Fiscal Implications of EMIS Reporting

1. Fiscal Implications of EMIS Reporting Presented by: Ohio Department of Education Center for School Options/Finance Office of Finance Program Services September 10, 2008

2. How School Districts Are Funded • School districts receive their funds from two primary sources: state/federal dollars and local tax dollars • State foundation dollars on the SF-3 are driven by ADM and valuation

3. Ways to Check the Accuracy of ADM by Verifying the Accuracy of EMIS Reporting of Students • ADM is a combination of resident district EMIS data and other districts’ data when resident students are educated by other districts. Educating districts’ data are used to calculate ADM.

4. The EMIS report “SF-3 Flow” provides a district-level summary of a district’s ADM. After each count week district personnel should compare EMIS data from the “Enrollment K/C” report to the “SF-3 Flow” report to verify the accuracy of the district’s ADM.

5. After each count week district personnel should also check the “ADM Adjustment” report to make sure ADM is credited to the right district and in the right percentages. District personnel should communicate with career technical center personnel to make sure that the percent of time for students attending the CTC is accurate for both the home high school and the CTC.

6. District personnel should check the accuracy of unexcused absences for students during count weeks. Each day of unexcused absence reduces a student’s ADM by .20 FTE.

7. District personnel should regularly review the School Options Enrollment System (SOES) for accuracy. The SOES, formerly called the CSADM, is the data entry program used by community schools to count students. Student FTE totals from the SOES are added to a district’s ADM, and then the community school FTE is converted to dollars and deducted from the resident district’s SF-3.

8. Districts with school buildings, which have been designated to permit students to participate in the EdChoice Scholarship Program should review EdChoice scholarship applications when they are submitted. For information about the EdChoice Scholarship Program, go to the ODE website at: http://www.ode.state.oh.us/GD/Templates/Pages/ODE/ODEPrimary.aspx?page=2&TopicRelationID=92

10. MR/DD students are added to a district’s ADM if the total number of resident students attending the MR/DD in the current year exceeds the number that attended the MR/DD in 1998. District personnel should verify the total number of students attending the MR/DD and compare it to the 1998 total number to determine if MR/DD students should have been added to the district’s SF-3. A deduction for MR/DD students added to a district’s ADM occurs under “Other Adjustments” on the district’s SF-3.

11. Check to make sure that percent of time for PSEOP students has been entered for the portion of the day a student attends the high school and the portion of the day a student attends a college under PSEOP so that the total equals 100%.

12. Before requesting a count week waiver, district personnel should consider the potential impact on ADM. E.g., students enrolled in two different districts with different count weeks will count in the ADM of the district that uses the official count week.

13. Make sure the correct EMIS status code has been entered for all students: a. Attending students coded as open enrolled versus coded as nonresident child of a district employee.

14. b. Direct-pay tuition students, in-state versus out-of-state residency c. Students enrolled under a superintendent’s agreement d. Students enrolled under a grandparent exemption versus a grandparent power of attorney

15. Tuition, Excess Cost and Catastrophic Reimbursement • Tuition is a substitute for local tax dollars. When a district educates a nonresident student, the general rule is that the educating district is entitled to both state funding and local tax dollars from the resident district.

16. The transfer of local tax dollars (i.e., tuition) from the resident district to the educating district takes place on the SF-3 settlement report. EMIS reports provide details about the students and districts involved in the transfer.

17. Educating district personnel should check to make sure that for nonresident students with EMIS Status C, P or T, tuition is claimed from the resident districts using Form SF-14 for students without disabilities and Form SF-14H for students with disabilities.

18. NOTE: Deadlines of August 1 and February 1 for submission are enforced. If forms are submitted after the deadline, ODE will not process the forms and will not transfer money from the resident districts to the educating districts.

19. ODE Website Resource: Financial Implications for Tuition and Excess Cost Look for Financial Implications under the heading “Tuition” at the link: http://www.ode.state.oh.us/GD/Templates/Pages/ODE/ODEDetail.aspx?page=3&TopicRelationID=1007&ContentID=5389&Content=53839

21. NOTE: The Financial Implications chart is periodically updated by ODE to provide the latest filing procedures, filing timelines and other information regarding tuition and excess cost.

22. Excess Cost - Districts that file Form SF-14H or educate interdistrict open enrollment students with disabilities or special education cooperative students may be entitled to claim excess cost reimbursement from resident districts by filing Form SF-6. Excess cost payments are made to hold the educating districts harmless for the cost of educating nonresident students. Excess costs can be claimed for both preschool and school-age students. Different forms are used for preschool and school-age students. Contracts between the educating districts and resident districts are required for interdistrict open enrollment students, special education cooperative students and students with EMIS status T.

26. Filing Procedures for tuition and/or excess cost with new area offices boundaries • The deadline for filing Forms SF-14 and SF-14H for FY2008 has passed. Only corrections to forms received should be submitted.

27. 2. The filing deadline for excess cost for FY2008 is December 1. Do not file theForm SF-6 until furthernotice. The form is under review by a committee of ODE staff and school treasurers. When filing the SF-6, send it to the area coordinators serving your district in FY2008.

28. 3. The deadline for filing the SF-14 and SF-14H for the first reporting period of FY2009 is February 1, 2009. The forms are to be sent to your new area office if there was a change beginning July 1.

29. Catastrophic reimbursement – Districts can request partial reimbursement for resident students with disabilities when the cost of educating each student exceeds $27,375 for special education categories 2-5 and $32, 850 for category 6. The deadline for submitting the form for reimbursement for the previous school year is January 31.

30. Form SF-Cat. Cost is to be submitted to the Ohio Department of Education, Office of Finance Program Services, Area Coordinators’ Office only if the individual costs exceeds $27,375 for Category Two, Three, Four and Five special education students or $32,850 for Category Six special education students. Categories Two through Five special education ADM means average daily membership of students receiving special education services identified as Specific Learning Disabled (SLD), Cognitive Disability (CD), Other Health Handicapped (OHH), Emotionally Disturbed (ED), Multi-handicapped (MH), Hearing Handicapped (HH), Visual Handicapped (VH), and Orthopedically Handicapped (OH) as defined in Ohio Revised Code Chapter 3323., and reported under division (B) of ORC 3317.03. • Category Six special education ADM means average daily membership of students receiving special education services identified as Autism (AU), Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), or both Hearing and Visually Impaired (D &B) as defined and reported by requirements of the ORC. NOTE: The link to Form SF-Cat. Cost is: http://www.ode.state.oh.us/GD/Templates/Pages/ODE/ODEDetail.aspx?page=3&TopicRelationID=1007&ContentID=5389&Content=53839

31. Category 1: Speech Only (.2892) NOTE: Not eligible for catastrophic reimbursement • Category 2: Learning Disabled (also know as Specific Learning Disability, SLD), Developmentally Handicapped (also know as Cognitive Disability, CD), 1/2 of other health handicapped (OHI) (.3691)                            • Category 3: Severe Behavior Handicapped (also know as Emotional Disturbance, ED), Hearing or Visually Impaired  (1.7695) • Category 4: 1/2 of other health handicapped (OHI), orthopedically handicapped (2.3646) • Category 5:  Multi-handicapped (also know as Multiple Disability) (3.1129) • Category 6:  Deaf-blind, Traumatic Brain Injury, Autism (4.7342)

32. District of Residency Change • Recent legislative changes to section 2151.362 (which replaces section 2151.357) of the Ohio Revised Code have established a procedure for school districts named in an initial juvenile court order or determination by the Ohio Department of Education (hereafter, ODE or department) to bear the cost of educating a court-placed child to seek a modification of the court order or determination under certain circumstances. When the school district paying tuition and excess cost (if applicable) to the school district where the child was placed by the court into a “home” determines that the parent(s) of the child no longer reside(s) in the district named in the initial court order or most recent determination by the department, that district can pursue a modification of the court order or determination from ODE.

33. To request the change of residency districts must file Form SF-DRC, found on the school finance forms page of the ODE website, with the appropriate area coordinators’ regional office.

34. Residency changes for tuition purposes are now the responsibility of the Ohio Department of Education. A standing committee has been formed to review the SF-DRC submissions on a monthly basis. The forms are no longer filed with the juvenile/probate court of record.

35. Center for School Options and Finance Information • EMAD – The Education Monetary Assistance Distribution (EMAD) system, administered through the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS), was created to provide information to ODE on the number of children who reside in a school district or attend a community school whose families receive OWF benefits. The information collected is used to calculate a district’s poverty index, which is used to determine eligibility for Poverty Based Assistance funding. Each school district should have a person assigned the role of EMAD Coordinator, who annually selects OWF students residing in the district and reviews community school selection of students residing in the district.

36. Staffing Analysis – Districts that have not had a staffing analysis conducted recently should request one from their area coordinators. The analysis is one of the best ways to compare the level of staff service provided in the district to state minimums and to similar districts.

37. ADM Review – Plans are underway to revive ADM reviews for districts during the next fiscal year. This service will be available upon request by districts, but ODE may visit districts at any time to review ADM information.

38. Questions/Comments?