School Finance Newsletter

This monthly newsletter from the Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) combines new information, resources, and support for school finance professionals in a single location.

Office of School Finance

Membership and Enrollment

As the membership census date approaches, enrollment questions have increased. Please read the following memos regarding residency requirements, out of state enrollment, and enrollment denial. Contact Cathy Danyluk with any questions.

Annual Financial Report

House Enrolled Act (HEA) 1638 repealed the requirement for school corporations to publish an annual financial report between August 1 and August 15. Therefore, the Office of School Finance will not release a reporting template. School corporations must still file the required Gateway financial information required by the State Board of Accounts. Contact afr@doe.in.gov with any questions.

Summer School Final Cost Report

The Summer School Final Cost Report submission window is open through Friday, September 15. Information regarding the summer school program can be found in Moodle. Contact Teresa Hemmerle or Alex Waite with any questions.

Choice Scholarship Program

Choice Regional Meetings 

Choice regional meetings will be held at the locations, dates, and times listed below. The meetings will include information about October reporting, the Choice payment process, period 2 Choice student applications, 2023-2024 Choice school monitoring reports, Corrective Action, the Choice school visit and audit process, future meetings and resources and contacts. Ombudsman Garrett Wilson will be talking about Title services for the start of the year, and best practices to engage in when working with your local school districts. The link to register for the regional meetings is posted in the Non-Public School Community in Moodle.

Choice School Application 

If your school intends to participate in the Choice Scholarship Program for the 2023-2024 school year and has not yet submitted a school application, contact ChoiceSchool@doe.in.gov. The deadline to submit the school application is Friday, September 1. However, this is also the deadline for submitting student applications. The school application review process can take up to 15 days, applications submitted less than 15 days prior to the application deadline may not be approved in time for the period 1 student Choice Scholarship application submission window.

School Information 

If your school has made any changes to bank information, don’t forget to update the information with IDOE. Both the direct deposit and W-9 forms need to be completed and sent to AccountsPayable@doe.in.gov. Because of security measures, this process can take several weeks, so don’t delay in sending it in. The forms are posted in the Non-Public School Community in Moodle, or email ChoiceSchool@doe.in.gov and the forms can be emailed to you.

New Schools

New schools may find value in reviewing the information in the New School Onboarding Community in Moodle. This is a new community that was created to bring together the information that new schools need to get started.

Choice Student Applications

The deadline to submit period 1 Choice Scholarship student applications for the 2023-2024 school year is Friday, September 1. Please be sure to confirm with the parent/guardian of the applying student that the data being entered on the application is correct. It is not recommended to complete the application with information pulled directly from the student information system (SIS) unless the information is also reviewed and confirmed by the parent/guardian prior to submitting the application.

STN/Reference ID Error

If you receive a message stating that the Reference ID does not match the STN provided, email the STN and Reference ID to ChoiceSchool@doe.in.gov. The information will be reviewed and if the reference ID and STN represent the same student, a match will be made so the application can be submitted using the information. IDOE must be notified of any STN/Reference ID errors before the student application closes on Friday, September 1. Emails received after the Friday, September 1, deadline will not be reviewed.

School Choice Scholarship Report

The School Choice Scholarship report shows a list of every student who has an application submitted at your school and the data that was reported on their applications. It is highly recommended that schools download and review this report regularly. Errors and omissions can be caught and corrected using this report, download and review the report in the days before the student application deadline. Compare the list against your student roster to be sure that every student that should have an application does, in fact, have an application submitted. Students who are not listed on the School Choice Scholarship Report do not have a Choice Scholarship award. Review the tuition column to make sure tuition has been reported correctly. Check all fields for spelling errors; and if more than one student lives in the same household, it is expected that their household information should be the same. Changes can be made to student applications through the deadline to submit student applications, Friday, September 1.

SE/SV Record Not Found

If a student has an Indiana IEP and receives the message that the SE/SV record is not found when this is indicated on the student application, please proceed in submitting the application. When the application is saved, it will go to a pending status. All pending applications will be reviewed to verify that the student is eligible for special education services. Those students who can be verified will have their applications approved. For students whose special education eligibility cannot be verified, the application cannot be approved with “yes” selected for IEP. A denial letter will be sent to the school and the application will be denied. The parent/guardian can appeal the decision by following the directions in the denial letter; or the application can be submitted with “no” for IEP.

CS SE Report

This report lists every student who qualifies for special education and has an approved Choice Scholarship award. The last column of the report shows the special education service provider that was selected for each student. Review this report to be sure every student who is eligible to receive special education services has been reported correctly and indicates either the Choice school or the public school corporation as the special education service provider in accordance with the parent’s selection.

Period 2 Choice Scholarships

The window to begin submitting period 2 student Choice Scholarship applications opens on Wednesday, November 1, and closes January 15, 2024.

Resolution of Conflicts for Membership 2023

Beginning with the 2023-2024 school year, IDOE will no longer be brokering the resolution of conflicts after the certification date. If, after the certification date, schools are unable to resolve an outstanding conflict, schools may petition the State Board of Education for an adjustment in their average daily membership (ADM) count by providing the Board with evidence supporting an adjustment in their membership claim. The process for petitioning the Board will be made available this fall and communicated in Dr. Jenner’s Weekly Update. IDOE wants to make sure each school receives full funding for the students they are serving and completes the Membership count within two to three weeks of the census date (count day). This process will help achieve both of these goals. See this memo for a more complete explanation of this change. Contact the Data Exchange Team with any questions.

Upcoming Dates

Additional Resources

• IDOE's Finance webpage
• IDOE's Data Exchange webpage
• Moodle Finance
• LINK Portal
• IDOE's Indiana Choice Scholarship Program webpage
• Moodle Non-Public School Community 

Department News

• 08/16/2023 Indiana Department of Education Releases IREAD-3 Results
• 08/10/2023 Indiana Department of Education Announces Expansion of Statewide Tutoring Grant Program