Sec. 10. (a) After the department completes the school corporation notice requirement under section 9 of this chapter, the department shall notify the state board, DUAB, and Indiana education employment relations board as soon as possible of all school corporations that received a notice stating they were on the excessive education fund transfer list for the immediately preceding calendar year.

     (b) Upon receipt of the department notice to a school corporation under section 9 of this chapter, the school corporation’s superintendent and financial personnel, including the school’s business officer, shall prepare and submit explanatory documentation within ninety (90) days, explaining the following:

(1) How and why the school corporation’s leadership believes the school corporation failed to meet the education fund transfer target percentage.

(2) The steps the school corporation’s leadership is planning or actively taking to budget and spend during the next calendar year to meet the education fund transfer target percentage for the next calendar year.

     (c) The school corporation’s superintendent shall submit the explanatory documentation to the department and the DUAB.

     (d) Upon submission of the explanatory documentation under subsection (b), the school corporation’s superintendent shall present the explanatory documentation to the school corporation’s governing body at its next public meeting. The governing body shall enter both the actual documentation and corresponding discussion into its official minutes for that meeting.

     (e) Upon the completion of the duties under subsection (d), the school corporation shall publish the explanatory documentation alongside any further notices and related reports from the department on its website within thirty (30) days.

     (f) Upon receipt of a school corporation’s explanatory documentation, the DUAB shall officially acknowledge receipt of the documentation at its next public meeting and enter the receipt into its official minutes for that meeting.

     (g) Upon receipt of the explanatory documentation, the department, in collaboration with the DUAB, shall review the documentation within sixty (60) days to make a preliminary determination of whether the documentation satisfactorily demonstrates that the school corporation’s leadership has outlined and begun a corrective action plan to make progress in meeting the education fund transfer target percentage for the next calendar year.

     (h) If the department determines the explanatory documentation is not satisfactory, the department may contact the superintendent and financial personnel, including the school business officer, of the school corporation to schedule as soon as possible an appearance before the DUAB at a public meeting to provide an opportunity to explain the details within the explanatory documentation, and to explain to the DUAB the school corporation’s budgeting and compensation levels in relation to the following for the school corporation:

(1) How and why the education fund transfer target percentage was not met during the previous calendar year.

(2) Total combined expenditures.

(3) Student instructional expenditures.

(4) Noninstructional expenditures.

(5) Full-time teacher compensation expenditures.

(6) Nonteaching, full-time administrative personnel compensation expenditures.

(7) Nonteaching staff personnel compensation expenditures.

(8) Any prior or planned attempts to seek the assistance available under this chapter from the Indiana education employment relations board and the department’s division of finance.

(9) Any prior or planned pooling of resources, combined purchases, usage of shared administrative services, or collaboration with contiguous school corporations in reducing noninstructional expenditures as described under IC 20-42.5-2-1.

(10) Any prior or planned participation in a county school safety commission under IC 10-21-1-12 to assist and reduce school safety expenditures.

(11) Any prior or planned consideration of meeting the requirements of and applying for school corporation efficiency incentive grants under IC 36-1.5-6.

     (i) The DUAB may contact the superintendent and financial personnel, including the school’s business officer, of a school corporation that has been included on the department’s excessive education fund transfer list for at least two (2) immediately preceding calendar years to provide the school corporation an opportunity to explain to the DUAB in a public meeting the school corporation’s budgeting and compensation levels in relation to the items listed in subsection (h).

     (j) After the DUAB receives the school corporation’s explanation under this section, the DUAB may issue an official recommendation to the school corporation to perform a review and improve its budgeting procedures in consultation with any state agencies the DUAB considers appropriate. The state agencies specified by the DUAB shall assist the school corporation before and during its next collective bargaining period with the goal of meeting or making progress toward the education fund transfer target percentage. If the DUAB issues an official recommendation to a school corporation, the school corporation’s governing body shall officially acknowledge receipt of the recommendation at its next public meeting and enter into the school corporation governing body’s minutes for that meeting acknowledgment of receipt of the recommendation. In addition, the school corporation shall publish the official recommendation on the school corporation’s website.

     (k) The school corporation shall publish the most recent notices from the department, relevant individual reports prepared by the department, explanatory documentation by the school corporation, and official recommendations by the DUAB on the school corporation’s website.

     (l) The school corporation may remove the notice, its explanatory documentation, and the DUAB’s official recommendation from its website if the department determines that the school corporation met its education fund transfer target percentage and is no longer on the excessive education fund transfer list.

As added by P.L.161-2019, SEC.8. Amended by P.L.184-2023, SEC.44; P.L.236-2023, SEC.150; P.L.150-2023, SEC.33; P.L.236-2023, SEC.151.