FINDING 2022-006 Subject: Special Education Cluster (IDEA) - Earmarking Federal Agency: Department of Education Federal Programs: Special Education Grants to States, Special Education Preschool Grants Assistance Listings Numbers: 84.027, 84.173 Federal Award Numbers and Years (or Other Identifying Numbers): 19611-014-PN01, 19619-014-PN01, 20611-014-PN01, 20619-014-PN01 Pass-Through Entity: Indiana Department of Education Compliance Requirement: Matching, Level of Effort, Earmarking Audit Findings: Material Weakness, Modified Opinion Repeat Finding This is a repeat finding from the immediately prior audit report. The prior audit finding number was 2020-011. Condition and Context The School Corporation had not established an effective internal control system to ensure the earmarking requirements for the Coordinated Early Intervening Services (CEIS) and the Non-Public Proportionate Share were met. Coordinated Early Intervening Services (CEIS) When an LEA is identified with significant disproportionality, they are required to expend exactly 15 percent of their total combined 611 and 619 allocation on CEIS expenses. The School Corporation had a mandatory CEIS amount of $254,650 for the 19611-014-PN01 grant. Per the submitted CEIS monitoring report, expenses related to CEIS were $273,292; however, no supporting documentation was provided with the report to substantiate this amount. Furthermore, the ledgers had expenses of $324,522 related to CEIS. As such we could not determine the amount spent for CEIS. Additionally, no documented review of the CEIS amounts expended was provided for audit to ensure the School Corporation would meet, but not exceed the required amount. The lack of internal controls, availability of supporting documentation, and noncompliance were isolated to the 19611-014-PN01 grant award. Non-Public Proportionate Share Proportionate share is an amount of funds that must be expended on special education or related services for parentally-placed private school and homeschooled students. Supporting documentation was not provided to substantiate the amounts reported as expensed for the nonpublic students. However, based on the expenses reported in the ledgers related to nonpublic schools, the required earmarking amounts for nonpublic proportionate share for the 19619-014-PN01, 20611-014-PN01, or 20619-014-PN01 grants was not spent. Additionally, no documented review of the amounts expended for proportionate share was provided for audit to ensure the School Corporation would spend the required amount. The lack of internal controls, availability of supporting documentation, and noncompliance were isolated to the 19619-014-PN01, 20611-014-PN01, and 20619-014-PN01 grant awards. 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). . . ." 34 CFR 300.226(a) states: "General. An LEA may not use more than 15 percent of the amount the LEA receives under Part B of the Act for any fiscal year, less any amount reduced by the LEA pursuant to ? 300.205, if any, in combination with other amounts (which may include amounts other than education funds), to develop and implement coordinated, early intervening services, which may include interagency financing structures, for students in kindergarten through grade 12 (with a particular emphasis on students in kindergarten through grade three) who are not currently identified as needing special education or related services, but who need additional academic and behavioral support to succeed in a general education environment. (See appendix D for examples of how ? 300.205(d), regarding local maintenance of effort, and ? 300.226(a) affect one another.)" 2 CFR 200.207(a) states in part: "The Federal awarding agency or pass-through entity may impose additional specific award conditions as needed. . . ." 511 IAC 7-34-7(b) states: "The public agency, in providing special education and related services to students in nonpublic schools and facilities, must expend at least an amount that is the same proportion of the public agency total subgrant under 20 U.S.C 1411(f) as the number of nonpublic school students with disabilities, who are enrolled by their parents in nonpublic schools or facilities within its boundaries, is to the total number of students with disabilities of the same age range." Cause Management had not established an effective system of internal controls that would have ensured compliance, or that supporting documentation would have been maintained and made available for audit, with the grant agreement and the Matching, Level of Effort, Earmarking compliance requirement. Effect The failure to design and implement an effective system of internal controls and to retain supporting documentation prevented the determination of the School Corporation's compliance with the compliance requirement listed above. Questioned Costs There were no questioned costs identified. Recommendation We recommended that the School Corporation's management establish a system of internal controls to ensure that documentation will be maintained and made available for audit and to comply with the grant agreement and the Matching, Level of Effort, Earmarking, compliance requirement. Views of Responsible Officials For the views of responsible officials, refer to the Corrective Action Plan that is part of this report.