ARRA Section 1512 Quarterly Reports Continuous Corrections Period
Central Contractor Registration—Annual Renewal
ARRA Section 1511 Infrastructure Investment Reports
November 8, 2011
TO THE ADMINISTRATOR ADDRESSED:
SUBJECT: 1) American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) Section 1512 Quarterly Reporting Continuous Corrections Period—November 8, 2011 through November 30, 2011
- Reporting FTEs for ARRA Grants
- Reporting Expenditures for Infrastructure Investments
2) Central Contractor Registration (CCR)—Annual Renewal
3) ARRA Section 1511 Infrastructure Investment Reports
4) Enforcement Actions Related to ARRA Requirements
The purpose of this letter is to inform local educational agencies (LEAs) of the continuous corrections period for ARRA Section 1512 Quarterly Reports for the quarter ending September 30, 2011, and to remind LEAs of the importance of renewing their Central Contractor Registration (CCR) and completing the required ARRA Section 1511 Infrastructure Investment Reports.
A continuous corrections period for ARRA Section 1512 Quarterly Reports is provided by the Texas Education Agency (TEA) approximately five weeks after the end of each reporting quarter.
1) ARRA Section 1512 Quarterly Reporting Continuous Corrections Period—November 8, 2011 through November 30, 2011
On Tuesday, November 8, 2011, TEA will open the expenditure reporting (ER) system to allow corrections to ARRA Section 1512 Quarterly Reports submitted for the quarter ending September 30, 2011. The continuous corrections period will close Wednesday, November 30, 2011, at 5:00 p.m. This corrections period is provided to accommodate LEAs and fiscal agents that want to revise data in previously submitted reports for the quarter ending September 30, 2011. No action is necessary unless the LEA or fiscal agent has identified data that needs to be corrected. Revisions may only be made to data submitted for the period ending September 30, 2011. All corrections must be submitted by 5:00 p.m. Central Time,Wednesday, November 30, 2011.
a) Final Report
TEA has modified its ER system to accommodate the submission of final reports. Beginning with the quarter ending September 30, 2011, the ARRA Section 1512 Quarterly Reports will include a field in which the LEA can indicate that its report is final. A project is considered “final” for ARRA reporting purposes when all of the following requirements are met:
- There are no further ARRA expenditures for the associated award.
- All expended ARRA funds associated with the award have been invoiced and received.
- No additional jobs will be funded.
- The project status is complete per TEA requirements and/or performance measures.
Additionally, in instances in which the final subrecipient expenditures listed on the report are less than the total award amount, the LEA must explain why the final amount in the “Total Expended Amount” field does not equal the total award amount.
Provided that an LEA meets all of the above requirements for a particular grant, this final report will be the last ARRA Section 1512 quarterly report the LEA will be required to submit for that grant. Please note that if there are mistakes in the final report, the LEA will be required to correct the final report during the subsequent ARRA Section 1512 continuous corrections period.
b) Reporting Full-time Equivalents (FTEs) for ARRA Grants
Information on reporting FTEs can be found on TEA’s website on the ARRA—Archived News and Announcements webpage at http://www.tea.state.tx.us/index4.aspx?id=5285&menu_id=934 under the 12/21/2009 heading.
Additional TEA guidance on ARRA Quarterly Reporting is available on TEA’s ARRA Section 1512 Report website at http://www.tea.state.tx.us/index4.aspx?id=7860&menu_id=934&menu_id2=941.
c) Reporting Expenditures for Infrastructure Investments in the ARRA Section 1512 Report
Infrastructure investment expenditures must be reported cumulatively in the ARRA Section 1512 Report. If the infrastructure investment expenditures reported for the quarter ending September 30, 2011, were not cumulative, LEAs may take this opportunity to correct their infrastructure investment expenditures by entering the correct amount.
If an LEA has determined that it no longer has an infrastructure investment, and has amended its application to remove infrastructure investments, then the infrastructure investment information in the ARRA Section 1511 Report should be removed and the expenditures entered into the ARRA Section 1512 Report for the quarter ending September 30, 2011, should also be removed. Reporting requirements and definitions for infrastructure investments can be found on the ARRA Section 1512 Report website at http://www.tea.state.tx.us/index4.aspx?id=7860&menu_id=934&menu_id2=941.
d) ARRA Section 1512 Webinars
TEA will conduct two webinars on the following dates to provide technical assistance on the ARRA Section 1512 quarterly reporting continuous corrections period process and to review ARRA Section 1512 reporting guidance.
You can register for the webinars online at http://www.tea.state.tx.us/webinar.aspx.
Once you have registered, you will receive instructions for participation via email.
If you are not able to participate in the scheduled webinar, you can access the archived webinars at http://www.tea.state.tx.us/webinar.aspx.
2) Central Contractor Registration (CCR)—Annual Renewal
The ARRA Section 1512 Quarterly Reports include a field for the CCR expiration date. LEAs that are ARRA grantees are required to register with the CCR and receive a Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) code.
ARRA grantees register with CCR only once, but they must renew and revalidate their registration at least every 12 months from the date they first registered to ensure that their CCR is current and corresponds to any changes that may have been made to Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) information.
If an LEA does not renew its CCR registration every 12 months, the registration will expire. Failure to renew an expired CCR registration may impair an LEA’s ability to draw down ARRA grant funds in ER. Therefore, TEA strongly suggests that LEAs renew their CCR registration prior to the expiration date and enter the information into the ARRA Section 1512 Quarterly Reports. Upon receiving the new expiration date from the CCR system, please remember to update that information in the ARRA Section 1512 Quarterly Reports through TEA’s ER system, as these two systems are not connected and the update will not happen automatically. LEAs may only update their CCR information in ER when ER is open following a reporting quarter or during the continuous corrections period following a reporting quarter. Information on CCR, including renewals, is available online at https://www.bpn.gov/ccr/default.aspx.
TEA will continue to monitor ARRA grantees’ CCR expiration dates through the ARRA Section 1512 Quarterly Reports.
3) ARRA Section 1511 Infrastructure Investment Reports
Grantees are permitted to use funds for infrastructure investments under three grant programs: ARRA IDEA-B Formula, ARRA IDEA-B Preschool, and 2009–2010 and 2010–2011 ARRA SFSF. All LEAs with a NOGA for any of these ARRA grants programs, including 2010–2011 SFSF, must complete an ARRA Section 1511 Report in ER, even if the LEA has chosen not to use funds for infrastructure investments.
Please note that LEAs may use SFSF funds for modernization, renovation, or repair of public school facilities. However, LEAs are prohibited from using SFSF funds for payment of maintenance costs. See Section 14003( b)(1) of ARRA for more information.
ARRA Section 1511 Reports can be submitted in ER any time after a NOGA is issued, but they must be submitted prior to drawing down funds for infrastructure investments. When completing the ARRA Section 1512 Quarterly Reports for the three grant programs mentioned above, the LEA must make sure that the ARRA Section 1511 Report for each NOGA has been completed, certified, and submitted. Additionally, grantees must confirm that the information in the ARRA Section 1511 Report is aligned with the information provided on infrastructure expenditures in the related ARRA Section 1512 Quarterly Report for each NOGA.
If an LEA chooses to amend its grant application to remove infrastructure investments, the LEA must do the following:
- Remove the Section 1511 certification form from the LEA’s or ESC’s website.
- Delete the ARRA 1511 Report for the infrastructure investment in ER. Although the LEA will no longer have an infrastructure investment, the LEA must still certify an ARRA 1511 Report in ER. To do this, the LEA must select the “Not Applicable-No Infrastructure Projects for this NOGA” checkbox and then certify and submit the report.
- Delete the infrastructure investment expenditure amount in the ARRA Section1512 Quarterly Report during the next reporting cycle or during the current quarter’s continuous corrections period, if available.
TEA guidance on ARRA Section 1511 Infrastructure Investments is available online at http://www.tea.state.tx.us/index2.aspx?id=2147484239&menu_id=934&menu_id2=941
4) Enforcement Actions Related to ARRA Requirements
TEA will continue to monitor LEA compliance with ARRA Section 1511 certification requirements, ARRA Section 1512 quarterly reporting requirements, and annual renewal of CCR registration.
Pursuant to the provisions of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Title 34, §80.43 and §74.62, if a grantee materially fails to comply with any term of an award, whether stated in a federal statute or regulation, an assurance in a grant application, or elsewhere, TEA may take one or more of the following enforcement actions as appropriate in the circumstances:
- Temporarily withhold cash payments pending correction of the deficiency, or more severe enforcement action
- Disallow all or part of the cost of an activity or action not in compliance
- Wholly or partly suspend or terminate the current award
- Withhold further awards for the program
- Take other remedies that may be legally available
For additional assistance with ARRA Section 1512 quarterly reporting requirements or individual ARRA grants, please contact the following:
Sincerely,
Nora Ibáñez Hancock, EdD
Associate Commissioner
Office for Grants and Fiscal Compliance |
