Nonpublic School Attendance System. User Guide

Transcription

1 Nonpublic School Attendance System User Guide ILLINOIS STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION Funding and Disbursements Division 100 North First Street, E-320 Springfield, Illinois

2 Table of Contents Page # System and Program Overview Purpose 4 Timelines and Users 4 Use of Funds 4 Getting Started ISBE Web Application Security (IWAS) IWAS Home Page - Sample 5 IWAS Message Page Sample 6 IWAS My Systems Page - Sample 7 Document Author Users Home Page - Sample 8 Enter Attendance Page Instructions 9 Entry Page Sample Empty 10 Entry Page Sample Completed 11 Entry Page Sample Continue to Submit Report Question 12 Confirmation of Report Submittal Sample 13 View Only Page - Sample 14 Paper Working Copy Sample 15 RCDT Administrator Users (School Administrators) IWAS Message Page Sample 16 IWAS Pending Documents Page Sample 17 Home Page (RCDT Admin) Sample 18 Approval/Disapproval Sample Page 19 Submission Confirmation Sample Page 20 All Users View Only 21 Frequently Asked Attendance Questions Nonpublic School Attendance System Page 2 of 29

3 Frequently Asked Attendance Questions Page # GENERAL ATTENDANCE ISSUES What constitutes a full-day of student attendance? 22 What constitutes a half-day of student attendance? 22 Can students be counted present if they are in attendance for a portion of the class period? 23 Is it necessary to record hourly attendance? 23 Do study halls count towards the 300 minute requirement? 23 Do lunch hours count towards the 300 minute requirement? 24 Does recess count towards the 300 minute requirement? 24 Can students be claimed for attendance if on a field trip? 24 If a student is in the nurse s office, sick room, guidance counselor s or dean s office should he or 24 she be marked as in attendance? If a student s absence is excused, may he or she be counted for attendance? 24 If a student is suspended, may he or she be counted for attendance? 25 Can a student be excused from class for an in-school meeting, preparation, or activity that is 25 school sponsored and still be considered present for attendance? Can students be claimed for attendance when they attend the State tournament in support of their 25 school? If a student is excused for a doctors or dentists appointment, may we claim attendance for the 25 period of time they are at their appointment? STUDENTS ENROLLED PART-TIME What constitutes a part-time student? 26 How are part-time students counted for attendance at a school providing a Block Schedule? 26 HOMEBOUND/HOSPITAL ATTENDANCE ISSUES How is homebound or hospitalized instruction attendance counted? 26 If a student has met the homebound criteria and is instructed by listening on a speakerphone, can 27 he or she be counted for attendance? How should a school claim attendance for a student who has a chronic illness and can only attend 27 school for a limited part of the day and in addition receives homebound instruction? OTHER ATTENDANCE ISSUES May attendance be claimed for a student that participates by going to work with a parent/guardian 27 on Take Your Child to Work Day? If a parent enrolls a student but he or she does not attend the first few days of school, when may 28 the school begin to claim attendance? What types of students are non-claimable for attendance purposes? 28 REPORTING ISSUES What records need to be maintained and how long must they be retained? 28 Is there a penalty if a school does not maintain its attendance? 28 Are grade books good enough as a source document? 29 Our school s attendance is taken in the classroom, via the school network. Is this acceptable? 29 Nonpublic School Attendance System Page 3 of 29

4 System and Program Overview Purpose The purpose of the Nonpublic School Attendance system is to provide State-recognized nonpublic schools the capability to readily submit student attendance data for use in calculating the School Safety and Educational Improvement Block Grant per Section of the Illinois School Code. The data may be entered by a Document Author or the RCDT Administrator (i.e. school administrator). However, it is ultimately the responsibility of the school administrator to review the data for correctness prior to submission to the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE). This user guide provides instructions for entering student attendance data beginning with the school and submitting it for approval as well as viewing submitted data. This user guide is available online as well as in the Nonpublic School Attendance system located on the top menu. Timelines and Users For the school year only, staff at the school may enter student attendance data until Monday March 17, Thereafter, school year attendance data must be submitted on or before July 1 each year. Use of Funds State-recognized nonpublic schools shall only use funds received for the School Safety and Educational Improvement Block Grant program for secular textbooks and software, criminal history checks, and health and safety mandates to the extent that the funds are expended for purely secular purposes. Nonpublic School Attendance System Page 4 of 29

5 Getting started ISBE Web Application Security (IWAS) Before using the Nonpublic School Attendance system, you must have an IWAS account. If you do not have an existing IWAS account, please register for one by accessing the IWAS homepage through the IWAS link at Once you have an account, you will need to request access to the Nonpublic School Attendance system (Note: School Administrators will be granted automatic access to the system). Instructions for IWAS account registration and obtaining Nonpublic School Attendance system authorization are included in the IWAS User Guide located on the IWAS homepage. Please contact the ISBE Help Desk at 217/ if you need assistance. If you have an existing IWAS account, and have been given access to the Nonpublic School Attendance system (by the school administrator), you are ready to proceed. The following steps provide guidance on how to access the Nonpublic School Attendance system: Login to IWAS (You need a login name and password.) IWAS Home Page Sample Nonpublic School Attendance System Page 5 of 29

6 IWAS Message Page - Sample Click on System Listing from the left menu of the IWAS Message page to bring up the My Systems page as shown on page 6. Nonpublic School Attendance System Page 6 of 29

7 IWAS My Systems Page - Sample Click on Nonpublic School Attendance from the system tree which is under the category of Claims, Annual. Clicking on the Nonpublic School Attendance link will take you to the Nonpublic School Attendance Home Page to begin. Note: If you do not see the Nonpublic School Attendance system, contact the ISBE Help Desk at 217/ Nonpublic School Attendance System Page 7 of 29

8 Document Author Users Home Page - Sample The Nonpublic School Attendance Home Page will be presented to the user upon entry to the system. The following menu options are available: Document Author: Menu option Purpose Enter Attendance To enter nonpublic school attendance data. View Only Read-only webpage displaying nonpublic school attendance data previously entered. Paper Working Copy Enables users to optionally print a hard copy of the blank screen. User Guide Link to this help document. To begin entry, please click on the Enter Attendance tab on the top menu bar. Nonpublic School Attendance System Page 8 of 29

9 Enter Attendance Page - Instructions This is the only data entry page and is used to enter or modify student attendance data. 1. Enter the month and day your school began by selecting the Begin Mo. and Day on Line 1. Press the Tab key over to Column 3 Student Attendance. 2. Enter claimable Student Attendance for all students present for the month to one decimal place. Please see the Frequently Asked Attendance Questions tab for a complete reference in recording claimable attendance. However, the following general guidelines apply. Claimable attendance may only be recorded for students in Kindergarten - Grade 12. Preschool attendance is non-claimable. Grades Kindergarten 1 st a. A full day of instruction is considered to be 240 minutes (4 clock hours) or more. b. Lunch periods are not considered instruction. However, separate morning and afternoon recesses that are not linked directly to lunch are allowed. c. A student who is present zero to 119 minutes for instruction each day is not claimable for attendance. No value is recorded. d. A student who is present minutes for instruction each day is claimable for one half-day attendance. A value of.5 is recorded. e. A student who is present 240 minutes or more for instruction each day is claimable for a full-day of attendance. A value of 1.0 is recorded. Grades 2 nd 12 th a. A full day of instruction is considered to be 300 minutes (5 clock hours) or more. b. Student passing and lunch periods are not considered instruction. However, supervised study halls as well as separate morning and afternoon recesses that are not linked directly to lunch are allowed. c. A student who is present zero to 149 minutes for instruction each day is not claimable for attendance. No value is recorded. d. A student who is present minutes for instruction each day is claimable for one half-day of attendance. A value of.5 is recorded. e. A student who is present 300 minutes or more for instruction each day is claimable for a full-day of attendance. A value of 1.0 is recorded. 3. Enter the Days in Session in whole numbers for your school. Column 5 and Rows 10 and 11 will automatically be calculated after you click the Calculate ADA & Save button located at the bottom of the page. Nonpublic School Attendance System Page 9 of 29

10 Entry Page Sample Empty Nonpublic School Attendance System Page 10 of 29

11 Entry Page Sample Completed At any time during data entry, you may click on the Calculate ADA & Save button located at the bottom of the screen to ensure the attendance data is saved to the database. Once you are satisfied with the data entered and no entry errors are displayed in red at the bottom of the page, you can submit the report to the School Administrator for final approval. Nonpublic School Attendance System Page 11 of 29

12 Entry Page Sample Continue to Submit Report Question To allow the School Administrator to approve or disapprove the data entered, you must click on the Submit Report button. When the Submit Report button is clicked, a popup box will be displayed asking whether you wish to continue. This is due to the fact that the Document Author will lose the opportunity to edit the data once the report is submitted. Upon clicking the OK button, a Confirmation Page will be displayed if successful transmission of the report to the School Administrator occurred. The document status will be reflected at the top of the page. A document pending count will be incremented in IWAS as notification to the School Administrator to review and approve or disapprove the report. Nonpublic School Attendance System Page 12 of 29

13 Confirmation of Report Submittal Sample This page will be displayed once the report has been submitted and received by the School Administrator. Nonpublic School Attendance System Page 13 of 29

14 View Only Page Sample Nonpublic School Attendance System This page allows any user to view the report in a read only format. To do this, a user needs to click on the View Only tab on the top menu bar of the page. Nonpublic School Attendance System Page 14 of 29

15 Paper Working Copy Sample Page A user can also view and print an empty form by clicking on the Paper Working Copy tab located on the top menu bar of the page. The whole page can be viewed by scrolling down. The user must use the internet browser print feature to print a paper copy of the empty page. The paper copy may be used optionally as a working copy prior to data submission through this web application. Paper copies will not be accepted by ISBE. Nonpublic School Attendance System Page 15 of 29

16 RCDT Administrator Users (School Administrators) IWAS Message Page Sample Nonpublic School Attendance must be approved by the RCDT Admin User (i.e. School Administrator). After an RCDT Admin User logs in, an IWAS message page will indicate if that user has any documents requiring approval. The example above shows one document pending this user s approval. Clicking on that link will display the Pending Documents Page. Nonpublic School Attendance System Page 16 of 29

17 IWAS Pending Documents Page - Sample The IWAS Pending Documents page will list each system within IWAS which has documents pending for the RCDT Admin user that has logged in. The example above shows three Nonpublic School Attendance documents pending for this user. Clicking on this link will display the Nonpublic School Attendance Home Page to begin the approval process. Nonpublic School Attendance System Page 17 of 29

18 Home Page (RCDT Admin) - Sample The School Administrator can approve or disapprove the report submitted by the document author user by clicking on the Approve Attendance tab on the top menu bar. This will take the School Administrator to the Approval Page. The School Administrator also has the menu options to Enter Attendance, View, print a Paper Working Copy or access the User Guide. Nonpublic School Attendance System Page 18 of 29

19 Approval/Disapproval Sample The School Administrator should click the Submit Report to ISBE button if the data is acceptable and true; else, click the Disapprove Report Submitted by Doc Author button. In either instance, an IWAS message stating the action taken will be sent to the Document Author user. IMPORTANT: when the Submit Report to ISBE button is clicked, a popup box will be displayed asking whether you wish to continue (the browser must be set to allow popup windows). This is due to the fact that the claim can not be amended once the report is submitted to ISBE. Nonpublic School Attendance System Page 19 of 29

20 Submission Confirmation Sample A Confirmation Page will be displayed to the user upon successful transmission of the approved or disapproved report, showing the document status and date at the top of the page. The example page above shows the status of the report and all data transmitted after the School Administrator submitted an approved document. Nonpublic School Attendance System Page 20 of 29

21 All Users View Only Sample The View Only tab is a read-only display of any reports previously entered showing the document status at the top of the page. Nonpublic School Attendance System Page 21 of 29

22 Frequently Asked Attendance Questions The following questions and answers are condensed from a much larger document originally prepared to guide public school districts in recording attendance for the General State Aid entitlement program. While we have strived to provide questions and answers beneficial to nonpublic schools, some answers may not be completely applicable for your school situation. GENERAL ATTENDANCE ISSUES What constitutes a full-day of student attendance? A full-day of attendance for students in grades 2 nd through 12, must be a minimum of five clock hours (300 minutes) of instruction under the direct supervision of: (i) a certified teacher, or (ii) non-teaching/volunteer personnel when engaging in non-teaching duties and supervising those instances specified in Section (a) and Section A full-day of attendance for students in full-day Kindergarten or 1st grade must be 4 clock hours (240 minutes) of instruction or more. Days of attendance may be less than 300 minutes on the opening and closing day of the school term, and upon the first or last day of student attendance, if preceded by a day or days utilized as an institute or teachers workshop. Adverse weather conditions causing an interrupted day or delayed start to the day as well as a condition which occurs beyond the control of the school which poses a hazardous threat to health and safety of students do not penalize a school to record a full day of attendance for students present provided that the school provides at least 60 minutes of instruction. Statutory Citations: 105 ILCS 5/ (F)(1), (F)(2)(b), 5/18-12 and 5/ Administrative Rule: 23 Ill. Admin. Code Part 1.420(f)(4)(B) What constitutes a half-day of student attendance? On a regular school day, students in grades 2 nd through 12 that receive less than 300 minutes of instruction but at least 150 minutes of instruction may be claimed for a half-day of attendance. Students in grades 2 nd through 12 that are not in attendance for at least 150 minutes of instruction cannot be claimed. On a regular school day, students in full-day Kindergarten or 1 st grade that receive less than 240 minutes of instruction but at least 120 minutes of instruction may be claimed for a halfday of attendance. Students that are not in attendance for at least 120 minutes of instruction cannot be claimed. This rule also applies to students with disabilities who are 6 years of age and under unless they cannot attend 120 minutes of instruction due to their disability or immaturity in which case they may be claimed for a half-day of attendance for a session of not less than 60 minutes. Nonpublic School Attendance System Page 22 of 29

23 A recognized Kindergarten which provides for only half-day of attendance for each student shall not have more than a half-day of attendance counted in any one day. However, Kindergartens may count 2½ days of attendance in any 5 consecutive school days. Statutory Citations: 105 ILCS 5/ (F)(2)(f),(g) and (h) Administrative Rule: 23 Ill. Admin. Code Part 1.420(f)(4)(A) Can students be counted present if they are in attendance for a portion of the class period? Yes for schools that offer a regular schedule (i.e. class periods of minutes in length). REGULAR SCHEDULE EXAMPLE Period-Minutes Student Attendance Minutes Attendance Minutes Allowed Full-Day Students in a block schedule format must accumulate minutes of actual instruction to determine a half or full-day attendance. BLOCK SCHEDULE EXAMPLE Period-Minutes Student Attendance Minutes Absent Attendance Minutes Allowed Half-Day Statutory Citation: 105 ILCS 5/ (F)(1) and (2)(a) Is it necessary to record hourly attendance? It is not necessary to report hourly attendance each period for students that are in a selfcontained classroom (e.g. Elementary School). Attendance/absences should be reported by teachers at the beginning of the instruction day. Teachers should record late arrivals or students who leave and/or return using "sign-in/sign-out" reports. Students that move from classroom to classroom (e.g. Jr. high and High School), attendance should be recorded at the beginning of each class period. For students that arrive late or leave early should utilize "sign-in/sign-out" reports in the attendance office. Do study halls count towards the 300 minute requirement? Yes. The study hall must be supervised by a certified on non-certified personnel in order to be counted toward the required 300 minutes. Statutory Citations: 105 ILCS 5/ (a)(2) and 5/34-18(10)(ii) Nonpublic School Attendance System Page 23 of 29

24 Do lunch hours count towards the 300 minute requirement? No. Lunch hours are considered non-instructional time. Statutory Citations: 105 ILCS 5/ (F)(1) Does recess count towards the 300 minute requirement? For purposes of yearly school recognition, recess is not considered instruction and cannot be counted to meet the requirement of a 5 clock hour day (300 minutes). However, for GSA attendance purposes, separate morning or afternoon recess may be included towards a student s instruction for either a half-day (150 minutes) or full-day (300 minutes) of attendance. Recess that is linked to lunch cannot be counted. Statutory Citations: 105 ILCS 5/ (F)(1) and 5/ (a) Can students be claimed for attendance if on a field trip? Yes. Provided the field trip is supervised and conducted by a teacher or non-teaching personnel and taken during school hours the field trip site is considered the instructional classroom for the day and attendance may be claimed. Statutory Citations: 105 ILCS 5/ a, 5/ (F)(1) and 5/34-18(10) If a student is in the nurse's office, sick room, guidance counselor's or dean's office should he or she be marked as in attendance? Yes. The student is still present in the school building. The time is claimable towards the required 300 minutes. Statutory Citation: 105 ILCS 5/ (F)(1) If a student s absence is excused, may he or she be counted for attendance? No. Although the school has discretion to excuse a student s absence, if a student is not present in the school building he or she cannot be counted for attendance for General State Aid purposes. Exceptions to this answer would be for students that are participating in a school sponsored activity that requires their participation as a prerequisite to participating in the activity, i.e. sporting event, band concert. Statutory Citation: 105 ILCS 5/ (F)(1) Nonpublic School Attendance System Page 24 of 29

25 If a student is suspended, may he or she be counted for attendance? Yes. If a student has an "in-house" suspension, the 300 minute rule would apply and attendance would be claimable. No. If a student has an "out-of-school" suspension, the student may not be claimed for attendance. Statutory Citation: 105 ILCS 5/ , 5/ (F)(1) and 5/34-18(10) Can a student be excused from class for an in-school meeting, preparation, or activity that is school sponsored and still be considered present for attendance? Yes. Attendance may be counted for a student that is participating in a school sponsored activity provided that activity occurs during the normal instructional day, is overseen by a teacher or non-teaching personnel and the student s attendance is a requirement for participation in such activity. This does not include the general student population that chooses to attend an event such as the State tournament to support their school. Statutory Citation: 105 ILCS 5/ (F)(1) Can students be claimed for attendance when they attend the State tournament in support of their school? The general student population that chooses to attend the State tournament cannot be claimed for attendance; however, students that participate on the team are not penalized for attending the State tournament and may be claimed for attendance for General State Aid purposes provided the activity occurs during the normal instructional day, is overseen by a teacher or non-teaching personnel and the student s attendance is a requirement for participation in such activity. Statutory Citation: 105 ILCS 5/ (F)(1) If a student is "excused" for a doctors' or dentists' appointment, may we claim attendance for the period of time they are at their appointment? No. Although such students are "excused", they are not in attendance in the school building; therefore, attendance may not be claimed for that time. Attendance for a student that has an appointment during instruction time must be determined by the instructional minutes received by the student that day, (i.e. 300 minutes or more instruction may be counted as a full-day; at least 150 minutes but less than 300 minutes of instruction may be counted as a half-day; less than 150 minutes of instruction, no attendance may be claimed). A student on a regular schedule (i.e. class periods of minutes) may be counted for attendance as long as they are present for any portion of a class period. Statutory Citation: 105 ILCS 5/ (F)(1) Nonpublic School Attendance System Page 25 of 29

26 STUDENTS ENROLLED PART-TIME What constitutes a part-time student? A part-time student is defined as a student enrolled in a public school for only a part of the school day and may be counted on the basis of 1/6 day for every class hour of instruction of 40 minutes or more... Examples of part-time students: Non-public students attending the public school for part of the day (e.g. band, driver s education, etc.) Public school students who pay their own tuition and are dually enrolled in high school and a community college or vocational education course. Statutory Citation: 105 ILCS 5/ (F)(2)(a) How are part-time students counted for attendance at a school providing a Block Schedule? Students enrolled in a Block Schedule format of 80 minutes or more may be counted on the basis of the proportion of minutes of instruction received each day to 300 minutes. Example-Block Schedule. The school provides a block schedule and a class is taught on Tuesday and Thursday for 87 minutes each day. The student s claimable attendance each day would be calculated as 87/300=.290. Statutory Citation: 105 ILCS 5/ (F)(2)(a) HOMEBOUND/HOSPITAL ATTENDANCE ISSUES How is homebound or hospitalized instruction attendance counted? A homebound or hospitalized student is unable to attend school due to a condition certified by a medical physician s statement that indicates that the student will be out of school for a minimum of two consecutive weeks of school (10 days) or more. The amount of instructional or related service time provided through the home or hospital program shall be determined in relation to the child's educational needs and physical and mental health needs. The amount of instructional time shall not be less than five hours per week unless the physician has certified in writing that the child should not receive as many as five hours of instruction in a school week. Instruction must be provided on days school is in session. For each day that a student receives homebound instruction for at least 1 hour but less than 4 hours, and that day is a day in the normal school calendar, the school may claim a half-day of attendance. Nonpublic School Attendance System Page 26 of 29

27 For each day that a student receives homebound instruction for 4 or more hours, and that day is a day in the normal school calendar, the school may claim a full-day of attendance. Homebound instruction received on weekends, holidays, or days in which school is not in session may not be claimed for attendance on the General State Aid claim. Statutory Citations: 105 ILCS 5/ (F)(2)(e) and 5/ (a) Administrative Rule: 23 Ill. Admin. Code Part (d) If a student has met the homebound criteria and is instructed by listening on a speakerphone, can he or she be counted for attendance? Yes. This is considered a telephone hook-up. The same attendance parameters apply to the telephone hook-up as applies to home/hospital tutoring. If a student is on the telephone for at least 1 hour but less than 4 hours, a half-day of attendance may be claimed. If the student is on the telephone for 4 or more hours, a full-day of attendance may be claimed. Statutory Citation: 105 ILCS 5/ (F)(2)(e) How should a school claim attendance for a student who has a chronic illness and can only attend school for a limited part of the day and in addition receives homebound instruction? Provided the school has a medical physician s statement on file explaining that it is necessary for the student to only attend school for a specified amount of time and that this condition is in effect for at least 10 days making it necessary that the student must also receive instruction at home, both attendance at school and home are eligible for reimbursement. The student must be enrolled as a part-time student to receive reimbursement for the instructional attendance time at school. Part-time attendance allows the school to claim 1/6 of a day for every period of 40 minutes or more. The homebound instruction must be provided for a minimum of one hour each day in order to qualify for ½ day of attendance. Statutory Citations: 105 ILCS 5/ (F)(1)(a) and (F)(2)(a), (e) Administrative Rule: 23 Ill. Admin. Code Part 226 Section (d) OTHER ATTENDANCE ISSUES May attendance be claimed for a student that participates by going to work with a parent/guardian on the Take Your Child to Work Day? No. The student is not receiving instruction or being supervised by a certified instructor. Statutory Citation: 105 ILCS 5/ (F)(1) Nonpublic School Attendance System Page 27 of 29

28 If a parent enrolls a student but he or she does not attend the first few days of school, when may the school begin to claim attendance? General State Aid is calculated on actual attendance, not enrollment. In this example, the enrolled student may not be claimed for attendance until he or she is in attendance. Statutory Citation: 105 ILCS 5/ (F)(1)(c) What types of students are non-claimable for attendance purposes? Non-claimable students include: children below 3 years of age; children ages 3-5, who are not enrolled in special education or Kindergarten; high school graduates; general education students who are 21 years of age or older; students with disabilities who are 22 years of age or older; or students enrolled in any adult education program or other programs who cannot be expected to receive a high school diploma from the school by age 21 REPORTING ISSUES What records need to be maintained and how long must they be retained? Retain all enrollment and attendance documentation until the State audit of the year to which the records pertain is finalized and the Local Records Commission has approved the disposal of the records under the Local Records Act (50 ILCS 205). The Division of External Assurance provides the following checklist of information that should be available for review by compliance auditors: 1. The school s work papers and other supporting documentation that show how the claim was prepared. 2. The detailed monthly enrollment/attendance reports (or registers) from all attendance centers. 3. The final public school calendar for the year under audit. 4. Schedules and/or grade cards for all part-time students. 5. Time sheets and/or invoice billings for Homebound/Hospital Teachers. Is there a penalty if a school does not maintain its attendance? Schools are required to keep adequate documentation to substantiate the dollars received. If records are not maintained, Illinois State Board of Education External Assurance auditors will review the current year records for internal control and will apply any variances found to the attendance claim under audit. Nonpublic School Attendance System Page 28 of 29

29 Are grade books good enough as a source document? No. Our school's attendance is taken in the classroom, via the school network. Is this acceptable? Yes. The school's attendance system should maintain good internal control. Computer reports should reflect hourly attendance. A daily report signed by the teacher certifying what was placed in the system should be maintained for audit purposes. Nonpublic School Attendance System Page 29 of 29