Report 2010-104 Recommendations and Responses in 2012-041
Report 2010-104: California's Charter Schools: Some Are Providing Meals to Students, but a Lack of Reliable Data Prevents the California Department of Education From Determining the Number of Students Eligible for or Participating in Certain Federal Meal Programs
| Department | Number of Years Reported As Not Fully Implemented | Total Recommendations to Department | Not Implemented After One Year | Not Implemented as of Most Recent Response |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Department of Education | 2 | 6 | 3 | 1 |
Recommendation To: Education, Department of
To ensure the reliability of the ConApp database fields related to the number of students enrolled at the school level, the number of those enrolled students who are eligible to receive free meals, and the number of those students who are eligible to receive reduced-price meals, Education should establish an internal control process such as a systematic review of a sample of the local educational agencies' and direct-funded charter schools' supporting documentation.
Response
Effective fiscal year 2011-12, the California Department of Education (CDE) revised its process to collect and verify enrollment and free and reduced price meal (FRPM) data. The FRPM data is now collected at the student-level through the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System (CALPADS) instead of aggregate data collected through the Consolidated Application (ConApp). CALPADS collects the FRPM data concurrently with the official enrollment data as part of the CALPADS Fall 1 Data Submission. All public schools, including charter schools, report the data as of the California Basic Educational Data System (CBEDS) Information Day which is the first Wednesday of each October.
Beginning in October 2012, CALPADS will provide a specific aggregate report within the system to assist LEAs in determining and certifying accurate data submission. CALPADS already contains numerous internal data checks to ensure data quality. For example, one internal data check ensures that the same student is not enrolled in two different schools on the same day. Another internal data check ensures that a school's FRPM count does not exceed the official enrollment for that school.
Provision 2 and Provision 3 schools not required to collect and report student-level data each year continue to report data through the ConApp. The CDE added an error check to the ConApp to ensure that a school's FRPM count does not exceed the official enrollment for that school as reported to CALPADS.
- California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Not Fully Implemented
- Response Date: October 2012
Recommendation To: Education, Department of
To ensure that it maximizes the benefits from the State's investment in the CNIPS database, Education should require the school food authorities to submit a monthly Claim for Reimbursement for each site under their jurisdiction in addition to their consolidated claims.
Response
Beginning with the July 2012 claims for reimbursement, the CDE required all School Food Authorities (SFA) to be set at site level reporting in the Child Nutrition Information and Payment System (CNIPS).
- California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Fully Implemented
- Completion Date: October 2012
- Response Date: October 2012
Recommendation To: Education, Department of
To ensure that it maximizes the benefits from the State's investment in the CNIPS database, Education should establish a timeline for the school food authorities to comply with the requirement.
Response
On February 21, 2012, the CDE issued the enclosed management bulletin delineating the timeline for the school food authorities to comply with the site level reporting requirement. The management bulletin is also available on CDE's Web page at http://www.cde.ca.gov/ls/nu/sn/mbnsdsnp042012.asp.
- California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Fully Implemented
- Completion Date: October 2012
- Response Date: October 2012