Career and Technical Education Monitoring for Compliance Monday, July 13, 2015 CTE Summer Conference CTE Administrators Ted W. Summey, Regional Coordinator, NCDPI Christy Harris, Regional Coordinator, NCDPI

History of the Monitoring for Compliance Effort Six years ago, the State Auditor’s Office began to audit the Career and Technical Education Division’s compliance with state and federal law. One of the items the Assistant State Auditor identified was that CTE was not monitoring LEA compliance at a sufficient level. The Regional Services staff began developing a monitoring process that would address the audit findings AND strengthen CTE across the state.

Purposes of the Monitoring for Compliance Effort Improve the quality of state and local CTE programs Ensure that CTE Administrators know and understand the compliance requirements AND have the local authority to guide the district to meet the compliance requirements. Ensure that districts meet the expected compliance requirements.

What are the Compliance Requirements? The compliance requirements are the Assurances outlined in the CTE Local Plan. The Assurances constitute the “contract” between the local board of education/district and NCDPI for state and federal CTE funding. Because the local board approves the Assurances and agrees to comply with them as a condition for funding, the Assurances are binding.

What Documentation Do I Need? The CTE Division has created a Blueprint for CTE Monitoring for Compliance as a guide for local compliance. Monitoring for Compliance Blueprint iAuditor Application on the iPad – Search for the Template using Education as the Industry and CTE Monitoring as keywords iAuditor ReportiAuditor Report In the Blueprint the necessary documentation or other evidence of compliance is listed under the Verification Method column. The Fiscal and Policy Guide also has a reference list (Appendix N)

New Processes Started Risk-based Targeting - Risk-based MeasuresRisk-based Measures Two types of Visits – “Desk Audit” - Includes review of the Local Plan and central office interviews and record review –“On-Site Visit” with a team that visits schools, reviews the Local Plan and conducts central office record review and interviews.

Examples of Documentation for both On Site and Desk Audits Purchase Orders – PRC 014 and 017 (two years) Expenditure Report – PRC 014 and 017 (current year) CTE Equipment Inventory – Middle and High Schools CTE Non Discrimination Statement Student Course Registration Materials , CTE Staff Development – Agendas, Attendance Reports CTE Advisory Council – Agendas, Minutes

Who Will be Conducting the ONSITE Monitoring Visit A team of Regional Coordinators will lead the visit. Dependent upon the size of the school district – two to as many as six may be involved in the visit In some cases, experienced CTE Administrators from other districts may conduct specific parts of the monitoring under the direction of the Regional Coordinators.

How Long do On Site Visits Take? A complete monitoring for compliance audit may take several days to complete – start to finish. The onsite visit will take 2 to 5 days. These may or may not be consecutive days. This will depend upon how the RC schedules the visit and what findings may there are during the visit as well as the size of the district. There is a “desk audit” of selected Assurances that will be conducted by the Regional Coordinator for that district.

What Happens During the Onsite Visit? At least one Regional Coordinator will review the documentation listed previously At least one Regional Coordinator will visit the schools in your district

School Visits School Visits will involve: –Observing CTE Classrooms/Instruction –Capstone CTE Courses – Interview Students –Cooperative CTE Courses – Interview Students –Articulation Courses – Interview Instructors and Students –Interview Principal and CTE Teachers –Other - Interview with CCP instructors, interview with counselors, other interviews and records review dependent upon the findings during the school visits

What Does “Desk Audit” Look Like? The Desk Audit will be conducted by one or two Regional Coordinators dependent upon the size of the district The Desk Audit will cover the Local Plan Review and Records Review The Desk Audit may take one to three days dependent upon the size of the district

What Outcomes Should I Expect? A Letter of Findings (or non-findings) A Summary of Findings Report –Commendations – Things we find that represent excellent practices/innovation or unique programming –Findings of Non-Compliance –Program Improvement Recommendations

What Should I Do to “Fix Things” Before the Visit? NOTHING – Band Aids only hide what needs to be seen! If you are scheduled for a visit……………As much as you may want to try to “fix” everything before the visit, it is a much healthier process to allow the team to find things as they are. If you are not scheduled for a visit this year, it is wise to review the Blueprint and address non-compliance issues with “fixes” that will be lasting – no band aids

What are the “Typical” Non-Compliance Findings –Improper coding of personnel positions (assigned to non-CTE duties) –Use of CTE funds for prohibited purposes (Capital improvements) –Lack of an Advisory Board for formal documented input to the Local Plan as outlined in Part I of the LPS –Miscoded expenditures. Most are corrected during visit. –Out-of-Field assignments for teachers –Certification of Time and Effort – not recorded properly/dates incorrect/cost objective not identified

Questions and Discussion All Things “Monitoring” Considered