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September 2023
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Inside this issue:
Department of Education Resources
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Upcoming Deadlines
Due Date
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What's Due
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September 15
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Certified Annual Report (CAR), Special Education Supplement (SES), and Annual Transportation Report (ATR) Due
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September 15
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Request/Exhibit Deadline for October SBRC Hearing
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October 2
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Facilities, Elections, and Sales Tax Data Collection Due
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October 2
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Board Resolutions for Whole Grade Share Supplemental Weighting
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October 2
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SBRC Application for Modified Supplemental Amount (MSA) for Limited English Proficient Excess Costs Deadline
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October 16
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Last Date to Notify the SBRC if District Incurred Negative Unspent Balance
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October 17
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SBRC Hearing
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Staff Contact Information
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The Iowa Chart of Account Coding is regularly updated to reflect changes necessary to meet fiscal reporting needs. The most recent updates are provided below. Updates are posted each month to this document which can be found on the Department’s Uniform Financial Accounting webpage.
August 2023
Account Code
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Description
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Source/Project 4037
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Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund (CSLFR) – School Safety Radio Program (FAL/CFDA 21.027) (Reinstated for CSLFR ARP Aug23)
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Object 358
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Invalid Effective FY24 with implementation of GASB 96 (use object 651, 652, or 750 instead) - Previously Subscriptions/license renewal for computer software services (Nov18) (invalid Aug23)
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Object 440
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Rentals (Header only Effective with FY17 Reporting) (Feb Jul 16) (use for leases that do not meet GASB 87 Lease definition) (description change Aug23)
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Object 651
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Textbook substitutes (Used with function 1000) (General fund only) (use for subscription-based IT arrangements that do not meet GASB 96 SBITA definition) (description change Aug23)
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Object 652
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Technology-related software (Used with functions where used) (use for subscription-based IT arrangements that do not meet GASB 96 SBITA definition) (description change Aug23)
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Object 750
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Intangible Assets (Aug11) (Nov18) (use if meets definition for GASB 87 Lease or GASB 96 SBITA, if not, use objects 44X for leases and 651 or 652 for subscription-based IT arrangements) (description change Aug23)
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If you have further questions, please contact Kathy Bowers at kathy.bowers@iowa.gov or 515-210-9674, Jina Brincks at jina.brincks@iowa.gov or 515-313-5942, or Song Luong at song.luong1@iowa.gov or 515-205-0259.
The accounting period in which funds are available for use (i.e., received in the district's bank account) will impact how the funds are recorded. Funds that are received after the 60-day accrual period are recorded as a receivable, Account 141 and a deferred inflow, Account 623 on the balance sheet.
Below is an example of how to record a receivable and deferred inflow for any revenue received after the 60-day accrual period.
FY23: Record the receivable and deferred inflow.
DR Account 141, Project XXXX
CR Account 623, Project XXXX
FY24: Upon funds being received, reverse the receivable and deferred inflow entry.
DR Account 623, Project XXXX
CR Account 141, Project XXXX
FY24: Record the revenue to the appropriate project/source.
DR Cash
CR Project/Source XXXX
If you have further questions, please contact Kathy Bowers at kathy.bowers@iowa.gov or 515-210-9674, Jina Brincks at jina.brincks@iowa.gov or 515-313-5942, or Song Luong at song.luong1@iowa.gov or 515-205-0259.
Iowa Code 256C.5(4) provides funding to the Department from preschool foundation aid to pay for state administration and oversight of the preschool program. This funding is critical for the ongoing implementation and monitoring of the program.
This is an on-behalf payment. The district will record the amount as preschool revenue with an equal amount recorded as a preschool expenditure. The amount is $33.17 per preschool budget enrollment. The deduction for the on-behalf payment will be spread throughout the 10 state aid payments, September through June. This is a reduction to cash flow (state aid) sent directly to the district but does not result in general fund spending authority in excess of state aid received, because it is recorded by the district as both an on-behalf revenue and expenditure. The on-behalf revenue will be recorded in source and project 3117, program 460, and the expenditure in an equal amount will be recorded in function 233X, program 460, project 3117, object 31X.
The FY23 Preschool Funding document for preschool amounts is posted to the State Payment Information for FY24 page of the Department’s website. The amount remains at the $33.17 per preschool budget enrollment.
If you have further questions, please contact Song Luong at song.luong1@iowa.gov or 515-205-0259.
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School districts will receive a payment from the County Treasurer in September and March for the Two-Tiered Assessment Limitation. The payment is for an exemption of taxable valuation in Commercial, Industrial and Railroad value for Assessment Year 2022 or Budget Year 2024.
The Business Property Tax Credit (BPTC) was changed from a credit to an exemption in HF 2552 during the 2022 Legislative Session. Property for Commercial, Industrial and Railroad has a 90% rollback, or 90% of their assessed valuation is used to calculate property taxes. This change to the BPTC (now called the Two-Tiered Assessment Limitation) changes the first $150,000 of property valuation to be assessed at a lower rollback equal to the residential rollback of 54.65%. The difference between the residential rollback and 90% of the first $150,000 is what the payment replaces.
The FY 2024 Aid and Levy has been adjusted to account for and prevent a double payment for the Uniform Levy portion of your tax rate. Due to the timing and unknown number of properties that qualify, the Additional Levy portion will not be adjusted until FY 2025. You will receive additional revenue for the following levies: Ed Improvement, Instructional Support, Management, Voted and Regular Physical Plant and Equipment, Public Education/Recreation (Playground) and Debt Service.
The payments from the County Treasurer will be distributed by levy rate. This will allow the district to code the payment to the correct fund.
Revenue will be coded to Source 3804, State Replacement for Two-Tiered Assessment Limitation.
Pursuant to Iowa Code chapter 256E, charter schools organized under this chapter receive payments from the state in the year the students are served. The amount paid is based on the prior year state cost per pupil (SCPP) and prior year teacher leadership and compensation (TLC). If the student was counted on the certified enrollment of the resident district in the school year, the actual amount paid to the charter school is deducted from the amount generated by the resident district for that student in the following year.
The FY24 deductions for students attending charter schools in FY23 are available on the Department’s FY24 State Payments web page. Examples of the calculations are provided below.
Example 1: Student Attended All Year, Included on Certified Enrollment Count
- In FY23, Student A attended ABC Charter School and attended all year.
- In FY23, ABC Charter School received $7,576.07 for the student ($7,227 FY22 SCPP + $349.07 FY22 TLC).
- In the Fall of 2022, the resident district of Student A counted the student in its certified enrollment count.
- Since the resident district counted the student, the resident district is responsible for the amount paid to the charter school.
- In FY24 (when the funds from the Fall 2022 count are generated), $7,576.07 will be deducted from state aid payments made to the resident district.
Example 2: Student Attended Partial Year, Included on Certified Enrollment Count
- In FY23, Student B attended ABC Charter School, enrolling late, and attended the final 30 days of the school year.
- In FY23, ABC Charter School received $1,262.68 for the student (30 days x $40.15 (SCPP daily rate ($7,227/180)) + 30 days x $1.94 (TLC daily rate ($349.07/180))).
- Since the resident district counted the student on its Fall 2022 certified enrollment, the resident district is responsible for the amount paid to the charter school.
- In FY24 (when the funds from the Fall 2022 count are generated), $1,262.68 will be deducted from state aid payments made to the resident district.
Example 3: Student Attended Partial Year, Not Included on Certified Enrollment Count
- In FY23, Student C attended ABC Charter School, enrolling late, and attended the final 30 days of the school year.
- In FY23, ABC Charter School received $1,262.68 for the student (30 days x $40.15 + 30 days x $1.94).
- Since the resident district did not count the student, no amounts will be deducted in FY24.
If you have questions regarding student reporting in Iowa, please contact Rachel Kruse at rachel.kruse@iowa.gov or 515-281-4153. If you have questions regarding charter school payments, please contact Kassandra Cline at kassandra.cline@iowa.gov or 515-326-2242.
Districts should calculate their unspent authorized budget (UAB) at the end of each fiscal year to determine if the district ended the year with a negative unspent balance. The determination of whether or not the district ended the year with a positive or negative unspent balance is not contingent upon any anticipated award of modified supplemental amount (MSA) from the School Budget Review Committee (SBRC) (e.g., MSA related to special education deficit, excess Limited English Proficiency (LEP) instructional program costs).
Districts that ended the year with a negative unspent balance are required to notify the SBRC in writing by October 16, 2023 (289 IAC 6.5(3)). The notification requirement is satisfied through the completion of an SBRC Hearing Request form or providing an email to Kassandra Cline (see below). Please include the amount by which the district was negative within the district’s notification. Districts incurring a negative unspent balance larger than the amount of their special education deficit will be required to submit a corrective action plan to the SBRC for the December 12, 2023 hearing. Upon receipt of the notification to appear, the district will receive further exhibit guidance.
Questions regarding the SBRC may be directed to Kassandra Cline, SBRC Liaison, at kassandra.cline@iowa.gov or 515-326-2242.
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The LEP Allowable Costs application, due October 2, 2023, is available on the Iowa Education Portal as an optional application. If eligible (see Line 21 of the application), districts may request MSA from the SBRC for the costs in excess of weightings and other resources for providing its LEP program.
The LEP Allowable Costs application is populated using district data from the Certified Annual Report (FY22 and FY23 CAR), Student Reporting in Iowa (fall 2022 and spring 2023), Certified Enrollment (fall 2022), and Fall BEDS Staff (fall 2022). The application includes only costs for students who were served in an English Language Learner (ELL) program during the 2022-2023 school year.
Requirements for submission:
- Enter data, if applicable, in the following lines:
- Line 19: Enter revenue not captured (Enter any revenue not already reflected in the application. An example is revenue received from other districts.)
- Line 20: Enter expenditures captured in the calculation that are not eligible to include.
- Line 22: Enter the amount of MSA the district is requesting.
- Board minutes approving the request, including the amount.
- Recommend approval at the September or October board meeting.
- Upload board minutes to the application.
- If board minutes are not available prior to the October 2 due date, certify the request, complete the “File Upload Promise Date,” which is generally two business days after the board meeting at which related action will occur, and then upload board minutes by the date provided.
- Board action template: LEP Allowable Costs- The district’s administration is authorized to submit a request to the SBRC for a modified supplemental amount of $XXX due to excess costs of providing the LEP program in the prior year. Ayes: ______, Nays: ________The motion _______ by a vote of _____.
Additional note: The application will update in “real time” based on data input to the CAR once Stage 3 is completed. If you are moving between the applications, it may be necessary to refresh the LEP Allowable Costs application to ensure the most recent data is reflecting.
If you have further questions regarding the LEP Allowable Costs application, please contact Scott Dryer at 515-402-8700 or scott.dryer@iowa.gov.
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All current information regarding the Students First Education Savings Account (ESA) program can be found here.
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If you have questions relating to Medicaid or other topics in this section, please contact Jim Donoghue at jim.donoghue@iowa.gov or 515-281-8505. |
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Iowa Medicaid’s Payment Error Rate Measurement (PERM) project for federal FY24 is nearly finished. Each state participates in this review every three years. This year 66 districts and 2 AEAs were selected and received requests for documentation supporting 151 paid Medicaid claims. Thank you to all who have participated. All documentation has been submitted by the due date.
Please remind staff that Iowa Medicaid will bill any employer/commercial insurance that the Medicaid student holds. The IEP team or Medicaid lead for the district may not realize this and tell families that signing consent for billing Medicaid has nothing to do with their private insurance, which is not accurate. Iowa Medicaid practices “pay and chase,” meaning that after paying a claim from a district or AEA, if Iowa Medicaid identifies another insurer/ funder, they will send the paid claim information to that other funder and ask for reimbursement.
This is a required practice for Medicaid participants. Federal Code 42 U.S. Code § 1396a of the Social Security Act requires states to take all reasonable measures to ascertain the legal liability of “third parties” for health care items and services provided to Medicaid beneficiaries. As such, Iowa Medicaid Enterprise has no option but to bill third party insurers when policies exist. This is acknowledged on page 24 of the Medicaid application which reads, “You must agree to assign medical payments from a third party to the Medicaid agency for yourself and others who are eligible for Medicaid for whom you can legally assign benefits, cooperate in getting medical payments from third parties, give the Medicaid agency rights to pursue and get medical support from a spouse, and give the Medicaid agency rights to pursue and get money from other health insurance, legal settlements, or other third parties.”
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The new school year brings a number of reminders in regard to school transportation.
- Within the Driver Authorization System (DAS) application, add one or more local contacts.
- Driver authorizations must be current to allow your school bus drivers to legally drive the school bus.
- Update your DAS as needed, including deleting the drivers who no longer drive for your school.
- Print a current authorization for each of your school bus drivers to carry with them when driving the bus.
Contact Information
All entities utilizing the VIS are requested to add local contacts within the application for each of the following areas:
- Vehicle Information System (main-required)
- Transportation Director
- Lead Mechanic
- Billing/Accounts Receivable
After logging in to the VIS, the entry area for contacts is accessed through the navigation bar located at the top of the page. In the near future, the Department will be enabling enhancements, such as automated bus inspection notification emails, that will rely on the contact information provided in the system.
Required Updates
The VIS also requires regular monitoring to ensure all of your school buses are on the list and those you no longer use have been removed. School buses in this context are defined as all vehicles used to provide pupil transportation. Complete information on maintaining your VIS can be obtained by contacting Max Christensen at max.christensen@iowa.gov or 515-336-3965, or Holli Marolf at holli.marolf@iowa.gov or 515-281-5812.
Guidance, forms, links, training schedules, publications, code references, and other information pertaining to school transportation can be found on the School Transportation page of the Department’s website.
Since 2019, schools have been able to purchase new vans of up to 10-passenger capacity, including the driver. This has been very helpful to schools, but there has been some confusion about how to determine the legal capacity of the vehicle. Most of this concern is due to many of the new vans being designed for more than 10 passengers, but being sold as 10-passenger vehicles. Chapter 146 of HF499 states that new vans “designed to carry” more than 10 passengers are not allowed for use by schools. Many of the new vans have seat tracking in the rear portion of the vehicle for additional seats, so these vans are seemingly designed to carry more than the legally allowed 10 passengers, but not if operating as a school bus. Over the past few weeks, the Department of Education has been working with the Iowa Department of Transportation, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to work through these issues to identify additional flexibility for school districts.
The seating capacity of the vehicle is set at the time of manufacture, by the manufacturer. The seating capacity rating may not be changed or modified except by the original equipment manufacturer (OEM), dealer, or remanufacturer. Seating capacities which vary from the OEM are required by NHTSA to be identified by an alterer’s certification and information label, as pictured below, affixed to the frame of the driver’s door.
Per Iowa Administrative Code r. 281-44.5(1), alteration of a Type III vehicle, following manufacture by the OEM, is prohibited. While this includes the addition or removal of seats, the Department will grant an exception for seats which are added or removed as long as the seating capacity does not exceed the capacity as certified by the OEM or on the installed alterer’s certificate and information label as referenced above.
Additionally, please remember that schools may purchase vans of up to 12-passenger capacity, but any van over 10 passengers must be purchased as a “used” vehicle only. Per Iowa Code section 322.2(28), “used motor vehicle” or “second-hand motor vehicle” means any motor vehicle of a type subject to registration under the laws of this state which has been sold “at retail” as defined in this chapter and previously registered in this or any other state.
Questions relating to the use of these vehicles can be directed to your local school bus inspector: Tom Simpson (West Region) at tom.simpson@iowa.gov or 515-326-1022, Verlan Vos (Central Region) at verlan.vos@iowa.gov or 515-669-4994, or Joe Funk (East Region) at joe.funk@iowa.gov or 515-669-4987.
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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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