Join Us for Our Online Interactive Training Sessions on May 25th!
Space is Still Available
Cost: $90 Per Session
Increased federal funding during the COVID-19 pandemic and an increase in cross-program responsibilities for school staff have made it crucial to ensure the allowability of salaries and benefits charged to federal grants.
In addition, with the influx of federal recovery funds for all students, including funds reserved for students with disabilities through the American Rescue Plan (ARP), local education agency (LEA) administrators are aiming to spend federal funds in innovative ways while ensuring compliance with ARP Maintenance of Equity, IDEA Maintenance of Effort, and Excess cost requirements.
Misinterpreting these complex federal fiscal requirements can lead to failing to meet these high stakes requirements. A clear understanding of the requirements and how to meet them will allow LEAs to make innovative funding decisions to improve student outcomes.
WestEd, a certified CPE sponsor through the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA), is pleased to continue its interactive fiscal compliance training for district and charter school leaders. These events focus on the internal controls and practices needed to ensure LEA compliance with complex federal requirements, including:
- Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
- Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)
- Education Department General Administrative Regulations (EDGAR)
- Uniform Grant Guidance (UGG)
Our April and May 2022 training sessions will focus on federal fiscal requirements related to time and effort, audit preparation, private school proportionate share requirements under IDEA and ESSA, and the maintenance of effort requirement under IDEA. School business officers and programs directors will reflect on their current practices and receive resources to assess how well they align with general requirements.
Dates & Times
The event is comprised of four live, interactive training sessions from April 2022 through May 2022.
May 25, 2022
Session 3: Uniform Grant Guidance Time and Effort—Requirements for All Federal Education Programs (ESSA, IDEA, Perkins, Etc.)
Time: 8:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. (PT) / 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. (ET)
Districts’ and schools’ greatest investments are in personnel, and accurate tracking of time and effort ensures allowability of personnel costs to federal funds. This session reviews the time and effort requirements in the Uniform Grant Guidance, discusses common audit findings around time and effort, and provides resources to improve internal controls.
Session 4: Private School Proportionate Share: Federal Fiscal Requirements
Time: 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. (PT) / 2:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. (ET)
Does your school or district receive federal funds? Are you confident in how you’re meeting the requirement to distribute some of those federal funds (including recovery funds) to private schools? This session will review the private school requirements under ESSA and IDEA and for federal recovery funds. We will also provide examples of best practices and review allowable uses of the funds, leaving you confident you can meet the federal requirements.
April 27, 2022
Session 1: Maintenance of Effort Requirements Under IDEA (Registration Closed)
Time: 8:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. (PT) / 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. (ET)
This session will review the IDEA maintenance of effort (MOE) requirements, including the budget and expenditure tests, allowable exceptions to MOE, and strategies for consistently meeting MOE requirements. The session covers the basic IDEA requirements and provides opportunities for participants to engage in applied problem-solving scenarios.
Session 2: Maintenance of Effort—Implications of Federal Recovery Funds (Registration Closed)
Time: 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. (PT) / 2:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. (ET)
With the increase in federal funding, has your district or school struggled to meet the IDEA maintenance of effort (MOE) requirements? Has it been challenging to meet MOE and spend down recovery funds? This session focuses on the implications of increased funding on MOE. It provides strategies for using allowable exceptions, including an adjustment available when federal funds increase uniquely available in the 2021–22 school year for many LEAs.
Learning Outcomes
This Federal Programs Finance Training series enhances the capacity of school and district program and finance leaders to:
- Understand federal education grants fiscal requirements
- Increase internal controls and procedures for the tracking and reporting of expenditures, including salaries and benefits charged to federal grants
- Better plan to meet federal compliance requirements
- Identify and resolve misinterpretations of federal fiscal requirements
- Remove unnecessary barriers to innovations that can improve student outcomes
Who Will Benefit
- Business Officers and Managers
- Special Education Directors and Administrators
- Federal Program Directors and Administrators
- Superintendents and School Administrators
Your Facilitators
Anthony Mukuna is a Senior Program Associate in Special Education and School Finance at WestEd. He leads school finance and fiscal accountability engagements with states and supports cross-area projects within WestEd. Mukuna has a strong background in accounting with several years of work experience with local and state governments, in which he managed diverse federal and state funding programs. Previously, Mukuna worked for the Idaho Supreme Court Finance Office and the Idaho State Department of Education, creating a strong fiscal accountability structure. These opportunities helped him develop skills to analyze and interpret federal/state laws and regulations to design and implement compliant, effective, and efficient fiscal policies and procedures to improve program outcomes. Mukuna is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) licensed in Idaho and earned his master’s degree in Business Administration at Idaho State University.
Sara Doutre is a recognized expert in special education policy and finance. Leveraging her federal, state, and classroom experience, Doutre leads accountability and finance work as a Project Director on WestEd’s Special Education Policy & Practice team. Doutre creates accountability and funding systems that fuel innovations for improved outcomes, effectuate high expectations for students and educators, empower families as teachers and advocates, and protect the rights of students with disabilities. Her contribution to state guidelines for braided and blended funding strategies to address significant disproportionality in special education empowered administrators to focus on innovative, inclusive practices. Doutre previously monitored state programs and developed policy guidance at the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs and has an MA from George Washington University in education policy.
Pricing
The registration fee is $90 for each session. Attend as many sessions as you wish.
Registration fees are for single participants and include access to all session(s) and all materials for live learning components.
Space is available on a first-come, first-served basis.
For more information, contact us at itirmiz@WestEd.org.
WestEd is a registered sponsor of Continued Professional Education (CPE) with the National Association of State Board of Accountancy (NASBA).
Participants can earn up to four (8) CPE credit hours upon completion of the training.