department of Education's (Department) revised SBRC application for At-Risk/Dropout modified supplement amount (MSA) is now available via the EdPortal. Only those districts wishing to request SBRC-granted MSA (Project 1119) will need to complete a submission.
The restricted use of related MSA is to provide additional resources for the 2023-2024 school year that are necessary to implement the at-risk, alternative school, dropout prevention, and returning dropout services for identified students that are included in the local school board’s adopted plan pursuant to Iowa Code section 257.38. MSA awarded for this purpose will not increase regular program spending authority.
As in the past year, the Department has maintained 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. This information is not updated.
Technical note if uploading board minutes prior to certifying the MSA Application: On the At-Risk/Dropout MSA Application page, click the Save button when entering or modifying the numbers in line 5 (Requested modified supplemental amount) and/or line 7 (number of identified students) BEFORE clicking the Upload Board Minutes button. If you enter or change these entries without saving and then upload board minutes, the amounts may not be retained.
If you have questions regarding the at-risk/dropout program or application, please contact Scott Dryer at scott.dryer@iowa.gov or 515-402-8700.
Consolidated Accountability and Support Application (CASA)
The Department has received questions regarding whether auditors of record in the state can have access to CASA for the districts they support. The CASA team has confirmed that this is allowable and shared the following process:
- Ensure the auditor has an A&A account set-up for accessing the EdPortal.
- Request access to CASA through the EdPortal.
- Bob Barleen (robert.barleen@iowa.gov) at the Department reviews these requests, confirms with the local district that the access request is permitted, and then grants/denies access as directed by the district.
If you have any questions regarding access to the CASA application, please contact Jillian Dotson at jillian.dotson@iowa.gov or 515-979-7237.
Open Enrollment Billing Scenarios
The 2022-2023 open enrollment billing chart and scenarios guidance document has been updated. It can be found on the Department’s Open Enrollment web page under the sub-heading “General Open Enrollment Guidance and Application," then under the link for “Open Enrollment Billing Chart".
If you have questions relating to open enrollment, please contact Sara Nickel at sara.nickel@iowa.gov or 515-971-7558, unless the question is billing specific then please contact Scott Dryer at scott.dryer@iowa.gov or 515-402-8700.
Message from the Department of Management
The December 2022 income surtax payment (to be paid by the end of December) represents three-quarters of the amount of income surtaxes collected for your district from January 1, 2022, through October 21, 2022. The rest of the payment, plus or minus any adjustments made by the Iowa Department of Revenue due to their audits of income tax returns, will be paid around February 1, 2023.
This payment is based upon the income surtax rates established for your 2021-2022 budget. If you didn’t have a surtax for the Physical Plant and Equipment Levy (PPEL) Fund, the entire payment should be credited to your General Fund. On the other hand, if you had both General Fund and PPEL surtax, then split the income surtax in accordance with the rates. The PPEL Income Surtax rate can be found on line 19.4 of the FY 2022 Aid and Levy Worksheet. The General Fund Income Surtax rates can be found on lines 10.15 and 11.4 of the FY 2022 Aid and Levy Worksheet.
The Department of Education has posted the payment amount, rates for each fund, and dollar amount for each fund on the State Payment Information FY23 webpage.
If you have any questions, please contact John Parker, Department of Management, at john.parker@iowa.gov or 515-281-8485.
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.
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November 2022
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Account 291
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Subscription Asset (GASB 96) (Nov22)
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Account 591
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Subscription Liability (GASB 96) (Nov22)
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Source/Project 5700
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Subscription Agreement Proceeds (GASB 96) (Nov22)
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Source 1870
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Community or adult education (Generally Funds 65, 66, or 67)
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State Payment Tracking
The Department of Education ( payments information on the EdPortal includes the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) number and the Grant Number for federal funds. A source code should also be assigned to all payments to districts or area education agencies (AEAs). If you notice a payment without the source code, please contact Song Luong at song.luong1@iowa.gov or 515-205-0259 so this can be included on the listing. If you have other questions about the payments, please contact Angie James at angela.james2@iowa.gov or 515-281-3646.
Payments may come from other state agencies as well. If the payment in question is not on the Department’s page, it likely came from a different government agency. For all state payments, you may visit the Department of Administrative Services (DAS) Vendor Payment Portal. You will also find this link at the bottom of the State Payment Information FY23 page of the Department’s website.
SAVE distribution questions can be directed to Barbara Lewison at barbara.lewison@iowa.gov or 515-314-5936, or Adam Floyd at adam.floyd@iowa.gov or 515-601-4229, at the Department of Revenue.
Use Place of Service Code Three for School-Based Claims
Iowa Medicaid has advised that claims for services delivered at school need to show school as the place of service. The correct place of service code is three. It sounds like many schools are using 99 which is incorrect and has been flagged by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in an audit of Iowa Medicaid’s data. Past claims do not need to be corrected and resubmitted at this time; however, it is imperative that moving forward claims reflect the most appropriate place of service.
Please Use Securemail to Submit Quarterly Exclusions and Suspensions Checks Reports Starting with January Quarterly Report
The Department Bureau Chief of Information Technology Services has requested that all of the Exclusions and Suspensions checks reports be submitted by Securemail. If your district is not using Securemail then please send the name of the individual who will be submitting. The Department will send that individual an email with Securemail in the subject line. Recipients will receive a notification from ZixCorp that they have a secure message. The individual will click a link and open a ZixCorp account and when it is time to submit, the individual should login to their Securemail account and send the report.
Annual Reminder: Double-Check Billing for Dates of Service in Late December 2022 and January 2023
It is important to double-check that dates of service being billed are definitely dates when school was in session. For example, there should be no billing during holiday breaks or when school was canceled due to weather or other reasons. If billing for services provided by another district who is serving your student, make sure to check the school calendar of the other district.
If you have further questions, please contact Jim Donoghue at jim.donoghue@iowa.gov or 515-281-8505.
New Iowa Entry-Level Driver Training (ELDT) Program
Governor Kim Reynolds recently announced the newly created Iowa ELDT Program to provide more opportunities for commercial driver's license (CDL) drivers to obtain a license in Iowa. The new Iowa ELDT Program will provide $6 million to support employers, nonprofits, or related organizations who sponsor or partner on key training programs designed to prepare potential drivers for CDL skills or knowledge tests. The grant program hopes to remove costly barriers and, ultimately, create more drivers with CDL licenses across the state. This does include school bus drivers.
Grant funding for the Iowa ELDT Program will reimburse eligible organizations in Iowa that offer these critical training programs either in-house or through partnerships with certified training providers. If the program is provided in-house, reimbursement can be used on instructor wages, curriculum materials, and maintenance needs. If the program is offered via outside training providers, reimbursement must go towards ELDT program tuition.
Applications will be accepted at IowaGrants.gov beginning on Tuesday, December 13, 2022, and are due on Friday, February 3, 2023, at 11:59 AM. You can find a complete overview of the grant program at ELDT Grant Funding Overview.
Questions about the program should be directed to Michael Cockrum, Iowa Workforce Development, at either michael.cockrum@iwd.iowa.gov or 641-684-5401 ext. 40027.
Federal Grants For School Energy Upgrades Launched
Applications are now open for the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Renew America’s Schools grant program. This initial funding round, up to $80 million of the $500 million program, is available to public schools nationwide to perform energy improvements in the highest-need K-12 districts.
- The DOE is accepting applications for the Renew America’s Schools Grant. Concept Papers are the first step of applying and must be submitted by 5:00p.m. ET January 26, 2023 to be eligible for funding. Funds will help school districts to make upgrades that will lower facilities’ energy costs and foster healthier learning environments for students. Learn how to submit papers HERE.
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Add your email HERE to receive future updates about Grants for Energy Improvements at Public School Facilities.
Please note: DOE is compiling a list of questions that will be answered in a publicly available spreadsheet. To submit a question, please email schoolsFOA@doe.gov. This spreadsheet will be posted on the announcement page and updated on a weekly basis.
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Due Date
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What's Due
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Jan. 1
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Last date to certify to the Department for reorganization or dissolution action effective July 1
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Jan. 17
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Application for At-Risk/Dropout Prevention MSA
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Bureau of School Business Operations
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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