Federal & State Regulations and Guidance
The Nita M. Lowey 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) Title IV-B team provides fiscal and programmatic tools below to help Arizona’s 21st CCLC programs maintain compliance with federal and state regulations and requirements.
21st CCLC Guidance Handbook 2024-2025
*Please print a physical copy of the 21st CCLC Guidance Handbook for your reference.
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.
- Direct Student Services
- Direct Family Services
- Alignment to the School Day
- Safe and Healthy Learning Environment
- Equity and Access
- Evaluation
- Dissemination
- Sustainability
- Fiscal Record Keeping
- Required Training
- Classroom Observations
- 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 (may be electronic)
- Employee timesheets should be completely filled out including dates (month/day/year) with proper signatures (may be electronic)
- Employees paid by stipend must attach back-up documentation which shows dates, actual hours worked and services performed during time period
- Employee names on timesheets should match employee name on agency hiring forms
- Student attendance rosters must include: Class Name, Teacher Name, Student Name and Dates of Class (month/day/year) (may be electronic)
- 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. This should be done at least weekly.
- 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
- 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.
Grantees are required to have the following documents organized 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
- 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
>GME User Resources/Training
>Fiscal Monitoring
>Time and Effort Guidance Document
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)
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:
- Typically has a useful life of at least 1 year
- Typically repaired rather than replaced when worn or damaged
- “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 21st 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 21st CCLC funding as “21st CCLC program property”, and should keep a Fixed Assets Log meeting the following guidelines:
- Each 21st CCLC site should prepare a detailed listing of these fixed assets that includes all equipment purchased for 21st 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 21st 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 21st 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 21st CCLC programs:
21st 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)
Date Logged | Date of Purchase | Item Name/Description* | Cost | Property ID Tag # | Storage Use/Location* |
11/11/16 | 10/8/16 | Item Name (Brand and model) | $731.00 | Item #0001 (2016) | English/Yearbook room locked supply storage |
*Note: Each item must be logged separately.
Property Tag Example:
Purchase Orders/Receipts
21st 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.
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 and Written Language Vision Statement
Program Transition/Closure
Transitions in district and site leadership happens. The Arizona 21st 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.
Arizona ESSA State Plan- 21st CCLC
Federal Legislation for 21st CCLC
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
The Arizona Department of Education is not responsible for controlling or guaranteeing the accuracy, relevance, timeliness, or completeness of this outside information. Further, the inclusion of information or a hyperlink or URL does not reflect the importance of the organization, nor is it intended to endorse any views expressed, or products or services offered.