OAR 581-014-0016: Just Cause and Random Audit Process

(1) The Department may request a copy of a grantees’ most recent performance review, including any financial or performance audits, for just cause for the following reasons: (a) A complaint filed with the department that information reported to the department in either the performance review or programmatic and/or financial progress reports is intentionally inaccurate or misrepresentative of actual SIA activities, performance measures, and/or expenditures; or (b) Repeated reporting of activities and expenditures through either programmatic and/or financial progress reports or municipal audit that are not part of an approved SIA Plan or SIA Plan Amendment. (2) The Department may request a copy of a grantees’ most recent performance review and related audits on random basis for review: (a) Random selection of a grantee for performance audit review will be conducted through a randomized process that does not include metrics such as longitudinal performance growth targets, local optional metrics, or accountability measures. (b) Grantees selected for a random audit review will be exempt from random audit review for a period not to exceed six years from the date of any initial findings and given findings are remedied. Grantees may still be subject to just cause audit review during this time. (3) The Department will limit random audits to no more than ten grantees in an annual year. (4) The Department shall notify grantees they have been selected for a just cause or random audit review. Notice shall include: (a) Date for performance audit to be submitted by; and (b) Reason for request of the performance audit. If the reason for the audit is due to a credible complaint no information regarding the identity of the individual(s) will be provided to the recipient except as required by law. (5) The grantee will have 45 days from the date of receipt of the notice of audit to respond to the department. (6) The Department will conduct an initial review of the materials provided and issue preliminary audit findings within 60 days if no additional materials are required from the grantee. If additional materials are needed the Department will notify the grantee of the amount additional time anticipated to review the materials. (7) Upon the conclusion of the audit the Department will issue a letter to the grantee. That letter will contain: (a) Summary of the department findings; and (b) If there are identified findings of non-compliance then the letter will also include next steps as outlined in section 15 of the Student Success Act to address any identified audit findings.