TRANSPORTATION IN A FLORIDA EDUCATION FINANCE PROGRAM (FEFP) EXAMINATION April 9,

Auditor General’s Office Presenter: Bernice Rivas Senior Auditor 2

Welcome  Opening Remarks  Auditor General:  The State’s independent auditor (also referred to as the Legislative Auditor).  Sections through 11.45, Florida Statutes, set forth the general authority and duties of the Auditor General.  Conducts FEFP examinations of school districts’ records, as appropriate, to evaluate compliance with State requirements governing the determination and reporting of full-time equivalent (FTE) student counts reported to the Department of Education and used to determine FTE Students and Student Transportation funding allocations. 3

Agenda  Class Description :  Importance of the transportation data.  Collecting ridership data.  Document retention.  Class Objective :  To provide general and specific knowledge for the transportation component of a FEFP examination. 4

Importance of the Transportation Data  School districts are responsible for transporting students who ride the bus for the purpose of attending schools.  School districts receive funding for those students riding the bus during the school year.  For accountability and to help ensure that this process is properly completed, the following have been established:  Florida Statutes (laws).  Department of Education General Instructions.  District School Board Policies and Procedures.  FEFP Examinations. 5

Collecting Ridership Data  Objective:  To ensure that students assigned to your bus and route who actually rode the bus at least once during the survey window are correctly reported for State funding. 6

Collecting Ridership Data (Continued) Fiscal Year Survey 1 Survey Week:July 6 through 10, 2015 Survey Window:July 1 through 10, 2015 Survey 2 Survey Week:October 12 through 16, 2015 Survey Window: October 2 through 16, 2015 Survey 3 Survey Week: February 8 through 12, 2016 Survey Window: January 29 through February 12, 2016 Survey 4 Survey Week: June 13 through 17, 2016 Survey Window: 1 st day of Summer School through June 17, 2016 If Summer School begins after June 17, 2016, survey window becomes June 20 through June 30,

Collecting Ridership Data (Continued)  How Do You Meet This Objective:  Know your District School Board’s Policies and Procedures.  Follow your District School Board’s Policies and Procedures.  Ask questions if you need help. 8

Collecting Ridership Data (Continued)  The Importance of What You Do:  The bus driver report is an official record to support a student’s ridership.  You are the first line in collecting the actual data.  The data that you collect and how you document its accuracy affects the District’s transportation funding. 9

Collecting Ridership Data (Continued)  Observations from the Documentation on File  Bus report (listing) of students assigned to the bus/route from the District’s Transportation Department. We look for the student’s full legal name and District identification number. Note: The order of the listing may be by bus stop for each school, by student grade, or the student’s name.  Notations (e.g., checkmarks, writing “Present,” or listing a “P”) of the student’s ridership (i.e., riding the bus on a specific date).  Indicate, by marking, that the student is riding the bus during the morning, afternoon, and/or evening hours.  When a listing is provided by the District’s Transportation Department indicating that a student with disabilities would be riding the bus with an attendant (aide), we would look for documentation that supports the accuracy of this information (e.g., the type of need the student actually has and identification that the aide was assigned to this student). 10

Collecting Ridership Data (Continued)  Observations from the Documentation on File (Continued )  The student must meet the need of one of the following criteria for specialized transportation services: Medical equipment required. Medical equipment is defined as wheelchair, crutches, walker, cane, tracheotomy equipment, and positioning or unique seating devices. Medical condition that requires a special transportation environment in accordance with a physician’s prescription (e.g., tinted windows, dust-controlled atmosphere, or temperature control). Attendant (aide) or monitor required due to disability and specific need of student. 11

Collecting Ridership Data (Continued)  Observations from the Documentation on File (Continued)  The student must meet the need of one of the following criteria for specialized transportation services: (Continued) Shortened day required due to disability and specific need of student (student arrives after the start of the school day or leaves before the end of the school day). School assigned is located in an out-of-District school system (e.g., Lake County student assigned to a school in Orange County District [due to services that could not be provided in Lake County School District]). 12

Documentation Retention  The Department of Education and District School Board maintain various databases of student information.  In general, the Department of Education Instructions provide that an audit file is to be created and must be retained until all audits are made by both the Department of Education and the Legislative Auditor. 13

Documentation Retention (Continued)  Ensure that your documentation is maintained and provided to the designated contact person as instructed by your District Transportation Office.  Ensure that the information includes all pages.  Ensure that the information is accurate and complete.  Ensure that the information is legible. 14

Questions 15