New fields have been added in Pentamation’s FinancePlus software for the purpose of indicating an employee’s status in regard to health insurance. The next Cycle 1 report due September 15, 2007, will pull information from these fields for the purpose of determining the number of employees eligible for health insurance provided through the school district or educational service cooperative. This number will be compared to the number of employees participating in one of the health insurance plans and a percentage of participation will be calculated. Employees exclusive to paygroups 'X' (terminated) and 'S' (substitutes) will not be pulled. Arkansas Public School Computer Network (APSCN) has run a mass update to set all fields = 'N' where employee payrates are exclusive to pay groups 'X' and/or 'S.'
To locate this new field, log on to the FinancePlus software and follow this menu path:
Applications
Human Resources
Employee Information
Payroll Tab (from each employee information screen)
Retirement Button (Arkansas State Retirement Information Screen)
Except for the employees in paygroup "X" and/or "S", the field named “INS ELIGIBLE” will have a default value of “Y.' If the employee is not eligible for health insurance provided through the school district, this should be changed to “N.' Immediately below this new field is a field named “INS PARTICIPANT” also with a default value of “Y.” If the employee is participating in one of the health insurance plans provided through the school district, this field should contain a “Y.” Otherwise, it should be changed to “N.”
Maintenance to the new insurance fields must be completed prior to submitting the next Cycle 1 report, September 2007.
In addition to the above information regarding health insurance, additional information regarding the Highly Qualified status of paraprofessionals will also be collected in the next Cycle 2 report. To enter this new information follow this menu path in FinancePlus:
Applications
Human Resources
Employee Information
Personnel Tab
The “employee type” field now includes a drop-down menu containing the following codes:
1 - Y, HQ PRAXIS
2 - Y, HQ 60 HRS
3 - Y, HQ AA DEGREE
4 - Y, HQ BA/BS DEG
5 - N, NOT HQ PP
The Statewide Information System (SIS) manual for 2007-2008 will be updated to include the following information regarding Paraprofessional Qualifications:
Paraprofessional Qualification – If the job code is for Classified Personnel (Appendix G) and the individual works in an instructional capacity with students in a Title I School Wide School or with Title I identified students in a Targeted Assistance School, does the employee meet No Child Left Behind (NCLB) paraprofessional qualification standards?
1 = Yes, HQ because has passed the Praxis examination for
Paraprofessionals
2 = Yes, HQ because has sixty (60) college/university hours
on a transcript
3 = Yes, HQ because has an Associate’s Degree (AA)
4 = Yes, HQ because has a Bachelor’s Degree (BA or BS)
5 = No, Not a highly qualified paraprofessional
*District's are required to have evidence for any of the 'yes' items #1-4.
Districts will need to update all paraprofessionals with one of the new codes listed above prior to submitting the next Cycle 2 report, October 2007.