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 November 2024
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Inside this issue:
Department of Education Resources
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Upcoming Deadlines
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Due Date
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What's Due
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December 1
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Nonpublic Transportation Parental Claims Due
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December 2
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SBRC Application for MSA
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December 3
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Last Date for an Election to Reorganize Effective July 1: 1st Tuesday in December (even numbered years), 1st Tuesday After 1st Monday in November (odd numbered years)
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January 1
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Last Date to Certify to the Department for Reorganization or Dissolution Action Effective July 1
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January 8
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SBRC Hearing
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January 15
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At-Risk/Dropout MSA Application Due
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Staff Contact Information
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Are you intrinsically motivated to be a resource for others? Have you thought about the impact you could make at a state level being a resource for peers across the state? Consider joining our team!
View State of Iowa "Benefits at a Glance 2025". We are currently accepting applications for two positions on our team.
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Education Program Consultant - Special Education Finance - Closes 12/15/24
This position works to assist districts with allowable uses of special education funds, special education billing, and the special education supplement application.
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Education Program Consultant - School-Based Medicaid - Closes 12/1/24
This position serves as a technical resource to the field regarding eligible services, coding, and billing and engages in statewide policy conversations.
It is important for our team to be fully staffed with knowledgeable, dedicated folks so we can best support those in the field! Questions about the position responsibilities or ways these roles make a difference internally and across the state can be sent to Kassandra Cline at kassandra.cline@iowa.gov or 515-326-2242.
The FY25 Allocation Summary is available. The summary includes individual district data for selected federal, state, and local resources by source and/or project code in one file for easy reference. The second tab in the file provides additional information, which may be especially helpful for new School Business Officials (SBOs) or those looking to learn more about revenue streams.
During the October 15, 2024, annual work session of the School Budget Review Committee (SBRC), the Department presented a modification to the SBRC Application, specifically the section for "Open Enrollment Out Not On Prior Year Headcount" (OEO). The section calculates a request for modified supplemental amount (MSA) for students the district is paying open enrollment tuition in the current year, but who were not on the resident district’s prior year head count. The updated calculation is intended to reflect legislative changes (Iowa Acts 2024) to open enrollment billing amounts.
The calculation was previously modified for the fall 2023 application to update the request to reflect legislative changes (Iowa Acts 2023) to open enrollment billing, modifying the request from prior year amounts of the state cost per pupil (SCPP) and teacher leadership and compensation (TLC) supplementary weighting to the current year amounts (SCPP of $7,413 and TLC of $357.80) for a total of $7,770.80 per eligible FTE student.
For the fall 2024 applications, the Committee agreed to consider requests that include a sum of the budget year SCPP ($7,826) and the following supplemental amounts: TLC ($377.74), professional development (PD) supplement ($76), and early intervention (EI) supplement ($82.78), for a total of $8,362.52 per eligible FTE student.
For questions regarding the updated calculation, please contact Stephanie Edler at stephanie.edler@iowa.gov or 515-689-2258.
Questions regarding completion of the SBRC Application may be directed to Ted Bauer at ted.bauer@iowa.gov or 515-979-5468.
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Question: If a district’s Statewide Voluntary Preschool Program (SWVPP) incurs costs beyond the available SWVPP funds, what options are available to cover the excess expenditures?
Answer: There are multiple options a district may consider. First, review the SWVPP expenditures to ensure costs are appropriately attributed to other programs (e.g., Head Start, child care, special education) as well as other sources (e.g., Teacher Salary Supplement (TSS)). For example, an associate salary may be appropriately split between SWVPP, child care, and Head Start programs; or a teacher may have part of their salary paid from SWVPP, TSS, and special education. Next, consider costs that could have multiple appropriate sources. For example, teacher salaries could also be paid from repurposed gifted and talented (TAG), PD, or TLC funds (carryforward and current funding) for TSS purposes; computers could be purchased from PPEL, and other costs may be paid from the flexibility account.
Additional information about using the flexibility account or TLC, PD, or TAG for TSS purposes (i.e., teacher salaries) is available on the Department’s Levies & Funds and Categorical Funding web pages, respectively.
Question: Can SWVPP funds be used to reimburse the General Fund for indirect costs?
Answer: No. Indirect costs are not appropriate uses of SWVPP funds (281 IAC 98.13(3)).
Question: Who owns the supplies and equipment purchased for partnering preschools using SWVPP funds?
Answer: Supplies and equipment purchased with SWVPP funds are property of the district. It is recommended that the purchase of supplies and equipment be addressed in the contract/agreement developed between the district and the community partner. The contract/agreement should define the procedures by which supplies and equipment purchased with SWVPP funds will be disposed of or returned if either party withdraws from the contract. Disposition practices do not apply to consumable materials or supplies.
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The Department has updated the Nutrition Programs Indirect Cost Recovery Calculations Examples and Coding resource document on the Department’s Indirect Cost Rate web page to include examples for calculating maximum indirect cost recovery on all allowable expenses in the Nutrition Fund. The Nutrition Programs Indirect Cost Recovery Calculations Template has also been added as an excel template resource to assist in calculating the maximum indirect cost recovery amount for the Nutrition Fund.
Further questions can be directed to Bobby Wilson at bobby.wilson@iowa.gov or 515-210-9674 or Jina Brincks at jina.brincks@iowa.gov or 515-313-5942 or Song Luong at song.luong1@iowa.gov or 515-205-0259.
The December 2024 income surtax payment (to be paid by the end of December by the Department of Revenue) represents three quarters of the amount of income surtaxes collected for your district from January 1, 2024, through October 23, 2024. 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, 2025.
This payment is based upon the income surtax rates established for your 2023-2024 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 Department of Education will post the payment amount, rates for each fund, and dollar amount for each fund on the State Payment Information FY25 webpage.
Further questions can be directed to John Parker at john.parker@iowa.gov 515-281-8485.
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Coding reminders for TLC are provided below.
- Use Source/Project Code 3116 for coding revenue and expenditures.
- Expenditure functions are determined by the use of funds. For example, expenditures for Instructional Staff Support Services (Function 221X) are common. Keep in mind that use of the instruction function code (Function 1XXX) is only appropriate for expenditures related to instruction to students, not other teachers.
- FY25 district allocations are calculated based on the budget enrollment multiplied by the per pupil amount of $377.74 (Aid and Levy Line 4.46).
- Tuition received for open enrollment in (Source 1323) and expenditures incurred for open enrollment out (Object 567) should include the TLC project code (3116) for the portion of TLC received or paid.
- FY25 TLC amount for open enrollment of $377.74 is based on the current year amount.
For questions related to account coding, please contact Jina Brincks at jina.brincks@iowa.gov or 515-313-5942, Song Luong at song.luong1@iowa.gov or 515-205-0259, or Bobby Wilson at bobby.wilson@iowa.gov or 515-210-9674.
For questions related to the TLC program, please contact Tom Wood at tom.wood@iowa.gov or 515-281-5294.
The Iowa Department of Agriculture & Land Stewardship was awarded over $2.1 million through the Local Food for Schools Cooperative Agreement Program (LFS Source/Project 4911). These funds are available to schools to purchase local, domestic, unprocessed or minimally processed foods to help with the challenges of supply chain disruptions. This funding has been offered to schools in three rounds from 2022-2024; currently the third round is ongoing.
Schools that applied and agreed to the terms of the funding will work with a food hub sponsor for purchasing pre-authorization and payments. Purchases must be made directly from LFS registered vendors. Purchases from mainline distributors or grocery stores are not allowed for this sub-grant. Standard school local procurement regulations apply to all transactions and will be monitored through existing review processes.
The expenditures must be incurred prior to December 31, 2024, and all funds must be spent prior to that date. Districts will record LFS funds similar to how commodities are recorded. Expenditures and revenues must be equal at the end of the fiscal year with Source/Project 4911.
Further questions can be directed to Jina Brincks at jina.brincks@iowa.gov or 515-313-5942, Song Luong at song.luong1@iowa.gov or 515-205-0259, or Bobby Wilson at bobby.wilson@iowa.gov or 515-210-9674.
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The SBRC Application is open. The application calculates eligibility for modified supplemental amount (MSA) requests related to increased enrollment, open enrollment out not on prior year headcount, and English learners receiving instruction beyond five years.
Additional information, including board language for approving these requests, was published in the October 2024 School Business Alert.
For further questions, please contact Ted Bauer at ted.bauer@iowa.gov or 515-979-5468.
The Department uses information reported through the School Board Officers and District Leadership Contacts application to populate the Department’s email distribution lists. It is important for this information to be accurate at all times to ensure correct routing.
Existing: School board officers are required to be reported annually by December 15. The following position contacts are also collected through this application: school business officer, auditor, transportation director, and operations and maintenance director.
New: The following contacts will now also be collected through this application: special education program, work-based learning, career and technical education, medicaid billing, and curriculum.
Further questions can be directed to Holli Marolf at holli.marolf@iowa.gov or 515-281-5812.
The At-Risk/Dropout Application will be available via the Iowa Education Portal by early December. The application will not open until the Fall 2024 Certified Enrollment numbers have been finalized. The application includes an optional request for MSA so only those districts wishing to request SBRC-granted MSA (Project 1119) will need to complete a submission.
Eligibility: The purpose of the requested MSA is to provide additional resources for the 2025-2026 school year that are necessary to implement the at-risk, dropout prevention, and returning dropout services for identified students that are included in the required local school board’s adopted plan (Iowa Code § 257.38). If a board has not adopted a plan as statutorily required, the district is not eligible to make this request for MSA.
Questions about related programming or the application can be directed to Ted Bauer at ted.bauer@iowa.gov or 515-979-5468.
First semester parental claims for nonpublic transportation are due to the student's resident district no later than December 1. Parents providing transportation for their children to attend an accredited nonpublic school are eligible to file a claim with their resident district. Please communicate this information to 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 are due May 2, 2025. Information regarding this program can be found on the Department's Nonpublic Transportation Reimbursement web page.
Further questions can be directed to Tom Simpson at tom.simpson@iowa.gov or 515-336-3965.
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The School Budget Review Committee (SBRC) met in regular session to hold hearings on October 15, 2024. The Committee received final FY25 cash reserve levy amounts totaling $187,519,584, up 13% from FY24. The Committee received an update from a district on the final usage of MSA for initial staffing in FY24, took action to direct districts that were late filing financial reports to appear at the next SBRC hearing to present corrective action plans, and approved MSA for three districts relating to hazard abatement. The Summary of Action is available on the Department's SBRC web page.
Further questions regarding the SBRC can be directed to Stephanie Edler, SBRC liaison, at stephanie.edler@iowa.gov or 515-689-2258.
If additional resources are needed now, consider leveraging available resources through either the flexibility account or the increased uses of some restricted funds for TSS purposes.
Flexibility Account
A school district may authorize a transfer of all or any portion of the unexpended, unobligated amounts remaining at the end of the fiscal year for the following categorical funds to the Flexibility Account.
- Project 3117: Statewide Voluntary Preschool Program (SWVPP)
- Project 3373 or 3376: Professional Development (PD)
- Project 1113: Home School Assistance Program (HSAP)
- Project 3116: Teacher Leadership & Compensation Supplement (TLC)
- Other categorical sources if the program, purpose, or requirements for the expenditure of such moneys have been repealed or are no longer in effect
Rules and requirements for using the Flexibility Account, including information about the required public hearing and language for the board resolution, are available on the Department’s General Fund web page, under the Flexibility Account section titled “General Fund: Flexibility Account”.
Increased Use for TSS Purposes
Beginning FY24, a school district may use carryforward funds as well as current allocation of the following categorical funding for TSS purposes.
- Project 3373 or 3376: Professional Development (PD)
- Project 3116: Teacher Leadership & Compensation Supplement (TLC)
- Project 1118: Gifted and Talented (TAG)
Best practice: Include as an informational item to the district’s board of education or through formal board action (e.g., negotiation process) when using PD, TLC, or TAG funds for TSS purposes. Additional guidance on how to use these funds for TSS purposes is available on the Department’s Categorical Funding web page, under the Budgetary Allocation Information section titled “HF 68 Guidance: Categorical Funding and Operational Sharing”.
FY24 Statewide Carryforward Balances
The table below shows the preliminary FY24 statewide carryforward amounts for categorical funds that may be available to transfer to a Flexibility Account or available to use for TSS purposes.
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Project Number
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Preliminary FY24 Statewide Carryforward Balances
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Available for Flexibility Account
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Available for TSS Purposes
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1113 (HSAP)
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$13,179,051.62
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Yes
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No
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1118 (TAG)
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$24,811,287.88
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No
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Yes
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3116 (TLC)
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$45,941,408.04
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Yes
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Yes
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3117 (SWVPP)
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$21,712,271.74
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Yes
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No
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3373 and 3376 (PD)
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$27,235,137.03
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Yes
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Yes
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Further questions can be directed to Song Luong at song.luong1@iowa.gov or 515-205-0259.
Supply chain issues have significantly impacted the School Food Authorities' (SFAs) ability to procure nutritious foods. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Supply Chain Assistance (SCA) funds are a critical funding stream that provide an additional financial resource for SFAs to assist with these issues. SCA funds do not expire, but appropriate record keeping is required until funds are expended (Source/Project 4014, Supply Chain Assistance Funds [FAL/CFDA 10.555]).
SCA funds must be used exclusively for the purchase of domestic food products that are unprocessed or minimally processed. Examples of allowable food products include the examples below.
- Fluid milk, cheese and yogurt (flavored or unflavored)
- Fruits and vegetables, including 100% juices
- Grain products such as pasta and rice
- Meats (whole, pieces, or ground)
- Meat alternatives such as beans or legumes
- Foods in a wide variety of minimal processing states (e.g., whole, cut, pureed) and/or forms (e.g., fresh, frozen, dried)
SCA funds must not be used for labor, supplies, administrative expenses, past or retroactive expenditures, non-domestic food products, or foods that are significantly processed or prepared. Examples of significantly processed or prepared foods include the examples below.
- Baked goods such as breads, muffins, or crackers
- Pre-packaged sandwiches or meals
- Prepared and/or pre-cooked items such as chicken nuggets
- Foods that come ready-to-eat or require no preparation beyond heating
It is also important to note that SCA funds are only available for use in the following USDA Child Nutrition Programs: National School Lunch Program (NSLP), School Breakfast Program (SBP), Seamless Summer Option (SSO), and/or Afterschool Snack Program. SCA funds may NOT be used for Special Milk Program (SMP), Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP), Summer Food Service Program (SFSP), or Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP).
If you have additional questions on SCA funding, contact Meg Collins at meg.collins@iowa.gov or 515-336-3903.
The Bureau of School Business Operations hosted the Finance Roundtable at the Grimes Building on Wednesday, October 23, 2024. Led by Bureau Chief Kassandra Cline, 33 members attended and discussed agenda topics including introductions of new and returning members, EL Excess Costs application deadline, transportation topics including ride time and transportation entitlement, school safety and security topics, federal fiscal risk assessment, and coding questions. This diverse group is an invited focus group comprised of school business officials, superintendents and AEA representatives from around the state including members of the Department of Education, Department of Management, Legislative Services Agency, and Office of the Auditor of State, as well as individuals from various organizations that support school districts across the state including IASBO, IASB, SAI, and ISFIS. The group meets three times during the school year to discuss school finance-related issues and is scheduled to meet again in January.
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 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 an 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.
For questions, please contact Shea Cook at shea.cook@iowa.gov or 515-326-1682.
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.
Q: 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?
A: 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.
Q: How is the resident district determined?
A: According to Iowa Code section 282.1(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.
Q: If the resident district did not get to count the student in certified enrollment, does the resident district still have to pay?
A: 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 section 282.27(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 where the PMIC facility is located will educate the student and bill the PMIC’s district cost per pupil to the resident district. 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.
Questions related to billing can be directed to contact Ted Bauer at ted.bauer@iowa.gov or 515-979-5468.
Information regarding Iowa’s Students First Education Savings Account (ESA) program can be found on the Department's Students First Education Savings Accounts web page.
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For School-Based Medicaid policy questions, please contact Tashina Hornaday, Medical Policy Program Manager at Iowa HHS, at tashina.hornaday@hhs.iowa.gov or 515-201-3553.
For Medicaid procedure questions, please contact Melissa Walker, Administrative Consultant of School Health at the Department of Education, at melissa.walker@iowa.gov or 515-864-6701.
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For School-Based Medicaid policy questions, please contact Tashina Hornaday, Medical Policy Program Manager at Iowa HHS, at tashina.hornaday@hhs.iowa.gov or 515-201-3553.
For Medicaid procedure questions, please contact Melissa Walker, Administrative Consultant of School Health at the Department of Education, at melissa.walker@iowa.gov or 515-864-6701.
Iowa Medicaid school-based providers are required to check two sources monthly to capture employee exclusions and reinstatements: the federal list provided on the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) website and the state’s list, which is found on the Iowa Medicaid Program Integrity website (42 C.F.R. § 1001.1901(b)).
A search of these sources is to occur monthly to confirm individuals whose services are billed to Medicaid are not excluded. Please monitor to see if any exclusions and reinstatements have occurred since the last search. It is required that these checks are documented. A provider must report to the Iowa Medicaid Enterprise (IME) any exclusion information discovered through such searches. It is important that a district does not bill for services provided by an excluded or suspended individual.
ACTION ITEM:
At the end of each quarter, please send the completed three months spreadsheets to Melissa Walker at the Department.
The 2024-25 LEA, AEA, and Infant Toddler program Medicaid Rates are now posted on the Department’s School-Based Medicaid web page.
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Jack Frost is back in Iowa! The Department school bus inspection team takes pride in helping Iowa students, school bus drivers, and other pedestrians and motorists stay safe all year round. Winter, however, presents special challenges. The team asks all drivers, and particularly student transportation providers, to focus on windshields and windows. The ability for drivers to see out of the vehicle is critically important. New windshield wipers are always a good idea before winter, as are cabin air filters. Every effort should be made to ensure vehicles have adequate defrosting/de-icing capability. Further, these capabilities should be utilized BEFORE the vehicle is put into motion. Winter is full of challenges to transportation safety. Ensuring that drivers have adequate visibility makes everyone more safe on the road.
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Are school bus drivers checking the engine oil level during every pre-trip inspection? Should the dipstick be pulled two, three, or even four times per day? Many districts are trending away from requiring drivers to open the hood every time a vehicle leaves for a route or activity trip.
In 2022, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) created a waiver permitting states to waive the engine compartment component of the pre-trip inspection skills testing requirement in 49 CFR 383.113. This waiver only applies to CDL applicants seeking the school bus (S) and passenger (P) endorsements and restricts the CDL driver to intrastate (K restriction) driving only. This waiver also only applies to CDL applicants seeking an initial CDL. More information regarding this waiver, including frequently asked questions, can be found on the FMCSA website.
Some have interpreted this to mean that school bus drivers are no longer required to perform “under the hood” inspections during a daily pre-trip inspection. Although this interpretation is clearly outside of the scope of the FMCSA waiver, it should be remembered that the elements of a pre-trip inspection protocol are a local decision. Iowa Administrative Code r. 281-43 states that a pre-trip inspection must be performed and documented, but it does not list specific items that must be inspected. The Department offers sample pre-trip inspection forms but districts and contractors may create their own pre-trip inspection criteria.
Should drivers be checking engine oil levels before every route or trip? The important things to remember are that the FMCSA waiver for testing is not directly related to daily pre-trip inspection requirements and that it is up to the district or contractor to decide on the elements of a good pre-trip inspection.
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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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