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New Uniform Grant Requirements Begin 12/26

By ASBO USA posted 12-16-2014 16:07

  

EdWeek reported last week that education companies selling more than $150,000 in goods or services to school districts will now have to negotiate profits on any contracts using federal funds because of new regulations from the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB). While the Department of Education (DOE) has yet to release guidance on these regulations (information is forthcoming), here's what we know so far. 

The regulations
, “2 CFR 200—Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards,” were released last year and will take effect December 26, 2014. OMB implemented the rules so that federal resources could be better allocated to improve contract performance and outcomes while protecting taxpayer dollars from waste, fraud, and abuse by non-Federal stakeholders. Edweek summarizes, “Acquisitions under $3,000, and between $3,000 and $149,999, are governed by the rules. But the biggest changes will affect all federal expenditures at what is called the ‘Simplified Acquisition Threshold,’ or $150,000 and above.”

Cheryl L. Sattler, senior partner at Ethica, LLC, a firm that helps businesses navigate federal education programs, told
Edweek that school districts can expect the following:

  • A greater emphasis on outcomes and performance from contracts. 
  • Districts must write written conflict of interest policies and cannot allow vendors to be involved with drafting RFPs. 
  • For goods/services over $150,000, a district must either "go through a procurement process with sealed bids, in which case the price will win; or by competitive proposal, in which case the price is a factor but not the only one; or by noncompetitive proposal, or sole source, which carries many restrictions."
  • "Per student" pricing for products may be considered "abuse" in audits under the new rules. Districts must now make independent cost estimates before receiving bids/proposals. (More on contract cost and price can be found here.) 

Accounting and advisory firm Baker Tilly says that the new rules will supersede and streamline requirements from eight OMB Circulars: A–21, A–50, A–87, A–89, A–102, A–110, A–122, and A–133 into one document. (The company also has a nice collection of uniform grant compliance resources too.) And last month, the Council on Financial Assistance Reform (COFAR) released an FAQ on the regulations to sort out any confusion. The FAQ states that there will be a one-year grace period for non-federal organizations to comply (also confirmed by ASBO members), and it clarifies some of the new regulation language, cost analysis methods, effective dates, and other topics. 


Finally, one other resource to look through is the University of Washington’s website on uniform grant compliance, which contains information for administrators in particular. ASBO International has reached out to several experts on the topic and will report back as soon as we hear anything else about the regulations.
In the meantime, please stay tuned to the Legislative Affairs Community on the network for further information. 
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