PEIMS and ADA - What’s the Big Deal?

1. PEIMS and ADA - What’s the Big Deal?

2. Celina Cereceres Miller Senior Manager Null-Lairson, PC 3411 Richmond Houston, TX 77046 Main Line: 713-621-1515/409-948-4406 Direct Line: 409-944-4805 Mobile: 713-377-3667

3. PEIMS Reports • Fall Collection • Snapshot data that reflects the status of the district on October 31st. These data include budget, staff, organization and student data • Leaver data- data on graduates, dropouts and other school leavers identified during the school year • Fall Collection is use for: • Calculate compensatory allotment • Monitor special programs • Report to the federal government • Calculate retention • Calculate basic profiles for AIES and • Perform desk audits

4. PEIMS Reports • Mid Year Collection • Actual audited financial data from the previous year • Mid Year Collection is used for: • Report to the state legislature • Monitor special program expenditures • Audit districts, and • Perform desk audits

5. PEIMS Reports • Summer Collection • Student attendance data • Course completion data • Discipline data • Restraint data and Title I, Part A data • Use of Summer Collection • Calculate FSP final allotments • Calculate attendance and course completion • Create a portion of AEIS • Perform desk audits

6. CAFR/PEIMS Report Tie In • Does the financial data reported on Comprehensive Annual Financial Report agree to PEIMS Report PRF3D001. • What procedures are in place to ensure all information is reported.

7. Special Populations • Special Education has Maintenance of Effort (MOE) requirements. • TEA uses PEIMS data to calculate MOE compliance. See Ramon Medina’s guidance posted on TEA’s website at http://www.tea.state.tx.us/index4.aspx?id=4073

8. Importance of ADA • The primary purpose for the TEA's collection of student attendance data is to ensure that FSP funds can be allocated to Texas's public schools. All public schools in Texas must maintain records to reflect the average daily attendance (ADA) for the allocation of these and other funds by the TEA.

9. Impact of Changes in ADA • 1 percent change in ADA for a district with total ADA of 32,000+ can have an impact of $1.3 million in State Funding • Title I, Part A funding • State funding in general

10. Responsibility • Your Superintendent is ultimately responsible for all ADA records. • These records must be available for audit by the Texas Education Agency (TEA) Financial Audits Division. By signing the District Summary Report—or, in the case of a paperless attendance accounting system, by indicating his or her approval of data electronically—the superintendent affirms that he or she has taken measures to verify the accuracy and authenticity of the attendance data. • Important: If the TEA detects errors during an audit, the agency either will assess an adjustment to subsequent allocations of state funds or will require your district to refund the total amount of the adjustment when the audit is finalized.

11. Responsibility • In case of a TEA audit, if attendance PEIMS reports are not provided within 20 days after requested by TEA up to 30 percent of the Foundation School Program allotment will be withheld.

12. Responsibility • The attendance personnel generating absence summaries and/or transcribing the absences or coding information into the accounting system are responsible for adhering to all laws and regulations pertaining to student attendance accounting. Each person entering data into the attendance accounting system must sign an affidavit attesting that the data he or she has entered are true and correct to the best of his or her knowledge—or, in the case of a paperless attendance accounting system, indicate electronically that the person attests that the data he or she has entered are true and correct to the best of his or her knowledge

13. How do we audit ADA? • Campus data is necessary • Do the campuses have controls in place to properly capture ADA? • What tone is set by principal? • Does Central Administration provide campus training? • Does the campus have a copy of the Student Attendance Accounting Handbook.

14. How do we Audit ADA? • Your district must manage automated attendance accounting systems properly to meet audit documentation standards. An effective system of internal controls must be in place to maintain 1) data integrity (completeness and accuracy) and 2) the ability to reproduce, for audit purposes, all required documentation that your district elected to store electronically.

15. How do we audit ADA? Does the District have an attendance accounting procedure manual • Your district must maintain a procedures manual that provides specific, • detailed information on the district's school attendance accounting system. This procedure manual must include the following information: • how and when teachers are to take official attendance, • how attendance is entered into the attendance accounting system, • which position(s) is/are responsible for the coding of special programs (such as career and technical, special education, Pregnancy Related Services, etc.), • how changes to special programs are to be documented,

16. How do we audit ADA? Does the District have an attendance accounting procedure manual • how student membership is to be reconciled between the teacher rosters and the attendance accounting database, • how your district will maintain attendance accounting records (including computerized records, period absence slips, and official calendar) after the completion of the school year, • what backup systems are in place to protect the attendance accounting records, and • which position is responsible for the maintenance and security of the attendance accounting records.

17. How do we Audit ADA? • Do the student detail reports agree to the Campus Summary Reports, which should then agree to the District Summary reports (PEIMA Superintendent Attendance Report) • The principals must review and sign the Campus Summary Reports each 6-week reporting period. The principal should • Scrutinize regular attendance totals and special program attendance totals based on approximate membership. • Investigate all data totals that have an exceptionally high value or a value of zero. • Compare current-year totals to prior-year totals to detect unreasonable differences.

18. How do we Audit ADA? • The Student Detail Report, the Campus Summary Report and District Summary Report should all agree. • The Superintendent must review and sign the District Summary reports should: • Scrutinize regular attendance totals and special program attendance totals based on approximate membership. • Investigate all data totals that have an exceptionally high value or a value of zero. • Compare current-year totals to prior-year totals to detect unreasonable differences.

19. How do we Audit ADA? • Inquire of PEIMS Coordinator to ensure that the student membership from the teacher’s roster is reconciled to the attendance accounting records at the end of the 1st and 4th six-weeks reporting periods. • The district PEIMS coordinator and his or her supervisor must certify this document with their signatures.

20. How do we Audit ADA? • The reconciliation does not need to be conducted on the last day of the 6-week reporting period. • However, it should be conducted no later than the final week of the 6-week period. The • reconciliation should be for the official attendance period (usually second period).

21. How do we Audit ADA • Membership for any full-day student (ADA eligibility codes 1 and 3) cannot exceed the number of days of instruction for the same reporting period for the same instructional track. There should be system controls in place to prevent this. • The number of days participation for any student in any special program cannot exceed the number of days present for the same reporting period for the same instructional track (i.e. days of participation cannot exceed actual days attended)

22. How do we Audit ADA? • Teachers enter attendance directly into the automated system. • Are there controls in place at the classroom level? • Passwords • Timing out (auto shut off) • Show the date, time and identity of teacher entering the absence data • Show the date, time and identity of the individual making changes to the attendance report and • Do the teachers sign weekly verification reports? • Provision of a positive confirmation for 100% of attendance (teacher submits “All Present” rather than showing no one absent)

23. How do we Audit ADA? • Does the District have a Disaster Recovery Plan? • It is the District’s ultimate responsibility to secure records for the required length of time (five years) while preventing total loss in the event of a catastrophe. • District must be able to reproduce information . It is advised to maintain paper records . • How often does the District backup the information?

24. Risks • Fraud Triangle applies to ADA Pressure Opportunity Rationalization

25. Who is monitoring changes in ADA at the District level and campus level. • Are there certain pressures to obtain a certain percentage in ADA? • Review of edit reports is necessary

26. Questions??