Student Transportation FEFP Reporting

1. Student Transportation FEFP Reporting Presented By: The Florida Association for Pupil Transportation and the Florida Department of Education

2. Overview • FAPT Ad Hoc Transportation Funding Group • Basics of FEFP Transportation Formula • FAPT’s “Best Practices for Reporting Student Transportation Ridership for FEFP” • Three Phases of the Process: Pre-survey, Survey Week, and Post-survey • Audit Documentation • Consolidated Membership Categories

3. FAPT Ad Hoc Transportation Funding Group • April 2012- FAPT Executive Committee put together the Ad Hoc Group to review current student transportation funding processes, procedures, and issues • Initial objectives: • Update the 2003 report for Legislature on Funding Transportation to Florida’s Schools of Choice • Consider recommending that charter school transportation be calculated under the formula separately from the school district calculations • Determined that updating the 2003 Funding Report was significant project requiring considerable new data collection activities • Work group narrowed and modified its short term goals

4. Committee Membership: Transportation: • Greg Akin, Volusia Chair • Jim Beekman, Orange • Patsy Herndon, Indian River • Leslie Russell and Sheila Mcleod, Duval • Louise Piper, Okeechobee • Karen Strickland, Osceola

5. Robert Waremburg, Clay • Pat Jones, Wakulla • John Franklin and Laura Hill, Hillsborough • Charlie Hood, DOE Finance: • Olga Swinson, Pasco • Judy Preston, Brevard • Gretchen Saunders and Katherine Jaudon, Hillsb • Mark Eggers, Chris Sanchez and Lee Davis, DOE

6. MIS/IT: • Alison Sylvia, Volusia • Josh Reynolds, Suwannee • Gerry Reynolds, Martin • Kathie Riek, Hillsborough • Janice Spence All meetings were via webinar

7. FAPT Ad Hoc Transportation Funding Group • Goal 1: Develop a best practice guide for school districts to consider in establishing and documenting their own data collection process to help ensure that the data collected will be… a) timely b) accurate and c) meet audit standards. • Goal 2: Reduce the complexity of the current data collection process and still meet the requirements of the formula

8. Florida Education Finance ProgramStudent Transportation Funding Formula The Student Transportation funding formula provides FEFP funds for school district transportation based on each district's pro rata share of state transported students. Authorized by Sections 1006.21, 1006.22, 1006.23, 1006.25, and 1011.68, Florida Statutes. • Additional funding for the transportation of certain students with disabilities • Adjustments are made for cost of living differences, percent of population outside of urban centers, and Average Bus Occupancy (ABO), i.e., the average number of eligible students transported per bus in daily service (to encourage greater bus utilization).

9. Funding Formula • Two components • Base Transportation Allocation • Provides funding for all fundable transported students, including certain disabled students • ESE Transportation Allocation • Supplemental funding (for weighted, transported ESE students), with the balance prorated as the base allocation component

10. Pre-Survey Preparation: Implement steps and train staff: • Initial roster by bus • Timelines from survey • Register all riders by route • All students properly coded • Update the Hazardous Walking Database (DOE) • Communication with IT about the FEFP process • Train School Bus Operators on the FEFP process

11. Pre-Survey Preparation: Train staff and implement steps: • Verify that vehicle VIN numbers are correct in your database • Include all charter schools in the process • Look at other riders (e.g., “courtesy”) • Coordinate with public transit and schools, if applicable • Ensure that maps correctly identify attendance zones and Hazardous Walking areas

12. Pre-Survey: Student Registration & Assigning Membership Codes • Ridership list by route (student listing) • Blank add or write-in sheets for students who are not on the ridership list • Ridership list for students on public transit, if applicable • Automated Process: Run completed program to determine ridership; table broken down by category per student (Hazardous, Ineligible, Teen Parent, Weighted ESE, All Others) • Manual Process: (IT or self) determine residence distance from school • Under 2 miles; records are reviewed to determine eligibility and appropriate membership category • Identify and properly code Hazardous Walking students Student Registration Assigning Membership Codes/ESE

13. Pre-survey: The Operator’s Report Common Steps Used By School Districts Recommended Best Practices • Operators are given district generated forms with assigned students in advance to document student riders • Instructions are given to explain the process and reduce confusion • Blank forms are provided to list students who do not appear on the district generated list. • Operators are given district generated forms with assigned students in advance so operators may identify and confirm which students board and depart from each assigned stop • Instructions are given to explain the process and reduce confusion • Additional blank forms should be available to provide names of riders that are not included on the district-generated lists • Ridership is documented by using a simple indicator such as a check mark, “bubble sheet” or bar code • Count sheets are inspected by department staff before being presented for digital or manual counting process

14. Pre-survey: The Operator’s Report • Operators receive a student roster/count sheet that includes: • Student Name • ID Number • Grade • School Name • Bus Identifier (bus or route number) • Line for Operator signature and date • Specific date(s) student rode column(s) • Sample forms available

15. Student Data Collection:Operator Responsibility • Must be signed and dated by the bus operator, and maintained as a source document by the school district. • For each eligible student, the district or charter school must verify the specific bus (or other vehicle) and the days during the survey week (or preceding six days) when student rode, or at least the first day. • Operators must check each student, for each school, and not “Christmas Tree” all riders. • Operators MUST understand that by placing their signature on the report, they are attesting to the fact that the child was present on the bus on the day that is indicated that he/she rode the bus to and/or from school, and that improperly certifying that a student rode the bus would result in an audit finding that could require a reduction (adjustment) in future funding by the state.

16. Survey Week (11-day window) Procedures for Actual Student Count; drivers should: • Place a check mark in the appropriate column if the student rode • Cross out students that no longer ride the bus • Turn in district-generated roster and blank sheets with written names as one complete package

17. Post-survey Review and Reporting • Student information should be scanned or entered manually into computer system

18. Post-survey: Files to Local IT/MIS Sending Files to Local IT/MIS Correcting Errors • Ridership data is transmitted to IT/MIS differently (depending on district) • Membership categories are verified • Districts with routing software work with their IT/MIS staff to update ridership tables • Districts have processes to send files to IT/IS/MIS departments for error checking and corrections • Error reports are produced as database records are checked against ridership records for withdrawals, enrollments, attendance, student schedules, duplicates, etc. • These methods vary by district • Either manual or electronic matches are made against various records (demographic, ESE, schedules and attendance, hazardous codes, etc.) and inconsistencies are noted • Correct and verify unclear or inaccurate source data • Staff make corrections in coding if errors are related to attendance or eligibility category • New reports are run • Error reports are produced as database records are checked against ridership records • These methods vary by district

19. Post-survey: Prep for State Reporting Ridership Data Files Ensure ridership data files submitted from district transportation to district IT have: • One record per student, unique by FL ID Number (Student Number Identifier, Florida) • Matching demographic record for each transportation record (for students transported to another district to receive instruction, submit a Student Transportation format only) • Matching ESE student record for each ESE transportation record • Each student’s school attendance records match dates counted on bus during the 11-day survey window

20. Post-survey: Prep for State Reporting • Prepare to transmit completed reports to FDOE database • Must match student information generated for database • Internal district transportation ridership records may contain: • District Number • Survey Period Code, Year, and Number of Days in Term • Each Student’s: Last Name, First Name, District ID #, School, Grade, Residence Address, Distance to School from Residence, City, State, Zip • Membership Category letter designation: •  Any student declared under Membership Category letter G for Hazardous Walking should have the District assigned Hazardous Code for his/her area attached to his/her name in the completed file. •  Any ESE student claimed for weighted funding should have the District-assigned ESE exceptionality(s)/code(s) attached to his/her name in the completed file.

21. Post-survey: Prep for State Reporting • Each record contains (continued): • Vehicle Category • Route number, Bus number- pulled from bus file submitted to IS/IT Department (file is submitted prior to FEFP survey period) • AM Route ID, Run ID, Stop ID, AM time at Stop • PM Route ID, Run ID, Stop ID, PM time at Stop • Final check by district IT to correct errors in transportation ridership file

22. Post-survey: Reporting to FDOE District IT transmits Final Report to FDOE, containing: • District Number, Current Instruction/Service • Student Number Identifier, Florida • Survey Period Code • Fiscal Year • Year-Round/Extended School Year FTE Indicator • Days In Term (For FTE Purposes) • Transportation Membership Category • Vehicle Category • Bus Number • Bus Route Number • Transaction Code • District Number, Current Enrollment • Hazardous Walking • Student Number Identifier, Local

23. Post-survey: FDOE Processing • FDOE receives electronic file and runs error report files • Student Transportation Validation Reports (error reports) are made available to districts for corrections • Process repeated as needed, within the survey timelines • Districts can access reports of information submitted, including vehicle type and membership categories • District returns memo to FDOE attesting to accuracy of information (Attachment A from Student Transportation General Instructions) • All survey reporting timelines are specified in the Student Transportation General Instructions • District maintains all records required for auditing, including driver worksheets.

24. Records and Documentation • Locally maintained records must document the following three basic areas: • Student eligibility to receive state FEFP regular or weighted transportation funds (based on criteria such as distance from school, programs attended, and disabilities status and services, if applicable); and, • Student ridership and school attendance during approved transportation survey periods (to verify that transportation service was actually received); and, • Transportation in approved conveyance (i.e., in an approved mode of transportation or vehicle type)

25. Audit Documentation: • Ensure retention of records to document student’s home addressat the time of the scheduled survey • Prevent duplication of students and counting of any individual student on more than one bus or mode during survey week • For each student document the eligibility category. Edits may be implemented to cross-check against school record.

26. New Membership Categories (Effective July 1st for 2013-14) • NEW: Membership Category L: Individuals With Disabilities Education Act - Prekindergarten through Grade 12, Weighted • Includes current (soon to be former) membership categories: • A: Individuals With Disabilities Education Act - K-12, Weighted • C: Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Prekindergarten, Weighted • I: Center to Center or Non-center Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Weighted • Membership Category F: Teenage Parents and Infants, Unweighted • No change; same as current membership category: • F: Teenage Parents and Infants, Unweighted

27. New Membership Categories (Effective July 1st for 2013-14) • Membership Category G: Hazardous Walking, Elementary, Unweighted • No change; same as current membership category: • G: Hazardous Walking, Elementary, Unweighted • NEW Membership Category M: All Other FEFP Transportation Funding-Eligible Students, Unweighted • Includes current (soon to be former) membership categories: • B: Individuals with Disabilities Education Act - K-12, Unweighted • E: Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Prekindergarten, Unweighted • H: All Other Students Living Two Miles or More, Unweighted • J: Center to Center or Non-center Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Unweighted • K: Center to Center Career and Technical Education and Dual Enrollment Students, Unweighted

28. New Membership Categories (Effective July 1st for 2013-14) • Membership Category N: Non-FEFP-Fundable Prekindergarten through Grade 12 Students • Only the description in the title is changed, per above. Otherwise, same as current membership category: • N: Non-FEFP Fundable PK-12 Students Living Less Than Two Miles and all Non-eligible PreK Students

29. Resources • FAPT Website: www.FAPTFlorida.org, Funding Working Group link • Consolidated Membership Categories summary • FAPT Transportation Reporting Best Practices • Sample Forms and Procedures (from school districts) • This Webinar • FDOE School Transportation: www.fldoe.org/transportation, 850-245-9795, or schtrans@fldoe.org • Quality Links: Florida School District Transportation Profiles • FDOE Funding and Reporting: www.fldoe.org/fefp • Student Transportation General Instructions • FDOE Education Information and Accountability Services, www.fldoe.org/eias

30. Questions?