Florida Department of Education Transportation Directors Meeting – February 10, 2011 Presenter: Ruth Jones Education Information & Accountability Services STUDENT TRANSPORTATION REPORTING

Numbers ( ): 1,024,906 = transported funded membership adjusted for term length 83,908 = non-funded (ineligible) transported membership 39,389 = students with disabilities 37,142 = hazardous walking

Student Database Surveys Formats Student Demographic Information Student Transportation Elements Edits Reports Documentation: 3

Surveys Survey PeriodMonthCovers 1July Beginning of the fiscal year (July 1) to the beginning of the defined 180 day school year 2October First 90 days of the 180 day school year. 3February Second 90 days of the 180 day school year. 4June End of the 180 day school program to the end of the fiscal year (June 30). 4

Transportation Calculations First Calculation Completed immediately after the annual legislative session Based on district’s number of eligible students transported from: July, preceding fiscal year; October, preceding fiscal year; and June, second preceding fiscal year. 5

Transportation Calculations Second Calculation Completed after Survey 2 (end of state processing). Usually in December. Based on: July, current fiscal year; October, current fiscal year; and June, preceding fiscal year. 6

Transportation Calculations Third Calculation Completed after Survey 3 (end of state processing). Usually April. Based on: July, current fiscal year; October, current fiscal year; February, current fiscal year; and June, preceding fiscal year. 7

Transportation Calculations Final Calculation Completed after Survey 4 (final update). Usually November/December. Based on: July, current fiscal year; October, current fiscal year; February, current fiscal year; and June, current fiscal year. Prior Year Adjustments from audits are incorporated as they are received. 8

Survey Periods Due Date Transportation Calculations 1st Calculation After Legislative Session by June 30 Survey 1 July 12-16, 2010 State Processing: July 28 – September 17, 2010 Final Update: September 30, 2010 July 30, 2010 Survey 2 October 11-15, 2010 State Processing: October 18 – November 12, 2010 Final Update: March 31, 2011 October 29, nd Calculation After Survey 2 November/December Survey 3 February 7-11, 2011 State Processing: February 14 – March 11, 2011 Final Update: July 31, 2010 February 25, rd Calculation After Survey 3 March/April Survey 4 June 13-17, 2011 State Processing: June 27 - July 15, 2011 Final Update: August 31, 2011 July 1, 2011 Final Calculation After Survey 4 November

Why is it important to get the data right the first time? Your funding will be correct. Other districts’ funding will be correct. You will not have to waste time and resources correcting prior data. Legislature wants to see accurate data. Once data systems are rolled-over to the new year it is harder to update records. 10

Elements Student Number Identifier, Florida District Numbers – Service and Enrollment Year-Round/Extended School Year FTE Indicator Days in Term (For FTE Purposes) Transportation Membership Category Vehicle Category Bus Number Bus Route Number Hazardous Walking 11

When should Year-Round/Extended School Year FTE Indicator be coded ‘A’ or ‘B’? Code ‘A’ is used only for schools on a year-round schedule. Most districts have no year-round schools. Code ‘B’ is never appropriate for school transportation funding, only for FEFP funding. Most districts should code all students ‘Z’. 12

Is Days in Term (for FTE Purposes) always 90 days? No. During the regular school year, for example, a student who needs center to center transportation only one day a week would be reported with 18 days (90 day term divided by 5). No. During summer periods report the scheduled days students are required to attend for each reporting period (surveys 1 and 4). 13

Membership Categories – Students with Disabilities CodeCategory AStudents with Disabilities – K-12, Weighted BStudents with Disabilities – K-12, Unweighted CStudents with Disabilities – PK, Weighted EStudents with Disabilities – PK, Unweighted ICenter to Center - Weighted JCenter to Center - Unweighted 14

Membership Categories – Non-Disabled Students CodeCategory FTeenage Parents and Infants GHazardous Walking (Elementary) HAll Others Living Two Miles or More KCenter to Center, Vocational & Dual Enrollment Students NNon-eligible (Non-funded) 15

Who is eligible for Students with Disabilities Weighted Funding ? Students with disabilities whose IEP specifies that at least one of the following criteria applies to the student. Medical equipment required. Special transportation environment required by a medical condition. Aide or monitor necessary due to disability and need of student. Shortened day required. School assigned is located in an out-of-district school system.

What kind of medical equipment meets this requirement? Medical equipment is defined as: wheelchair, crutches, walker, cane, tracheotomy equipment, and positioning or unique seating devices. 17

How do I know about an environmental change needed for a medical condition? A physician’s prescription is required for medical conditions that require a special transportation environment (for instance, tinted windows, dust- controlled atmosphere, or temperature control). 18

Does a student with a disability get weighted funding if transported in a private vehicle? Eligible students transported by private vehicles and eligible students for whom the district pays fares are treated as any other transported students.

How can I verify that I have the correct number of students with disabilities with weighted funding? To verify the KG-12 students, use report F Transportation Membership Category ‘A’. This report lists students with a transportation membership code of ‘A’, Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) - Weighted. 20

Who is categorized as a student with disabilities eligible for unweighted funding? A student with a disability who does not qualify for weighted funding and meets one of the following: Is in Grades KG-12 and Lives less than two miles from school and Has a disability other than SLD, SI and LI or has an IEP specifying that transportation services are required. Is in Prekindergarten. Is transported from one school center to another center or non-center as specified in the IEP. 21

Which Prekindergarten students are eligible for transportation funding? Prekindergarten students with disabilities under Rule 6A , FAC, regardless of distance (may be weighted or unweighted). Prekindergarten age children of student parents enrolled in a Teenage Parent Program under s , F.S. Ineligible programs include: Prekindergarten Title I, Prekindergarten Migrant Programs, Early Intervention, Head Start, VPK, and Readiness Coalition programs.

Hazardous Walking If Transportation Membership Category is ‘G’ (Hazardous Walking-Elementary) there must be a hazardous walking code that is found on the Department’s Hazardous Walking file. Districts can access a file of the codes at North West Regional Data Center (NWRDC) — DPS.DISTRICT.GQ.F70881.Yyyyys

What are the dates for finalizing the hazardous walking database? Update the Department’s hazardous walking database no later than the end of each survey week. For : July 16, 2010 October 15, 2010 February 11, 2011 June 17, 2011

How do I know if I submitted a student with an incorrect hazardous walking code? Match your records against the file available from NWRDC (F70881) before sending it to the DOE. After sending the records to DOE, look at the edit report (F70500) that indicates which records were rejected and the reason for the rejection. Look at report F a count of students whose Transportation Membership Category is ‘G’. Verify it against expected numbers. 25

Student Demographic Records A Student Demographic record must be reported for each Student Transportation record. These records must match on the following fields: District Number, Current Enrollment Student Number Identifier, Florida Survey Period Year Auditors use the demographic records to get students' names.

My district transports some students to another district for instruction and does not have all the Student Demographic information required. What should I do? For these students, the matching demographic record comes from the other district. Your district submits only the Student Transportation record.

Why do I have so many students with no matching Student Demographic Records? The Student Number Identifier, Florida was not used on the Student Transportation record. The Student Number Identifier, Local was used. An old Student Number Identifier, Florida was used. The student’s enrollment district did not use the same Student Number Identifier, Florida as you did. The Student Demographic record was submitted late. 28

How can I find out which students do not have matching Student Demographic records? Use report F Students Without A Matching Demographic Record. This report provides a list of students who do not have a demographic record. Use report F This report lists all records with one or more validation edit errors. Having no matching demographic record is error number 50.

Average Bus Occupancy (ABO) The transportation funding formula rewards efficiency by using a factor that is based upon the average number of eligible students transported per bus This encourages greater bus utilization 30

Reports show more buses than I have. How can I find the reporting mistake? Use the following two reports and look for buses with only one or two students. Verify each bus number on the report. Counts of Students Transported on each Bus (F70808) - a count of students on each bus. Names of Students Transported on each Bus (F70810) - a list of names of students on each bus.

What reports show the numbers used in the transportation calculation for my district? The following reports can be requested to show these numbers. F FEFP Transportation - a summary of all eligible students transported, by vehicle type and membership category. F FEFP Transportation - a summary of all students by membership category by survey for the year. F Transportation Calculation Comparison - a comparison of current and previous calculations in four areas. F Prior Year Amendment Comparison- a comparison of the amended and final counts for each survey period and the total count for the school year.

Who should I notify if a summer school session takes place outside the regularly scheduled survey week window? A separate survey week must be established to cover these students. The middle day or middle week of the summer period should be used as the basis for establishment of the survey week. This effort must be coordinated with the district FTE administrator so that the same survey week is established for both FTE and Transportation reporting. The Department of Education does not need to be notified but you should keep documentation for audit purposes.

If Friday, July 1 is the only day of summer session scheduled for survey 1, can I report that day with survey 4 data? No. Whenever the summer session crosses two fiscal years (as in the example above), students must be reported in two separate surveys, one for June and one for July, with different term lengths, as applicable to the portion of the summer school session that takes place in each month. A separate count of students must take place for the July day.

References Sections – , F.S. Section , F.S. (Funding) Rule Chapter 6A-3 Student Transportation General Instructions ( Student Information System documentation (

Student Transportation Data Reporting Contacts 36 Tsung-Yuan Lin or Ruth Jones Education Information & Accountability Services (850)