SACS Forum Meeting Minutes, May 2022
Standardized Account Code Structure (SACS) May 17, 2022 meeting minutes.Meeting held via webinar at the California Department of Education (CDE), Sacramento
Meeting Agenda
Announcements and Information
SACS Web Update
Accounting Updates
SACS Software Update
Other Updates
Meeting Minutes
Announcements and Information
2022 Bid Threshold Adjustment and Parent Liability
The Annual Adjustment to Bid Threshold for Contracts Awarded by School Districts and the Annual Adjustment to Liability Limit of Parent or Guardian for Willful Pupil Misconduct letters have been posted to the CDE Accounting Correspondence web page. For 2022, both amounts received an increase of 2.48% from the prior year. The bid threshold amount is $99,100, and the willful pupil misconduct amount is $21,700.
Local Education Agency (LEA) Approved Indirect Cost Rates Posted
The 2022–23 approved indirect cost rates have been published and can be found on the CDE’s Indirect Cost Rates (ICR) web page.
Staff Updates
CDE announced that a new consultant, Rigo Sanchez, was recently hired in the Fiscal Oversight and Support Office.
SACS Web Update
SACS Web-based Financial Reporting System (SACS Web System) Update
On April 7, 2022, the SACS Web System went live for 2022–23 budget period reporting.
The direct link to the SACS Web System is Login (sacs-cde.org) 
. Over 2200 user accounts have been established thus far. About 20% have yet to establish passwords and/or update for entity and roles.
User account reminders:
Users whose initial password set up email expired or was not received can use the "I Forgot My Password" link from the SACS Web System log in page to establish their password.
- User managers must establish at least one associated entity and appropriate roles for each user in order for them to be able to access system functionality.
- Only CDE can delete invalid user accounts. Email CDE at sacsweb@cde.ca.gov if a user account needs to be removed.
- Be mindful to ensure email accounts are correct. Invalid/dummy accounts should not be established, as they clutter the system and create extra workload for CDE staff to delete them.
CDE is preparing for a release update that will have fixes to priority system bugs discovered in the initial system release.
- Issue with not seeing users in order to assign entities/roles. Particular issue with charter school assignments.
- Importing a dataset that has more than one data type section.
There will be additional changes to budget period fund forms:
- New lines added to fund forms for Object 9380, Lease Receivable; 9460, Lease Assets; and 9465, Accumulated Amortization – Lease Assets. These codes are effective 2021–22 (estimated actuals).
- NOTE: If these codes are used in the estimated actuals data there is no place for the values to pull in the fund forms.
Training presentation materials and two recorded training sessions are available on the CDE Financial Reporting web page under Web Application Resources.
2021–22 Unaudited Actuals Reporting – SACS2022ALL Legacy Software
The 2021–22 unaudited actuals will be prepared using the SACS2022ALL desktop software or Excel-based Charter School Alternative Form and submitted to CDE using eTransfer. These applications and processes will be available to LEAs within the same timelines as previous years.
Accounting Updates
Reminder: Medi-Cal Administrative Activities (MAA) and Medi-Cal Billing Option Reporting
The California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) determined that LEAs should be considered contractors and not sub recipients. With this determination, the funding received from this program should not be considered federal revenue. To align with the DHCS determination, LEAs should now report this funding as local revenue with the following accounting changes:
- SMAA Program: Previously used Resource 0000, revenue Object 8290. Coding has been updated to use revenue object code to 8699.
- LEA BOP: Changed resource code from 5640 to Resource 9010, Other Restricted Local, and object code 8699.
Coding changes should be implemented no later than 2021–22. Resource code 5640 is inactive beginning fiscal year 2022–23.
Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) Statement 96 – Subscription-Based Information Technology Arrangements Update
The CDE reminded participants GASB 96 is effective beginning 2022–23. Refer to the November 2021 SACS Forum meeting minutes for the previous GASB 96 discussion, including SACS account code changes and accounting guidance regarding GASB 96.
Applicability of GASB 96 versus GASB 87:
It is possible that contracts contain multiple components that need to be evaluated for the applicability of GASB 96 versus other accounting standards, especially GASB 87, Leases. Following are guidelines for distinguishing between application of GASB 87 and GASB 96 when evaluating these contracts:
- Tangible capital assets alone – GASB 87
- IT software alone – follow GASB 96
- IT software in combination with tangible capital assets:
- If the software component is insignificant compared to the cost of underlying capital asset (that meets the definition of a lease in GASB 87) follow GASB 87
- Examples include a computer with operating software and a smart copier that is connected to an IT system
- Otherwise follow GASB 96
Implementation considerations:
- GASB 96 applies to new Subscription-Based Information Technology Assets (SBITAs) going forward, but also retroactively to existing SBITAs
- Determine which departments need to be involved and establish an interdepartmental implementation team
- Create an inventory of existing SBITAs and other contracts and agreements for review
- Determine which contracts or agreements meet the definition of SBITAs and which can be excluded
- Separate contracts or agreements into subscription component and nonsubscription component
Goal Code for Resources 3307 and 3309 – Coordinated Early Intervening Services
Resources 3307, Special Ed: ARP IDEA Part B, Sec. 611, Local Assistance Coordinated Early Intervening Services, and 3309, Special Ed: ARP IDEA Part B, Sec. 619, Preschool Grants Coordinated Early Intervening Services, were established to track expenditures of ARP IDEA Part B funds used for early intervening services provided to pupils not identified as special education.
Expenditures charged to these resource codes should not be recorded with special education goal codes (5000–5999) because pupils are not identified as special education.
The SACS Web System budget period functionality has not yet been programmed to exclude the combination of these resources from the SPECIAL-ED-GOAL technical review check (TRC). Therefore, a fatal exception will be generated for this TRC if non-special education goal codes are used with these two resource codes.
Programming modification has been initiated to the SACS Web System and a system release update will be done to implement the change. In the meantime, the following workarounds are available:
- Use special education goal codes to prevent fatal TRC. However, when programming modification is complete, LEAs will need to modify the goal codes to appropriate non-special education goal codes.
- Use correct and appropriate non-special education goal codes. Even with the presence of this fatal TRC, the data can still be imported into SACS Web System and be extracted into the fund forms and other supplemental forms and can also be exported using “Other Export”. Fatal TRC does prevent data from official export. Once the programming modification is complete, fatal TRC will not be generated for this.
Every Student Succeeds Act Maintenance of Effort (ESMOE)
The CDE shared that Waiver approval/disapproval letters will be distributed to affected LEAs within a few weeks. The CDE has noted that the U.S Department of Education (ED) is not approving all waivers that are requested. CDE noted that waivers are more likely to be approved if the LEA are specific in their reasoning on the waiver submitted to the ED and responsive to follow up emails requesting additional information. Letters will be sent to LEAs that failed MOE in July with waiver instructions. If an LEA has audit adjustments that impact their MOE status, please reach out to CDE well before the federal deadline in case it is also necessary to file a waiver with the ED.
Please reach out to SACSINFO@CDE.CA.GOV with any questions.
SACS Software
Criteria and Standard: Facilities Maintenance – Routine Restricted Maintenance Account (RRMA) Calculation:
Form 01CS for Districts – RRMA Exclusions
For the SACS2022 budget and interims, districts no longer need to manually exclude resource codes from the RRMA calculation. The following resource codes will automatically be excluded from the RRMA calculation:
3210, 3212, 3213, 3214, 3215, 3216, 3218, 3219, 5316, 7027, and 7690
CDE reminded districts that resources 3220 and 7420 ended on June 30, 2021, and will no longer be excluded for the RRMA calculation in SACS2022.
A participant asked if objects 6600–6700 and 7000s can be excluded from the RRMA calculation. Per Education Code (EC) 17070.75, school districts are required to deposit a minimum of three percent of the total general fund expenditures, including other financing uses, for that fiscal year. EC is clear that it would include all expenditures, which would include objects 6600–6700 and 7000s.
Another participant asked if Resource 3217 is excluded from the RRMA calculation. In current statute, resource codes 3217, 7422, 7425, and 7426 are not excluded from the RRMA calculation.
Other Updates
Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) Per-Pupil Expenditure Reporting Update
The collection of the 2020–21 reporting data for the ESSA PPE has closed. For the 2021–22 reporting year collection, the CDE received slightly less than 100% response rate from all county offices of education, school districts, and direct funded charter schools. If the ED requests data for LEAs that have not submitted, they will be instructed to reach out directly to those LEAs. The CDE is currently reviewing the submitted data and anticipates posting the LEA and school-level data on CDE’s ESSA Per-Pupil Expenditure Data Files. Additional information regarding the ESSA PPE requirement can be found on the CDE’s ESSA Per-Pupil Expenditure (PPE) Reporting web page.
Next Meeting
The next SACS Forum meeting is tentatively scheduled for October 4, 2022. CDE is again planning on offering the forum via webinar only. Meeting information can be found on the SACS Forum Upcoming Meetings web page.