Job Title: Administrative Assistant - Special Education Department     

Wage/Hour Status:  Nonexempt

Reports to:  Director of Special Education                                              

Pay Grade:  CP 6

Dept./School:  Special Education Dept.                                                   

Date Revised:  1/24/24

Work Days Scheduled:  226

 

Primary Purpose:  To assist the Special Education Department  and campuses with the day to day routine of the special education administrative office, budgeting, and other duties as assigned.   Work under the direct supervision of the Director of Special Education.

 

Qualifications:

 

Education/Certification:

High school diploma or GED

 

Special Knowledge/Skills:

Ability to work well with families and district personnel

Knowledge of purchasing, receiving, and special education funding preferred

Ability to follow verbal and written instructions

Effective communication and interpersonal skills

Ability to use personal computer and software to maintain spreadsheets and databases, and do word processing

Strong organizational and attention-to-detail skills 

Ability to perform basic arithmetic calculations

Bilingual (Spanish) - Preferred

 

Experience:

Three years secretarial experience, preferably in school or corporate office environment

Major Responsibilities and Duties:

 

Ratings Scale:

(5) Clearly Outstanding:  Performance level in a competency is consistently far superior to that which is normally expected.

(4) Exceeds Expectations:   Performance level in a competency exceeds normal expectations. 

(3) Meets Expectations:   Performance level in a competency meets expected levels of performance and is standard.

(2) Below Expectations:   Performance level in a competency is inconsistent or below normal expectations.

(1) Unsatisfactory:  Performance level in a competency fails to meet minimum standards and is unacceptable.

Medicaid/SHARS:

 

• Support the districtwide school-based Medicaid program compliance and accountability standards,     processes, and systems.
• Serve as the district primary contact for the special education department and collaborate with medicaid billing service and the Business Office.
• Complete required annual training for SHARS participation and ensure other required staff participate in annual training.
• Develop and maintain a participant list; coordinate random moment time study (RMTS) quarterly.
• Ensure timely required staff responses to RMTS surveys per HHS guidelines.
• Ensure timely submission of all required data and documentation via billing systems and other methods/systems.
• Assist in the preparation of the SHARS Cost Report with a focus on the analytics of the annual variance in staffing units and expenditures.
• Assist the Texas State Billing Services (TSBS) in collection of allowable position costs from SHARS participant list, identifying any direct replacements.
• Conduct internal audits and develop and monitor corrective action plans.
• Advise and assist campuses to ensure Individualized Education Program (IEP) documentation maximizes compliance with Medicaid billing standards and accuracy of PEIMS data (e.g., transportation forms, personal care supplements, and related services sections of the IEP).
• Provide campuses with the necessary training and resources to explain the Medicaid consent form to parents, and review and follow up with campuses to ensure they are presenting the form to parents at Admission, Review, and Dismissal (ARD) meetings.
• Notify campus staff of missing or late special education records or SHARS reporting.
• Coordinate SHARS records and reporting. 
• Work closely with current district medicaid billing service (e.g. TSBS).

 

Fiscal/Budget Management:

 

• Provide oversight of and accountability for state and federal compliance consistent with state and federal finance policies and statutes.  
• Assist Director/Assistant Director in development, preparation, and management of all Special Education Department budgets.  
• Supervise and monitor state and federal special education revenues and expenditures.  
• Review and enter expenditure reports for federal special education funds.
• Supervise, monitor, and maintain records for reimbursement of all federal Special Education grants.  
• Secure and maintain semi-annual certifications for all special education staff paid with state and federal funds.  
• Assist in supervision of third party billing processes.  
• Process purchase orders and invoices for the special education department, including ordering and distributing supplies/materials and processing campus purchase requests.
• Prepare budget amendment requests for special education local funds.
• Implement and maintain an inventory system of required purchases.
• Approve services rendered, and invoices for the special education department.  
• Supervise payroll reporting for central office special education staff.
• Approve and adjust timesheet edits as requested by department staff.
• Approve and manage all data forms, contract extensions, and stipends for district wide Special Education staff.   Manage the Special Education administrative office space, managing storage of records and files, and problem solving space and equipment conflicts.
• Take in monthly travel reimbursement sheets for processing/payment.
• Register staff for workshops/conferences including potential hotel accommodations.
• Work with the district business office upon completion of conferences that require hotel accommodations. 
• Review and edit timesheet corrections for AAFAs prior to Director review.
• Participate in the district vendor review process to ensure compliance with district procurement procedures. 

 

Office Management:

 

• Answer telephones and respond to inquiries 
• Assist students/parents with general program information
• Assist department staff with clerical tasks (i.e. photocopy, print, fax, assemble information packets).
• Receive and distribute incoming fax documents for the Special Education department.
• Serve as department receptionist (e.g. answering the telephone assisting with information to callers, take messages, or transfer calls to appropriate individuals.).
• Department contact for Eduphoria requests (e.g. fob access, app access/requests, assistive technology requests, frontline technical support, skyward, software access).
• Enter trip requests for district vehicle staff use.

 

Frontline Manager:

• Maintain subscription service for all special education roles.
• Manage user access as needed in collaboration with Waller ISD 504/MTSS Coordinator.
• Create and edit roles to ensure appropriate access for staff.
• Create district user reports to assist the Director/Assistant Director in monitoring compliance.
• Maintain current student rosters.
• Assist with correcting PEIMS errors.
• Technical assistance to district wide staff (e.g. evaluation personnel, AAFAs, special education teachers and paraprofessionals, etc.) for Frontline technical issues.
• Verifying PEIMS data for Skyward entries.
• Manage school calendar in Frontline.
• Upload records as applicable for students (e.g. outside placements, homeschool/private school), and send records to receiving school districts. 
• Assist staff and families with document sharing features.
• Communicate with campuses to ensure all restraining paperwork is archived and completed.
• Complete parent requests for removal of medicaid numbers on Frontline paperwork.
• Ensure beginning and end of the year updates are completed for Frontline software.

 

Software Management:

 

• Maintain DALS+ subscription service and manage/assign user licenses.
• Maintain Goalbook subscription and manage/assign user licenses.
• Maintain Encore subscription service and manage/assign user licenses.
• Maintain N2Y/Unique Learning System (ULS) subscription service and manage/assign user license.s
• Maintain CPI subscription, assign, create, and monitor online courses, run training verification reports.
• Liaison between diagnosticians, speech therapists, support and campus personnel to troubleshoot and problem solve data errors or issues with the SEIS program.

 

Purchasing:

 

• Maintain inventory for tracking department inventory and fixed assets (computers, instructional programs, testing materials etc.).
• Order supplies, materials, test kits, protocols, etc for department staff.
• Maintain subscription renewals for Special Education software purchases.
• Receive requisitions and process/order supplies for campus specific special education program needs.
• Process purchase orders for payment and notify the Business Office when completed.

 

Contracts:

 

• Collaborate with Department Leadership and Business Office staff to draft service contracts for services such as professional development, instructional services, coaching, related services, and evaluation services.
• Coordinate with campuses and interpreter agencies to secure interpreters for ARDs.
• Effectively manage and maintain expenditure tracking for 20+ service contracts. 
• Maintain an organized system for processing purchase orders.
• Process invoices and verify service completion for payment.
• Manage Shared Service Arrangement (SSA) billing for RDSPD.
• Facilitate HR paperwork with contractors (background checks, etc.).
• Facilitate technology equipment requests (e.g. laptop, ipad, fobs, ID).
• Efficiently manage a continual increase in special education assessment contractors due to shortages in the areas of school psychologists and speech language pathologists.

 

Records management:

 

• Maintain audit files for special education students, including data entry, copying, uploading, and filing records. 
• Review special education records for accuracy.
• Gather and disseminate special education records to requesting school districts and agencies according to FERPA requirements.
• Contact for receiving and distributing Early Childhood Intervention paperwork from outside agencies
• Perform routine checks and comparisons of reports or records for compliance with specific program requirements.
• Prepares and completes the mailing process of student records or correspondence. 
• Maintain organization of records, maintaining of Special Education student folders, and other permanent records assigned and while protecting confidentiality of student records and information.
• Secure and process (as needed) incoming and outgoing request for records to/from other districts on the Texas Records Exchange, (TREx), a web-based software application for exchange of electronically student records and requests.
• Contact for Department of Disability Services (DDS) requests and assists with record fulfillment for social security/disability benefits.
• Ensure compliance with federal/state records retention and destruction requirements. Coordinate with the Director for the destruction of records as appropriate.
• Maintain SPED verification in district student enrollment records.
• Complete special education records requests (e.g. electronic organization, printing, file management).

PEIMS:

 

• Generate computer reports for director, assistant director, coordinators, and/or PEIMS department.
• Maintain record of timely submission of PEIMS data from campus staff.
• Input all special education data into district SIS (Skyward) in order to maintain active records.
• Work closely with PEIMS coordinator/director to correct computer reports (PEIMS) for TEA.
• Collect and enter PEIMS data into an established database and verify accuracy according to prescribed procedures.
• Perform routine checks and comparisons of reports for compliance as required by PEIMS department schedule.
• Work cooperatively with campus, business office, and personnel office staff to collect, organize, and

       format data required to submit district PEIMS data according to prescribed state deadlines. 

• Run edits, reports, and verification checks on data to ensure accuracy of information. 
• Distribute edits and reports to appropriate staff for analysis, verification, and correction.
• Maintain current knowledge of PEIMS and provide assistance to staff on the Student Attendance Accounting Handbook; including Homebound students.
• Enter student ESY contact hours.
• Maintain PEIMS coding related to student instances of restraint.

 

Extended School Year (ESY) / Summer School 

 

• Assist with managing correct documentation of student attendance.
• Collaborate with HR to ensure accurate assignment of staff for time/sheet.s 
• Materials requisitions and allocation. 
• Assigning/management student specific Frontline access for summer/ESY staff.
• Verification of timesheets for homebound services.

 

Private School/Proportionate Share:

 

• Supervise proportionate share funds (invoice/payments)  for out of district and resident students.  
• Maintain and continuously update the list of students enrolled in private or homeschool. 
• Send service letters and maintain archives in Frontline.
• Send parent information via certified summer mail outs. 
• Coordinate required community Child Find announcements (e.g. campus flyers, daycares/doctor offices, and news paper posts).

 

State and Federal Compliance: 

 

• Work with PEIMS department in review and completion of RF tracker, SPP 11, SPP 12, 18 plus continuous coding via TSDS. 
• Enter data pertaining to State Performance Indicators (ex., SPP7, SPP13, SPP14) as requested by the Texas Education Agency.
• Maintain current updates from TEA and Region 18 for the Procedural Safeguards and The ARD Guidelines booklets.
• Maintain appropriate data access/status for the Texas Education Agency Login (TEAL) system (e.g. eGrant expenditure reporting, SPP indicators, TREX, APEX, and TSDS system portal).

Professional Development:

 

• Create Eduphoria courses for registration and sign-in.
• Assist with copying and preparation of  materials.
• Assist with set up and clean up of professional development locations across the district. 
• Purchase and prepare required materials. 

General Employee Requirements:

• Quality of Work – complete assignments meeting quality standards, to include accuracy, neatness, thoroughness and adherence to standards and safety rules.       
• Quantity of Work – demonstrate the ability to manage several responsibilities simultaneously, perform work in a productive and timely manner, and meet work schedules.        
• Work Habits – display a positive, cooperative attitude toward work assignments, working diligently to accomplish tasks assigned.        
• Communication – communicate in a positive manner with others, to include listening and responding appropriately, expressing ideas orally and in writing in a manner that helps build a positive climate for the organization.        
• Dependability – adhere to time frames, monitor projects and exercise follow-through, be on time for meetings and appointments, and respond appropriately to instructions and procedures.
• Cooperation – work well with co-workers and supervisors as a contributing team member, demonstrate consideration of and maintain rapport with others, and help others willingly. 

• Initiative – seek and assume greater responsibility, monitor projects independently as required, and follow through appropriately.
• Adaptability – adjust well to any change in duties, procedures, supervisors or work environment, accept new ideas and approaches to work, and respond appropriately to constructive criticism and suggestions for work improvement.      
• Judgment – effectively analyze problems, determine appropriate action for solutions, and use logical thinking to exhibit timely and decisive action.         
• Attendance – attend work on a consistent basis, taking care to consider the use and number of absences in accordance with policy so that the organization is not negatively impacted. 

• Punctuality – arrive to work and depart from work according to department and district requirements

 

Supervisory Responsibilities:  None.

 

Equipment Used:  Personal computer, typewriter, printer, calculator, copier, audiovisual equipment, fax machine and others as required by staff / student needs.

 

Working Conditions:

 

Mental Demands/Physical Demands/Environmental Factors:

Maintain emotional control under stress.  Frequent standing, stooping, bending, kneeling, pushing, and pulling; regular heavy lifting of students.  Biological exposure to bacteria and communicable diseases.

The foregoing statements describe the general purpose and responsibilities assigned to this job and are not an exhaustive list of all responsibilities and duties that may be assigned or skills that may be required. 

 

*Applicants for all positions are considered without regard to race, color, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, or gender identity), national origin, religion, age, disability, genetic information, veteran or military status, or any other legally protected status. Additionally, the district does not discriminate against an applicant who acts to oppose such discrimination or participates in the investigation of a complaint related to a discriminating employment practice.

In accordance with Title IX, the district does not discriminate on the basis of sex and is required not to discriminate on the basis of sex in its educational programs or activities. The requirement not to discriminate extends to employment. Inquiries about the application of Title IX may be referred to the district’s Title IX coordinator, to the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights of the Department of Education, or both.