[Please hum the tune of the song from Grease 2 for a healthy dose of nostalgia while reading this post.]
The supplies have been delivered, the school is clean, all staff contracts are filled (hopefully), and business managers are prepping for the influx of activities that occur in August. With the many activities business managers coordinate, we wanted to help you process your tasks with a checklist. We know nothing brings more joy to a business manager’s type-A heart than a checklist! Here is a list of the items school attorneys want you to complete to help you start the school year prepared.
Coordinate with your Superintendent to ensure compliance with LB 644.
Statute sets September 5th as the deadline for subdivisions to provide a phone number and proposed tax request to the County Clerk if a joint public hearing is required. For more information, see LB644. KSB School Law also held a webinar on the new requirements on July 21. A recording can be purchased (or if your superintendent participated in the webinar without you, you can access it for free) by contacting Shari at 402-804-8000 or sending an e-mail to ksb@ksbschoollaw.com.
Ensure your sponsor/site program applications are submitted by August 15, 2022 for the upcoming school year. Distribute free/reduced application packets to households during August. A listing of important deadlines for the school lunch program can be found here.
Discuss with district administrators possible trainings for staff.
Consider the following:
Title IX - Ensure the Title IX team has been trained, including any new team members. As a note, the new proposed regulations include required training for ALL K-12 staff, so this list may need to updated when those regulations become final.
Mandatory Child Abuse Reporting
Legal Updates - This can include topics such as teacher free speech, student free speech, student searches and seizures, special education law.
Staff Use of Social Media
Dating Violence
Suicide Prevention
Seizure Awareness
Update personnel files for new hires.
W-4 - Reminder, you cannot help an employee complete the W-4 form. You can direct them to the IRS website for the withholding estimate calculator or encourage them to speak with a tax professional.
I-9 - This form must be completed within three days of hiring and should be kept separately from the personnel file.
COBRA initial notice - Upload new hire information into Payflex to ensure initial notices are sent out. Initial notices must be given to covered employees and their spouse (if applicable) within the first 90 days following coverage under the health plan. Don’t forget to term exiting employees as well in Payflex to trigger qualifying event notices.
Enrollment Forms (examples): health insurance, dental, vision, 403(b), AFLAC, Heritage Life, etc.
Other Forms to Consider: Agreement to Accept Compensatory Time Off in Lieu of Overtime, direct deposit form, acknowledgment of receipt of staff handbook, etc.
Check on your teachers’ certificate renewals through NDE.
School districts should check the status of all pending certificates and contact your school attorney if there is any question about whether the renewal certificate will be issued before the September payroll processes.
Consider budget development.
September 30, 2022 is the new filing deadline for budget and LC-2 to NDE, Auditor of Public Accounts, and County Clerk. For more information, visit the NDE school budget timeline.
Make sure your labor law posters are up.
In Nebraska, the following posters must be rightly displayed in an easily-viewed area in each workplace location. The link takes you to the DOL website which includes the posters:
Unemployment Insurance Advisement of Benefit Rights
Nebraska Minimum Wage and Unemployment Insurance Advertisement of Benefits Rights.
Federal Equal Employment Opportunity (EEOC)
Fair Labor and Standards Act (FLSA)
Federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
Employees Polygraph Protection Act (EPPA)
Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA)
Review grant funding and liquidation of time restricted grants such as ESSER I, ESSER II, and ARP. ESSER I funds must be liquidated by October 15, 2022. ESSER II funds are available for obligation through September 30, 2023. Remember that your safe return and ARP ESSER plans must be reviewed at least every 6 months, as well. If the plans change or are updated, the public notice and input obligations apply, along with posting updated plans.
Technical assistance, allocation amounts, and additional information can be found here.
If you have any questions or would like to schedule a staff training on legal updates or Title IX, please don’t hesitate to call Karen, Steve, Bobby, Coady, Jordan, Tyler or Sara at (402) 804-8000, or send us all an email at ksb@ksbschoollaw.com.