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FINDING 2025-004 Subject: Title I Grants to Local Educational Agencies - Special Tests and Provisions - Annual Report Card, High School Graduation Rate Federal Agency: Department of Education Federal Program: Title I Grants to Local Educational Agencies Assistance Listings Number: 84.010 Federal Award Numbers and Years (or Other Identifying Numbers): S010A220014, S010A230014, S010A240014 Pass-Through Entity: Indiana Department of Education Compliance Requirement: Special Tests and Provisions - Annual Report Card, High School Graduation Rate Audit Findings: Material Weakness, Qualified Opinion Condition and Context The School Corporation had not properly designed or implemented a system of internal controls, which would include segregation of duties, that would likely be effective in preventing, or detecting and correcting, noncompliance related to the Special Tests and Provisions - Annual Report Card, High School Graduation Rate compliance requirement. The School Corporation must report graduation rate data for all public high schools within the School Corporation using the four-year adjusted cohort rate. To remove a student from the cohort, the School Corporation must confirm the reason for removal in writing. Additionally, required documentation for each removal type must be retained by the School Corporation. The School Corporation did not have effective internal controls in place to ensure that documentation for each removal was retained. INDIANA STATE BOARD OF ACCOUNTS 19 SALEM COMMUNITY SCHOOLS SCHEDULE OF FINDINGS AND QUESTIONED COSTS (Continued) Documentation of the reason for removal from the cohort was not retained for six of the eight students selected for testing. The School Corporation was unable to locate documentation for any students who exited the cohort prior to the current high school counselor taking her position. The lack of internal controls and noncompliance were systemic issues throughout the audit period. Criteria 2 CFR 200.303 states in part: "The non-Federal entity must: (a) Establish and maintain effective internal control over the Federal award that provides reasonable assurance that the non-Federal entity is managing the Federal award in compliance with Federal statutes, regulations, and the terms and conditions of the Federal award. These internal controls should be in compliance with guidance in 'Standards for Internal Control in the Federal Government' issued by the Comptroller General of the United States or the 'Internal Control Integrated Framework', issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO). . . ." 20 USC 7801(23)(B) states: "To remove a student from a cohort, a school or local educational agency shall require documentation, or obtain documentation from the State educational agency, to confirm that the student has transferred out, emigrated to another country, or transferred to a prison or juvenile facility, or is deceased." 2 CFR 200.334 states in part: "Financial records, supporting documents, statistical records, and all other non-Federal entity records pertinent to a Federal award must be retained for a period of three years from the date of submission of the final expenditure report or, for the Federal awards that are renewed quarterly or annual, from the date of submission of the quarterly or annual financial report, respectively, as reported to the Federal awarding agency or pass-through entity in the case of a subrecipient. . . ." Cause A proper system of internal controls was not designed by management of the School Corporation to ensure documentation was retained for the required period of time. When turnover occurred, the required files were not retained or could not be located. Effect Without the proper design or implementation of the components of a system of internal controls, including policies and procedures that provide segregation of duties and additional oversight as needed, the internal control system cannot be capable of effectively preventing, or detecting and correcting, material noncompliance. As a result, proper documentation to support students' mobility was not retained or provided for audit. Noncompliance with the provisions of federal statutes, regulations, and the terms and conditions of the federal award could result in the loss of future federal funding to the School Corporation. INDIANA STATE BOARD OF ACCOUNTS 20 SALEM COMMUNITY SCHOOLS SCHEDULE OF FINDINGS AND QUESTIONED COSTS (Continued) Questioned Costs There were no questioned costs identified. Recommendation We recommended that management of the School Corporation establish a proper system of internal controls and develop policies and procedures to ensure mobility documentation is collected and retained for audit. Views of Responsible Officials For the views of responsible officials, refer to the Corrective Action Plan that is part of this report.