Federal & State Regulations and Guidance

Compliance Expectations

The Nita M. Lowey 21st CCLC Guidance Handbook provides monitoring resources and guidance for the grantees to implement the required expectations of their grant. Throughout the duration of a grant cycle an official Compliance Monitoring visit may be scheduled with your assigned Education Program Specialist. Criteria for compliance expectations can be found in the 21st CCLC Guidance Handbook.

Below is the outline of Sections of the Site Compliance Tool found in the “Compliance Expectations” section of the handbook.

1. Direct Student Services
2. Direct Family Services
3. Alignment to the School Day
4. Safe and Healthy Learning Environment
5. Equity and Access
6. Evaluation
7. Dissemination
8. Sustainability
9. Fiscal Record Keeping
10. Required Training
11. Classroom Observations
12. Maintaining Substantial Compliance

Payroll/Attendance/Time & Effort

Payroll, Attendance, and Time and Effort recording are part of grant compliance for each awarded site. During an announced or unannounced visit, sites should have the following items available for review:

• Provide copies of timesheets for each employee paid out of the grant by pay period 
• Employee timesheets should be completely filled out including dates (month/day/year) with proper signatures 
• Employees paid by stipend must attach back-up documentation which shows dates, actual hours worked and services performed during time period 
• Employee timesheets should match agency hiring forms 
• Attach copies of student attendance rosters, by class, to each corresponding timesheet 
• Student attendance rosters must include: Class Name, Teacher Name, Student Name and Dates of Class (month/day/year) 
• Student attendance rosters must be kept current by class 
• 21st CCLC student level daily attendance data must be entered into each site's Student Information System (SIS), the same system school sites use to report school day attendance
• If a substitute teacher is needed, their name should be recorded on the attendance roster 
• For annual reporting purposes, student level data will be required for each attendee 
• Attach copies of Time and Effort logs for each employee paid out of the grant to the corresponding timesheet and attendance sheets. For more information regarding Time and Effort reporting guidelines, please see the Time and Effort reporting section below 
• Refer to your district auditor for additional guidance on Time and Effort reporting 

Weekly Attendance Log Template 

21st CCLC Tracking Workbook Template

Record Keeping Requirements

Upon an announced or unannounced site visit, ADE will request to see the following required records from the site. Records need to be kept site specific. New Fiscal Record binders are to be created and updated each fiscal year of the program.

Grantees are required to have the following documents organized in a binder for each year of the program and available for site visits. Below is the outline of 21st CCLC grant program expectations found in the handbook.

• 21st CCLC Program At-A-Glance Document
• Program Schedule
• Current Student Attendance Records by Class/Activity for each day
• Lesson Plan, Curriculum Overview and/or Syllabus for each class offered
• Monthly Detailed Expenditures Spreadsheet for the previous month from LEA/Site Business Department
• Purchase Orders/Receipts
• Documentation that the LEA’s Human Resources hiring and volunteer screening procedures are followed, such as
  • Time Sheets, Time and Effort Logs, Daily Attendance Rosters for each Class/Activity (attached together with the Time Sheet as the cover)
  • Payroll records showing positions approved in approved budget are kept, organized and available on request.
  • Evidence that relevant Human Resources policies and procedures are followed.
• Fixed Assets (Capital Items) Log

Time & Effort

The Federal Government requires any employee, funded by federal grants, must maintain documentation showing that their time is allocable to a federal program.  That documentation must be based on records that accurately reflect the work performed.

• The employee’s time must be documented in writing.
• The documentation should reflect the actual time spent by the employee on activities of the federal program(s) being charged.
• The period covered by the documentation may not exceed one month unless an approved substitute system is in place.
• The documentation should account for each employee’s time for the period covered (including state/local activities).

For further guidance on Time and Effort Reporting, please see the ADE Grants Management page at this link https://home.azed.gov/Portal/. On the Grants Management page, look in the

> Grants Management Resource Library under

>GME User Resources/Training

>Fiscal Monitoring for the Guide to Time & Effort Reporting

Refer to the district’s business office and auditor for additional guidance on Time and Effort reporting.

Examples of acceptable Time and Effort logs:

Time and Effort Weekly Log (Template #1)

Time and Effort Weekly Log (Template #2)

Time and Effort Monthly Log (Template #3) 

Budgetary Resources

Coding (Classifiying Budget Expenditures Correctly)

Grant applicants and grantees should always consult with their own finance office and the continuously updated Chart of Accounts at the Arizona Auditor General site for Arizona School Districts or for Arizona Charter Schools for coding and classifying budget expenditures.

Fixed Assets

Fixed assets refer to equipment/property which are purchased for long-term use and are identified based off of 3 tests regardless of the dollar amount:

1. Typically has a useful life of at least 1 year
2. Typically repaired rather than replaced when worn or damaged
3. “An independent unit that retains its original shape, appearance, and character with use and does not lose its identity through fabrication or incorporation into different or more complex substances”

All 3 tests must apply for districts to use the Capital Outlay codes in the Grants Management System.  Refer to the Capital Outlay Worksheet in the Grants Management System for more information.

The Capital Outlay Codes are: 6731-6739

Disclaimer for Charter Schools:  Charters will use 6600 or 0190 depending on the unit cost.  Contact your business office for additional guidance.

To avoid supplanting, fixed assets purchased with 21^st CCLC funds may only be used outside of the regular school day, unless the assets are purchased on a cost shared basis proportional to the amount of use during whole day.  Each program site should tag items purchased from 21^st CCLC funding as “21^st CCLC program property”, and should keep a Fixed Assets Log meeting the following guidelines:

• Each 21^st CCLC site should prepare a detailed listing of these fixed assets that includes all equipment purchased for 21^st CCLC use such as computers, printers, and similar items that pass all 3 tests mentioned above
• The Fixed Assets Log should include the date logged, date purchased, item name/description, cost, property identification tag, and location (see the example below)
• Fixed Assets Logs are kept for 21^st CCLC fixed assets until the end of the grant, at which time the items may be used to continue to support activities at the school site for which the funding was awarded

Note:  The purpose of a Fixed Assets Log is to track the location and use of equipment used in the 21^st CCLC Program.  The Capital Outlay Worksheet (C.O.W.) is required when an LEA budgets in the capital codes within the Funding Application in the Grants Management System.

The following is an example of a Fixed Asset Log which may be used in 21^st CCLC programs:

21^st CCLC Fixed Assets Log – For items lasting more than 1 year (or at the expenditure level which your district considers items to be fixed assets and including such items as computers and printers)

*Note:  Each item must be logged separately. 

Property Tag Example:

Property-Tag.jpg

Purchase Orders/Receipts

21^st CCLC expenditures are expected to follow fiscal and site business office practices. During an announced or unannounced site visit the following items should be available for review:

• Provide a copy of any contracts for purchased professional services.
• Provide copies of all purchase orders with dates, proper signatures and copies of itemized receipts attached.
• Provide copies of purchase orders for purchased services with a copy of the paid invoice attached that shows actual services rendered and payment.
• 21st CCLC Site Coordinator should review and approve all expenditures prior to processing.

Monthy Expenditures Spreadsheet

Each site is expected to provide a monthly spreadsheet that identifies expenditures by budget line with current balance. Information on spreadsheet must show vendor name and/or employee name with dollar amount. Monthly Expenditure Spreadsheet should be available from the District Business Office. All expenditures must be approved in awarded grant budget prior to incurring expense.  21st CCLC Site Coordinator should keep track of all expenditures charged to the grant by budget line and be aware of current balances.

Reimbursement Requests should be made on a regular basis.  Contact the Grants Management Team for additional guidance.

Grants Management can be reached directly at 602-542-3901 from 8am-5pm, Monday-Friday and now also via Help Desk at http://helpdeskexternal.azed.gov/

Below is a template of a spreadsheet that can be used for tracking expenses.  You can also contact your business office for an expense tracking template currently being used in your organization.

•  Expense Tracking Form

Programmatic Resources

Media & Communication Resources

Mandatory funding statement and Arizona 21st CCLC logo is required in publications to acknowledge that programming is being funded and supported through federal 21st CCLC grants awarded by the Arizona Department of Education.   

Click link below for these resources.

Logo, Written Language & Vision Statement

Program Transition/Closure

Transitions in district and site leadership happens. The Arizona 21^st CCLC team has created documentation to assist with this leadership changeover. The following documents are intended to assist with the actions and communication needed to ensure a seamless change in leadership.

Annual Verification Checklist for 21st Century Community Learning Center (21st CCLC) Site Leaders

Transition Checklist for Incoming 21st CCLC District Leaders

Transition Checklist for Incoming 21st CCLC Site Leaders

Transitions Checklist for Outgoing 21st CCLC Site Leaders

Additional Resources

The following areas have been found resourceful by grantees.

Accessing Your Grant

Arizona ESSA State Plan- 21^st CCLC

Federal Legislation for 21st CCLC

Safe and Healthy Learning Environments

REQUIREMENTS:

Arizona 21st CCLC Programs must provide for a safe and healthy learning environment by ensuring that healthy food, safe transportation, an easily accessible environment are addressed. 21st CCLC programs must submit a 21st CCLC Program Basic Emergency Plan prior to the start of the program.

See the documents in the link below for guidance on addressing these 21st CCLC program requirements.

Safe & Healthy Learning Environments