Special Education Support Flashcards
7 cards from real AICPA practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Special Education Support flashcards as text
A school district's budget includes a line item for 'extended school year' (ESY) services. Under IDEA, what is the financial accountability standard for these expenditures?
Answer: ESY costs are allowable IDEA expenditures when IEP teams have determined ESY is necessary to prevent substantial regression for specific students
When an IEP team determines ESY is necessary to provide FAPE and prevent substantial regression, those services are a required district obligation and allowable IDEA expenditure.
A district's special education director requests that $30,000 in unspent IDEA funds be carried over to the next fiscal year. What governs whether this is permissible?
Answer: The grant award terms and applicable federal carryover provisions, which generally permit one year of carryover for unused IDEA funds
IDEA Part B typically allows LEAs to carry over unobligated funds for one additional fiscal year under federal grant provisions, subject to state-level rules and grant terms.
A CPA advising a school district on a due process settlement that includes compensatory education services should recommend that the costs be recorded as:
Answer: Special education expenditures in the period the services are provided, with disclosure of the settlement contingency
Compensatory education services are expensed as special education program costs when services are rendered, and the settlement obligation should be disclosed as a contingent liability in the notes.
Which risk is MOST likely to be identified during an audit of a district's IDEA subgrant to a charter school?
Answer: The charter school lacks adequate internal controls over federal grant expenditures and time-and-effort documentation
Charter schools receiving federal subgrants often have weaker internal controls and grant management experience, making inadequate documentation and controls the highest audit risk.
Under GASB 54, how should a school district classify fund balance for IDEA grant revenue received but not yet expended at fiscal year-end?
Answer: Restricted fund balance, because the resources are constrained by externally imposed federal grant conditions
GASB 54 classifies fund balance as restricted when resources are constrained by externally imposed conditions, such as federal grant requirements that limit use to special education purposes.
A district uses a cost pool to allocate shared administrative costs (e.g., payroll processing, accounting) to its special education program. What must the CPA verify about this allocation?
Answer: That the allocation methodology is rational, consistently applied, and documented in a cost allocation plan
Indirect cost allocations to federal programs must follow a rational, documented, and consistently applied methodology as required by 2 CFR Part 200 Subpart E.
A parent disagrees with a district's IEP and unilaterally places her child in a private school, then seeks reimbursement. What financial exposure does the district face?
Answer: The district may be ordered to reimburse private school tuition if a hearing officer or court finds the district's IEP failed to provide FAPE
Under Burlington/Carter, courts may award private school tuition reimbursement when a district's IEP is found to deny FAPE and the private placement is appropriate, creating significant financial exposure.