The chapter for Arizona Online Instruction Issued 9-2024 has been updated and posted on the School Finance webpage under School Finance Guidelines & Manuals . The updated manual provides guidance on reporting student membership data for Arizona Online Instruction (AOI) programs. The guidance includes student Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) calculation and documentation requirements.

This chapter is posted under the accordion titled “AOI Participation.”

If you have questions, you can create a HelpDesk ticket for the School Finance Analyst Team.
 

Payment 4 will be based on data captured that is passing integrity and generating ADM in AzEDS. There is no option for districts to be paid on prior year data, or for charters to be paid on estimated counts. Actual data in AzEDS will be used to calculate ADM for Payment 4.

Please ensure data is reconciled and free of integrity errors prior to the data capture date. Review the following reports in AzEDS:

• INTEG15 – ensure data is free and clear of membership ADM Integrity errors
• STUD10 – validate all students are listed in AzEDS
• ADM15 – ensure all students expected to generate funding are indicated as fundable
• ADM20, SPED20, and EL20 – ensure ADM amounts for each ADM type 

Important Note: FY25 Calendars need to be submitted, approved, and certified for ADM and funding to be generated.

FY 2025 Monthly Payment and AzEDS Processing Schedule

If additional assistance is needed, please submit a HelpDesk ticket.

The data capture date for the September payment is Thursday, August 15, at 5:00 p.m. September payment will be based off current-year ADM for school districts and charters.  The calculation of current-year ADM is dependent on a certified AzEDS calendar for all non-AOI/DRP-only schools.
 
It is imperative calendars are submitted, certified, and pass integrity by 5:00 p.m. on August 14, 2024.
 
Calendar Resources:

• Instructions for certifying a calendar can be found here
• To view data capture dates for FY25, please click here
• To view posted guidance "Defining the Instructional Calendar", please click here
• To view the Calendar Integrity Reference Guide, please click here

 
Reminders regarding calendars:

• Calendars must be submitted, certified, and passing Integrity by 8/14/2024 to avoid Integrity failures which will affect the September payment
• Calendars can be freely submitted and edited until 8/31/2023. After each edit, calendars need to be re-certified
• After 8/31/2023, a calendar access request is needed to edit an existing calendar or submit a new calendar. Calendar requests are submitted through the Help Desk ticketing system. When creating a new ticket, use the School Finance “Account Analyst Support Request” template. From there, select the Subcategory “Calendar Access” and the appropriate Item (Add New Calendar/Change All Calendars/Individual Date Changes)

The Defining the Instructional Calendar Chapter has been updated and posted on the School Finance webpage under the School Finance Guidelines & Manuals section. This chapter was revised to remove duplicate guidance referred to in the Reporting Student Membership chapter and remove outdated guidance.

If you have questions, create a HelpDesk ticket for the School Finance Analyst Team.

The chapter for Reporting Student Membership, formally part of the School Finance Manual, has been updated and posted on the School Finance webpage under the School Finance Guidelines & Manuals section. This chapter provides detailed guidance on how to report student membership and special enrollments to AzEDS as well as how to calculate a student's reported full-time equivalency (FTE).

This chapter is posted under the accordion named Reporting Student Membership.

If you have questions, you can create a HelpDesk ticket for the School Finance Analyst Team.

Charter Estimated Counts files are due on 07/01/24. This requirement does not apply to districts as it is specifically for Charter schools.

School Finance does NOT pay based on the prior year's ADM in AzEDS for Charters.

If your charter school prefers to be paid on Actual ADM for FY25, Payment 1, then you must meet the following criteria:

• Verify the ADM20, EL20, and SPED20 AzEDS Reports for FY25 so that Payment 1 is correct.
• Upload and certify your FY25 AzEDS Instructional Calendar by 06/15/24.
• Student data in FY25 is free of integrity errors as of 06/15/24.

If your charter did not have data in AzEDS on FY25 - Data Capture date of 06/15/24, you must submit a Charter Estimated Counts file by 07/01/24 to receive a payment.

• Successful file submissions show “Processed” status.

School Finance does NOT pay based on the prior year's (FY24) ADM in AzEDS for Charters.

Any questions you have after reviewing the recorded training session and manual should be submitted via HelpDesk.

There are several reports that districts and charters can access from School Finance Reports and within the AzEDS system that summarize student counts and are helpful in the budget preparation process:

•  ADM20 - summarizes district/charter regular education student counts by grade level
• SPED20 - summarizes district/charter special education student counts by need
• ELL20 - summarizes district/charter English Learner student counts by program
• ADM30 - summarizes school-level regular education student counts
• GIFT10 - lists all students who qualify for the gifted program
• GIFT11 - breaks down those students to their individual gifted needs of Language Arts (Verbal) giftedness, Non-Verbal giftedness, Quantitative (Math) giftedness or Other giftedness
• FRPL20 – summarizes district/charter with reported FRPL need by grade level
• FRPL30 - summarizes school-level FRPL counts

The reports may be run for a given Local Education Agency as the district of residence, the student count used in basic state aid calculations, or the district of attendance, which is the student count used in Classroom Site Fund calculations and certain other payments. The reports may be run for any date during the fiscal year from within the AzEDS system, and data submission dates that were used in basic state aid payment calculations are also available without the need to log in through School Finance Reports.

Instructions to access the reports are below:

• To view ADM20, SPED20, and ELL20 reports for data used in basic state aid payment calculations:

1. First, navigate to School Finance Reports
2. Next, select a Local Education Agency and click “View Reports.”​
   1. ​​​​​​ADM Reports: This section allows LEAs to view the report or download a PDF of the Data Capture Date used for the State Aid payment and linked to the BSA 55 for a given month.
   2. Additionally, from within BSA-55 reports, clicking the “AzEDS Execution Date” link in the top right corner of the report will display the same reports that appear under the ADM report category(click “next page” to view all reports).

• To run ADM20, SPED20, and ELL20 reports that were not used in basic state aid payment calculations:

1. First, navigate to AzEDS
2. Next, click on “Reports” and then click “ADM.”
3. Select the desired report (ADM20, SPED20, or ELL20)
4. Select the Local Education Agency
5. Select the data capture date and “District of Residence.”
6. Finally, click “View Report.”

• To run ADM30 reports 

1. First, navigate to AzEDS
2. Next, click on “Reports” and then click “ADM.”
3. Select the desired report (ADM30)
4. Select the Local Education Agency
5. Select the data capture date and report type “Limited” and  “District of Attendance.”
6. Finally, click “View Report.”

• To run GIFT reports 

1. First, navigate to AzEDS
2. Next, click “Reports” and “Support Program.”
3. Select the desired report (GIFT10, GIFT11)
4. Select the Local Education Agency
5. Select the School(s)
6. Finally, click “View Report.”

Please get in touch with the Budget Team at [email protected] if you have any questions about submitting budgets.  For questions regarding AzEDS reports, please get in touch with the Analyst Team via HelpDesk.

The School Finance Analyst Team has noticed a data trend: an increase in duplicate State Student I.D.s reported every new school year. Creating duplicate student I.D.s can lead to incorrect funding and pose a significant challenge for districts, charters, and the School Finance Analyst Team to resolve. To avoid such complications, it's crucial to familiarize yourself with the guidelines below and ensure we don't create any duplicate student I.D.s.

As a member of your school staff, you play the most vital role in preventing the creation of duplicate State Student I.D.s. Remember, a State Student ID (SSID) is a unique identifier that reports student data to AzEDS. It's also an EdFI ID, SAIS Number, or AzEDS ID.  

If a new student is enrolling in your charter or district, you must thoroughly review the student's records to determine if an SSID already exists in AzEDS. All students educated in an Arizona public school will have an SSID assigned. 

Per A.R.S. § 15-828 an acceptable document to enroll a student includes the following:

1. A certified copy of the pupil's birth certificate.
2. Other reliable proof of the pupil's identity and age, including the pupil's baptismal certificate, an application for a social security number or original school registration records, and an affidavit explaining the inability to provide a copy of the birth certificate.
3. A letter from the authorized representative of an agency having custody of the pupil under Title 8, chapter 2, certifying that the pupil has been placed in the agency's custody as prescribed by law.

If your Student Information System (S.I.S.) searches SSIDs but multiple possible SSIDs are returned, utilize the AzEDS Identity Tool to validate you are choosing the correct SSID. Do not select an SSID in your S.I.S. without further research. If multiple SSIDs populate, please report the I.D.s via the Help Desk application so the duplicate SSIDs can be retired.

If you are still trying to decide which SSID to select, review the student's records, if applicable. The Official Notice of Pupil Withdrawal Form will list the SSID from the previous school.

If no results return for assigning an SSID from your S.I.S., please ensure you have exhausted all possible resources before assigning a new SSID. 

• Review student's records.
  • Verify the student's name.
  • Check for misspellings, multiple last names, name order, hyphenation, etc.
• Utilize the AzEDS Identity Tool.
• Contact the student's previous school for additional information. Contact your S.I.S. for further support.
• Create a Help Desk icket to request assistance in choosing the correct SSID.

To be eligible for an increase in expenditure capacity and state aid, all FY2023 A.R.S. § 15-915 requests must be submitted by June 01, 2024, to ensure all data changes/corrections are completed before June 30, 2024.

Requests completed after June 30, 2024, are outside the subsequent fiscal year and are not eligible for increased expenditure capacity and state aid.

Year two (2) and three (3) corrections made within the 2nd and 3rd prior year may decrease expenditure capacity and state aid. Under A.R.S. § 15-915, no increases may result from FY2021 and FY2022 student data corrections.

For additional information and instructions on submitting a request, see the Guidelines for Requesting Prior Year Corrections to State Aid or Budget Capacity (A.R.S. § 15-915).

A.R.S. § 15-185(D) requires the reduction of the base support level and equalization assistance by the amount of federal and state monies received by a charter school that are intended for the basic maintenance and operations of the school.

Monies intended for basic maintenance and operations (M&O) are those intended to support the educational program of the school. They do not include supplemental federal and state grants for specific purposes, such as ESEA Title I, IDEA Part B, and federal food program reimbursements. In addition, by statute, they do not include Federal Impact Aid (Title 8, P.L. 103-382) monies. The Auditor General will make the final determination of what monies are intended for basic maintenance and operations.

To assist the Arizona Department of Education (ADE) and the Auditor General in identifying the types of monies applicable to this reduction, charter holders who have monies to report must complete the form on page 2. An electronic copy of the form, including signature, must be sent by email to [email protected] on or before 4:30 p.m. on July 1, 2024. Charter holders with no monies to report should not complete or return the form.

Charter schools receiving Indian School Equalization Program (ISEP) funds must report data used in the calculation of state aid separately for the ISEP students and the non-ISEP students. This allows ADE to accurately apply A.R.S. § 15-185(D) only to the state aid generated by the ISEP-funded students. Students that are non-ISEP will generate monthly state aid for the charter because these students are not funded by the federal Indian School Equalization Program. ISEP students will not generate state aid.

Click here to review the full calendar memo.