Report 2010-104 Recommendation 2 Responses
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 (Release Date: October 2010)
Recommendation #2 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.
Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From October 2014
Education considers this recommendation fully implemented. To ensure the reliability of the ConApp database fields, in fiscal year 2013-14, Education established an internal control process in which a systemic review has been incorporated in the Audit Guide requiring local educational agencies' and direct-funded charter schools' auditors to verify student count data. The 2013-14 and 2014-15 Audit Guide can be located on the Education Audit Appeals Panel website at: www.eaap.ca.gov.
- Completion Date: July 2013
California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: Fully Implemented
Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From October 2013
Commencing in 2012-13, Education no longer collects the count of students eligible for Free or Reduced Price Meals in the ConApp. Education has transitioned to relying on the California Pupil Achievement Data System (CALPADS) as the source for these counts. CALPADS student count data can be verified by requiring the local educational agencies to provide supporting documentation. To establish a systematic review process, Education is working to incorporate audit procedures to verify student count data in the audit guide.
- Completion Date: July 2012
California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: Not Fully Implemented
Education has not yet fully implemented this recommendation. Education states it will now rely on CALPADS to collect information on the number of students who are eligible to receive free or reduced-price meals. However, Education has not updated its audit guide to include audit procedures needed to verify the student information at the local educational agencies. Further, as part of its internal control processes, Education has not conducted a systematic review of a sample of the local educational agencies and direct-funded charter schools' supporting documentation.
- Auditee did not substantiate its claim of full implementation
Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From October 2012
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 Annual Follow-Up Status: Not Fully Implemented
- Auditee did not substantiate its claim of full implementation
- Auditee did not address all aspects of the recommendation
All Recommendations in 2010-104
Agency responses received after June 2013 are posted verbatim.