FINDING 2022-010 Subject: Special Education Cluster (IDEA) - Activities Allowed or Unallowed, Allowable Costs/Cost Principles, Period of Performance 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): 21611-138-PN01, 21619-138-PN01, 22611-138-PN01 Pass-Through Entity: Indiana Department of Education Compliance Requirements: Activities Allowed or Unallowed, Allowable Costs/Cost Principles, Period of Performance Audit Findings: Material Weakness, Modified Opinion Condition and Context An effective internal control system was not designed nor implemented at the School Corporation to ensure compliance with requirements related to the grant agreement and the Activities Allowed or Unallowed, the Allowable Costs/Cost Principles, and the Period of Performance compliance requirements. The School Corporation had not established an effective system of internal controls to ensure that proper documentation was retained for audit. The School Corporation was unable to provide supporting documentation for one of the two journal entries tested. For the one journal entry, we were unable to determine if the Special Education fund transfers in, totaling $619,180, and transfers out, totaling $554,684, were for allowable activities and costs for the program. In addition, we were unable to determine if the transfers were for transactions that occurred within the period of performance. The lack of internal controls and the failure to retain supporting documentation was isolated to the transfers noted above. Criteria 2 CFR 200.303 states in part: "The non-Federal entity must: (a) Establish and maintain effective internal controls 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). . . ." INDIANA STATE BOARD OF ACCOUNTS 40 SCOTT COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT 2 SCHEDULE OF FINDINGS AND QUESTIONED COSTS (Continued) 2 CFR 200.333 (Uniform Guidance) 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 Federal awards that are renewed quarterly or annually, from the date of the 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. . . ." 2 CFR 200.334 (Revised Uniform Guidance) 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 Federal awards that are renewed quarterly or annually, from the date of the 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. . . ." 34 CFR 300.202(a) states: "General. Amounts provided to the LEA under Part B of the Act - (1) Must be expended in accordance with the applicable provisions of this part; (2) Must be used only to pay the excess costs of providing special education and related services to children with disabilities, consistent with paragraph (b) of this section; and (3) Must be used to supplement State, local, and other Federal funds and not to supplant those funds." 34 CFR 300.208 states: "(a) Uses. Notwithstanding ?? 300.202, 300.203(b), and 300.162(b), funds provided to an LEA under Part B of the Act may be used for the following activities: (1) Services and aids that also benefit nondisabled children. For the costs of special education and related services, and supplementary aids and services, provided in a regular class or other education-related setting to a child with a disability in accordance with the IEP of the child, even if one or more nondisabled children benefit from these services. (2) Early intervening services. To develop and implement coordinated, early intervening educational services in accordance with ? 300.226. (3) High cost special education and related services. To establish and implement cost or risk sharing funds, consortia, or cooperatives for the LEA itself, or for LEAs working in a consortium of which the LEA is a part, to pay for high cost special education and related services. (b) Administrative case management. An LEA may use funds received under Part B of the Act to purchase appropriate technology for recordkeeping, data collection, and related case management activities of teachers and related services personnel providing services described in the IEP of children with disabilities, that is needed for the implementation of those case management activities." INDIANA STATE BOARD OF ACCOUNTS 41 SCOTT COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT 2 SCHEDULE OF FINDINGS AND QUESTIONED COSTS (Continued) 34 CFR 300.800 states: "The Secretary provides grants under section 619 of the Act to assist States to provide special education and related services in accordance with Part B of the Act ? (a) To children with disabilities aged three through five years; and (b) At a State's discretion, to two-year-old children with disabilities who will turn three during the school year." 2 CFR 200.403 states in part: "Except where otherwise authorized by statute, costs must meet the following general criteria in order to be allowable under Federal awards: (a) Be necessary and reasonable for the performance of the Federal award and be allocable thereto under these principles. (b) Conform to any limitations or exclusions set forth in these principles or in the Federal award as to types or amount of cost items. . . (g) Be adequately documented. . . ." 2 CFR 200.77 (Uniform Guidance) states: "Period of performance means the time during which the non-Federal entity may incur new obligations to carry out the work authorized under the Federal award. The Federal awarding agency or pass-through entity must include start and end dates of the period of performance in the Federal award (see ?? 200.210 Information contained in a Federal award paragraph (a)(5) and 200.331 Requirements for pass-through entities, paragraph (a)(1)(iv))." 2 CFR 200.1 (Revised Uniform Guidance) states in part: ". . . Period of performance means the total estimated time interval between the start of an initial Federal award and the planned end date, which may include one or more funded portions, or budget periods. Identification of the period of performance in the Federal award per ? 200.211(b)(5) does not commit the awarding agency to fund the award beyond the currently approved budget period. . . ." 2 CFR 200.309 (Uniform Guidance) states: "A non-Federal entity may charge to the Federal award only allowable costs incurred during the period of performance (except as described in ? 200.461 Publication and printing costs) and any costs incurred before the Federal awarding agency or pass-through entity made the Federal award that were authorized by the Federal awarding agency or pass-through entity." 2CFR 200.309 (Revised Uniform Guidance) states: "If a Federal awarding agency or pass-through entity approves an extension, or if a recipient extends under ? 200.308(e)(2), the Period of Performance will be amended to end at the completion of the extension. If a termination occurs, the Period of Performance will be amended to end upon the effective date of termination. If a renewal award is issued, a distinct Period of Performance will begin." INDIANA STATE BOARD OF ACCOUNTS 42 SCOTT COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT 2 SCHEDULE OF FINDINGS AND QUESTIONED COSTS (Continued) Cause Management had not developed nor implemented a system of internal controls that would have ensured compliance, or that supporting documentation would have been maintained and made available for audit, related to the grant agreement and the Activities Allowed or Unallowed, the Allowable Costs/Cost Principles, and the Period of Performance compliance requirements. Effect The failure to establish an effective system of internal controls and to retain and provide appropriate supporting documentation prevented the determination of the School Corporation's compliance with compliance requirements listed above. Questioned Costs Known questioned costs of $1,173,864 were identified, as detailed in Condition and Context. Recommendation We recommended that the School Corporation's management establish a system of internal controls to ensure documentation will be maintained and made available for audit and comply with the grant agreement and the Activities Allowed or Unallowed, the Allowable Costs/Cost Principles, and the Period of Performance compliance requirements. Views of Responsible Officials For the views of responsible officials, refer to the Corrective Action Plan that is part of this report.