The form(s) listed below are provided by SSJCSS for use by the Member Schools of the SSJCSS Cooperative when an adjustment to class size or caseload becomes necessary.

• Justification for Requesting Additional Special Education Staff
• Justification for Additional Staff for Special Education  Program _ Student Needs Form
• Justification for Additional Staff_ Workload Data Collection Form

The forms can be found on the website under “Administrative Guidelines“ by clicking on the following:

• Series 400 – Programs and Services
• Policy 401.3 Caseload/Class Size Adjustment
• Document Title: Justification Add Staff.pdf

Any future curriculum development specifically designed for programs at Earlywood Education Center will be managed through the leadership of the Assistant Director supervising the program.

The responsibilities include:

A. establish priority areas for revision;

B. establish working committees in the selected areas;

C. maintain working committees to determine progress and assist with possible problems;

D. determine how best to implement a newly developed or revised course of study including faculty orientation;

E. develop or advise on in-service programs and seminars needed to strengthen and enrich the Cooperative’s program;

F. establish procedures for effective implementation and evaluation of courses of study.

The Assistant Director may establish curriculum working committees, and define their purposes. Each committee will serve as long as deemed necessary and may be reactivated as needed.

Upon review by the faculty, all new curriculum will be forwarded to the Board for final approval prior to implementation.

Every year in October, all SSJCSS Employees are notified by the Executive Director via email of the following Inclement Weather/Emergency Procedures.

Notification

The emergency calling system will be used for the timely notification of concerned persons in the event of any emergency closing of Earlywood Education Center and/or the SSJCSS Central Office.

• A “test call” is typically run in early October to verify that all concerned persons are on the calling list.
   Staff who do not receive this “test call” or who want to add or change phone numbers are notified to contact the Technology Department with their updated contact information.
• As a backup, emergency information will be posted on the SSJCSS website, and closings and delays will be broadcast on a local TV and/or radio sation
  
  Earlywood will not be closed unless there is an extreme emergency condition – blizzard, water main break, furnace problems, a state of emergency is declared etc. However, the New Connections classes may be delayed or cancelled if weather becomes extreme or another emergency occurs.
  

ALL SSJCSS EMPLOYEES:
Unless the employee has requested removal from the emergency calling list, all SSJCSS employees will be notified of Earlywood closings, cancellations, and delays. Anyone based primarily at Earlywood or following Earlywood’s calendar is expected to follow Earlywood’s procedures for reporting to work. The employees who follow a local district calendar are expected to follow the local district’s procedures as well as the school’s make up schedule.

PROCEDURES FOR EARLYWOOD BASED STAFF:
If classes are delayed…employees will still be expected to report to work as soon as weather permits. Due to labor laws, hourly staff will be required to accurately record the time actually worked. If any employee, hourly or salaried, chooses to only report for a half day, or does not report to work at all due to weather, the employee will be required to take a half or whole personal leave day. All employees must follow the normal reporting procedures for absences if they choose not to travel from home due to weather.

If New Connections classes are cancelled instructional staff (teachers, assistants, social workers, behavior coaches) based at Earlywood will not be required to report to work, as they will be making up the day whenever the students are scheduled to make up the day. All other staff may choose not to report to work and use a personal day or vacation day or make up the day. Each individual who does not report to work on a day classes are cancelled will be asked to submit a plan for taking a leave day or making up the day.

If Earlywood (the building) is closed: No one is permitted to report to Earlywood unless authorized by a supervisor.

PROCEDURES FOR NEW CONNECTIONS STUDENTS DURING INCLEMENT WEATHER:
Whenever New Connections classes are in session, parents are welcome to transport students to Earlywood if their own district transportation is cancelled or delayed. Parents should watch for local district closing or delays as well as Earlywood closing or delay announcements and plan accordingly. Local transportation officials will determine whether it is safe for the home school district to transport to Earlywood. In most instances, schools will not transport students to Earlywood if they are not transporting students to the local schools due to emergency closings or delays.

In the event that inclement weather occurs in the afternoon or close to dismissal time, Earlywood Administration will determine whether to dismiss early or postpone dismissal. Parents and local transportation officials will be contacted if either of these scenarios occurs.

PROCEDURES FOR STUDENTS TRANSPORTED to the School for the Blind, School for the DeaF or St. Joseph’s:

We are required to make every effort to transport students to ISB, ISD or St. Joes if the school is open. If, however, it is determined that the roads are unsafe to travel, we will not put our bus drivers’ lives or the lives of our students in jeopardy. Therefore, we will, at times, delay or cancel transportation to the above mentioned schools. The transportation coordinator and the Director will make the final determination as to whether it is safe for SSJCSS buses to be on the road. If it is determined that roads are unsafe for transporting students, the bus drivers will be responsible for contacting the parents of the students to inform them of any delay or cancellation of transportation.

Field trips as defined in School Board policy must be related to a course of study and therefore are a required part of instruction. If the trip cannot be directly related to a course of study, it should be considered a co-curricular or extra-curricular activity. The following guidelines have been provided to help ensure the effectiveness of all field trips.

General Procedures

A. All requests shall be submitted to the Supervisor on the Field Trip Request Form (T-3) in advance of the scheduled trip with the names of all staff members and chaperones who will accompany the students.

B. Upon approval of an educational trip, the Supervisor shall forward a copy of the pretrip proposal to the Executive Director.

C. Parental Consent Forms (located in Student Handbook) must be returned to the teacher before the trip. A blanket authorization may be obtained for trips that will consist of a series of trips during the school year. If the student will be unsupervised during certain portions of the trip, the form must be signed and returned prior to the trip. No student will be allowed to participate if parental consent is not received prior to the trip.

D. A copy of each student's Emergency Medical Authorization Form is to be in the possession of the staff member in charge for all overnight trips.

Days and Hours: Additional Contracted Days & Extra Curricular Activities

Template Nondisclosure Agreement

Template Title IX Notice to Complainant

Template Title IX Notice to Respondent

Title IX Grievance Procedures Flowchart

It is the Board's policy that the Executive Director shall act as its purchasing agent for open market purchases of no more than $50,000 maximum for a single item or a group of similar items. The intent of the purchasing policy is to establish several levels at which purchasing can occur and to determine at what level Board involvement is required, when it is necessary to get a simple "quote" and when the "competitive bid" procedure is required.

The purchasing agent must seek at least three (3) price quotations on purchases of more than $50,000 but less than $150,000 except in cases of emergency or where materials are of such nature that price quotations would not result in a savings to SSJCSS.

When the purchase of, and contract for, single items of supplies, materials, or equipment is equal to or exceeds the amount stipulated by statute, the purchasing agent/Executive Director shall obtain competitive bids. The Board reserves the right to reject any and all bids. The Board shall be informed of the terms and conditions of all competitive bids and shall award contracts as a consequence of such bids.

Contracts can be awarded by the Executive Director without Board approval for any single item or group of identical items costing less than $50,000. All other contracts require Board approval prior to purchase.

All specifically identified purchases that are within a program, a function, a line item, and were originally contemplated in the budgeting process may be made upon authorization of the Executive Director. The purchasing agent/Executive Director is authorized to make emergency purchases, without prior approval, of those goods and/or services needed to keep the schools in operation. Such purchases shall be brought to the Board for approval at the next regular meeting

In any fundraising activity involving students, the following conditions must be met:

A. For any fundraiser by student groups or organizations that involves the sale to students of food items and/or beverages to be consumed on campus, the food and/or beverages items to be sold must comply with the current USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

B. Any fundraiser by student groups or organizations that involves the sale to students of food items and/or beverages to be consumed on campus must be conducted only at times approved by administration.

C. Minimal instructional time is to be used to plan, conduct, assess, or manage a fundraising activity unless such an activity is part of an approved course of study.

D. Fundraising activities conducted on Cooperative premises are not to interfere with the conduct of any co-curricular or extra-curricular activity. Students involved in the fundraiser are not to interfere with students participating in other activities in order to solicit funds.

E. Student participation in fundraising activities conducted by school-related groups of which they are not members must be voluntary and must be approved by the student's teacher or counselor to ensure that participation will not affect adversely his/her school work and other school responsibilities.

F. No student of any age may participate in off-Cooperative fundraising activities without proper supervision by approved staff or other adults.

G. No student group or volunteer group which uses students may conduct more than three (3) fundraising activity(ies) in a school year, unless permission for additional activities is granted by the Executive Director.

H. In accordance with Board policy, each fundraising activity must be approved by the administrator if occurring on Cooperative premises and by the Executive Director if occurring off Cooperative property. In order to be approved, the group leader or advisor is to submit a proposal in advance of the event so that all fundraising efforts may be coordinated so as not to burden or be a nuisance to students, faculty, parents, or the community.

I. Contracts with outside suppliers for merchandise to be sold in a fundraising activity are to be reviewed by the principal and signed by the staff member in charge who is personally responsible for the merchandise and monies collected. The contract must specify that any merchandise which is unsold and is resalable can be returned for full credit. The Cooperative will not be responsible for any unsold merchandise that cannot be returned to a supplier for credit for any reason.

J. The staff member in charge should establish procedures to ensure that all merchandise is stored, distributed, and accounted for properly.

K. No staff member is to accept any special gifts or bonuses of more than nominal value offered by an outside supplier or vendor for any reason or purpose.

L. Fundraising activities will not be permitted if they interfere with the Cooperative’s educational program on nutrition.

M. If an activity involves the students providing a service in return for money, such as a car wash, a member of the professional staff shall supervise the activity. His/Her responsibility is to ensure the service is provided in a proper manner and also the safety and well-being of the students and the property of both the purchaser and the owner of the site.

Establishing a Fundraising Account

Before conducting a fundraiser, a project account must be established with the business office and a fund number must be assigned.

To establish a project account, the administrator of the program must send the Executive Director and Treasurer an email detailing

1) The need for the account

2) Which program/student group the account is associated with

3) How funds will be generated for the account

4) How funds from the account may be spent and by who

5) Which administrator and/or teacher will be responsible for bringing the funds to the business office and/or requesting funds for specific purposes

Upon receiving the request for a new project account, the Treasurer will assign a project number as an individual identifier within the Special Projects Fund. The Treasurer will also create a ledger for the account in a Google sheet. The ledger will be shared, as view only, with the administrator and teacher of the program.

Managing Cash Generated From Fundraisers

All cash must be brought to the business office at the end of the school day. No cash may be kept in classrooms or employee offices.

The cash will be counted by a member of the business office in front of the teacher/administrator who is bringing the cash for deposit. The cash will be receipted by the business office via the Project Cash Sign In/Out Form. Both must sign for the deposit of the cash.

The Treasurer will deposit the cash generated from fundraisers into the bank to create a bank record of the funds. The Treasurer will also document the receipt of project funds as a deposit in the program fund ledger.

Expending Cash From The Project Fund

No more than $200 will be maintained as project cash on hand at one time.

Cash on hand will only be acquired through a transaction with the bank by writing a check for cash. Funds received from fundraisers must be deposited into the bank and cannot become part of the on hand cash balance.

When the teacher of the program would like to use project cash for a program expense, s/he must sign out the cash from a member of the business office using the Project Cash Sign In/Out Form. The receipt from the expense and any change must be signed back into the Business Office the same day. The Treasurer will also document the expense of project funds as a withdraw in the program fund ledger.

A. Setting Up Payroll for Contracted Employees

1. Obtain employee’s name, pay rate and employment period from Payroll Change Authorization Form.

2. Obtain completed I-9 and W-4 forms, health, dental, life plan election, and retirement application (if new) from each employee.

3. List all payroll deductions and prepare employee payroll deduction forms.

4. File employee approval authorization with each of the above lists.

5. Upon receipt of initial transmittal sheets, check all data against deduction files and Board-approved employment lists.

6. Prior to each payroll period indicate changes in rate of payment, or any deduction for uncompensated absence in bi-weekly Payroll Change Form.

B. Setting Up Payroll for Noncontracted Employees

1. Obtain employee's name, pay rate, and employment period from Payroll Change Authorization Form.

2. Obtain completed I-9 and W-4 forms, health, dental, life plan election, and retirement application (if new) from each employee.

3. Prepare employee payroll deduction forms.

4. Upon receipt of initial transmittal sheets, check all data against Executive Director and Board-approved names and rates.

5. Prior to each payroll period, review time sheets and record hours worked (straight time and overtime) on transmittal sheet. Each time sheet must be approved by a supervisor, and overtime must be approved by the Executive Director.

All hourly employees must submit a properly approved time sheet in order to be eligible for pay.

C. Setting Up Payment for Substitute Employees

1. Have each substitute complete a W-4, I-9, and retirement form, if applicable.

2. Prepare employee payroll deduction forms.

3. Upon receipt of initial transmittal sheets, check all data against Executive Director and Board approved names and rates.

4. Prior to each payroll period, review time sheets and record hours worked on transmittal sheet. Each time sheet must be approved by a supervisor, and overtime must be approved by the Executive Director.

All substitute employees must submit a properly approved time sheet in order to be eligible for pay.

D. Setting Up Payment for Supplementary Compensation

1. Obtain the Approved Extended Contract Payroll Authorization Form the Executive Director. This will include the employee's name, assignment, and supplementary compensation.

2. Payroll/HR will complete a supplemental contract and send to employee for signature.

3. When the supplemental contract is signed and assignment is completed, the employee will submit their timesheet to the Payroll Department so the compensation can be added appropriately to their paycheck.

E. Pay Periods
1. All contracted and 12-month staff members shall be paid in twenty-six (26) pays

The Governing Board authorizes that certain deductions may be made from an employee's paycheck upon receipt of proper written authorization on the appropriate form. Subject to applicable law, deductions may be made for:

A. Federal, State and local income tax;

B. Social Security and Medicare (FICA);

C. Indiana State Teachers Retirement Fund or Public Employees Retirement Fund;

D. Section 125 elections (cafeteria plans);

E. Section 403(b) deductions;

F. Section 457(b) deductions;

G. Savings in a chartered credit union;

H. Contributions to charitable or nonprofit organizations;

I. Payment of dues to labor organizations of which the employee is a member;

J. Payment of insurance premiums for a plan which is offered by an approved carrier.

Employees shall notify the Cooperative’s Bookkeeping Office in writing if they wish to participate in this payroll deduction program. Any payroll deduction agreement provided by an employee must otherwise comply with all of the provisions of applicable law and may be terminated as said law provides upon notice given in writing by either party.

To the extent permitted by law, the Board also declares its willingness to enter into an agreement with any of its employees whereby the employee agrees to take a reduction in salary with respect to amounts earned after the effective date of such agreement in return for the Board's agreement to contribute such withheld amounts to an employee benefit plan described in section 403(b) or 457(b) of the Internal Revenue Code, which has been made available by the Cooperative ("403(b) or 457(b) Plan"). Such contributions will be subject to the terms and conditions of the employee’s salary reduction agreement and the Cooperative’s administrative guidelines with respect to the 403(b) or 457(b) Plan, including the following:

A. Amounts withheld at an employee’s election for contribution to a 403(b) or 457(b) Plan will only be forwarded to a company/vendor that has been previously approved by the board and continues to remain on the Board’s approved list of vendors.

B. An employee must complete a voluntary salary reduction agreement that has been pre-approved by the Cooperative.

C. By providing employees with payroll deduction services for contributions to a benefit plan, the Board is not providing any financial advice to employees.

D. The Board does not guarantee the return or quality of any tax-sheltered annuity, mutual fund, or other investment selected by an employee, and it is intended that the Board and the Cooperative shall have no liability whatsoever for any investment alternative offered by an approved vendor or selected by an employee.

E. All costs incurred in the administration of the 403(b) or 457(b) Plan and corresponding investment fees shall be paid from the assets of the applicable 403(b) or 457(b) Plan

All claims for reimbursement must be submitted by the first Monday of each month. Once approved, reimbursement will be by direct deposit into the current payroll deposit account on file.

Conference/training reimbursement must be requested prior to attendance, and will be reimbursed according to the amount(s) approved by the Executive Director. Original, itemized receipts for the payment of the conference/training must accompany all paperwork submitted for payment, as well as proof of attendance. No copies will be accepted without a written explanation letter, which must be approved by the Executive Director as an acceptable substitute. Amounts listed without receipts will NOT be reimbursed. Cancelled checks will not be accepted as proof of attendance.

Unless the Executive Director allows for prepayment for an employee’s attendance at a meeting or conference, employees who have been through the approval process must register and pay for the conference and all expenses and seek reimbursement following the event.

Meals
With prior approval by the Executive Director, reasonable charges for meals during work related travel may be reimbursed with accompanying itemized receipts only—NOT JUST THE CHARGE RECEIPT. The tip must be included on the receipt to receive payment. Rates set annually by the Federal government will be used to guide decisions regarding reasonable charges. www.gsa.gov Special Note: Alcoholic beverages will not be reimbursed.

Mileage
With prior approval by the Executive Director, mileage will be reimbursed at the current IRS approved rate. Earlywood mileage claim forms must be submitted for mileage reimbursement. Mileage is paid for actual miles traveled according to odometer (not trip odometer) readings, GSP mapping program, or the established EES mileage chart.

Lodging
With prior approval by the Executive Director, reasonable charges for overnight lodging will be reimbursed when appropriate with accompanying itemized receipts only. Receipts submitted for payment must only pertain to EES work related travel, deleting all personal expenses. Hotel incidentals (i.e., personal phone calls, movies, etc.) will not be reimbursed. Rates set annually by the Federal government will be used to guide decisions regarding reasonable charges.

www.gsa.gov.

Travel
The most economical (in terms of both staff work time and money) method of transportation must be taken when traveling to destinations where airport access is available. EES reserves the right to reimburse only for the most economical mode of transport to and from work related destinations.

Car Rental
Properly receipted car rental, following appropriate air travel to a work related destination, will be reimbursed if authorized by the Executive Director.

These guidelines relate to the use of Credit Cards as an efficient method of payment and recordkeeping for certain expenses. The guidelines have been developed to provide proper supervision and use of the corporation credit cards:

The following individuals (specified by Title) are authorized to use the corporation credit cards:

a. Executive Director
b. Assistant Director
c. Treasurer
d. Bookkeeper
e. Transportation/Maintenance Manager
f. Others, with the approval of the Executive Director or Treasurer

The following types of expenses can be paid by credit card:

a. Conference Registration
b. Materials/Supplies
c. Travel Expenses
d. Snacks for student consumption
e. Provisions for business related meetings/luncheons
f. Other, as authorized by one of the EES Administrators

If credit card is physically taken from the office by an employee
a. Card is signed out on form.
b. Signature is witnessed by Business Office personnel
c. Card must be returned with itemized receipt, and/or T-1, if applicable.
d. Receipts will be attached to the sign-out form.
e. Return of card and receipts must be witnessed by Business Office personnel by signature and date.
f. Upon receipt of the monthly credit card statement, the above mentioned receipts are balanced to the Statement.

If credit card is used to accompany a Purchase Order for Materials/Supplies
a. Requisition form (T-1) is completed by employee who is ordering/has ordered the materials.
b. Supervisor signs T-1 to authorize purchase.
c. Purchase Order is created for the Company/Vendor.
d. Upon receipt of the monthly credit card statement, the above mentioned Purchase Orders are balanced to the Statement.

In addition to the procedures identified in Policy 736, the following procedures are utilized for compliance with the procurement of micro and small purchases.

Micro purchases. When a purchase order is created in Skyward, notes related to pricing and vendor rationale will be added into the software.

Small Purchase. To identify when purchases from a vendor are approaching the small purchase threshold and will require price quotations, the designated member of the business office will:

• Run a monthly report vendor report from Jan 1- Dec 31 of that calendar year
• Review the monthly report with the Treasurer & Executive Director.
• After vendors reach the $7,500 threshold within the calendar year, the price quotations required for the procurement of small purchases will be obtained and filed to document rationale of the choice of vendor.