Completing the Nebraska SPEDFRS Option

Note:  Be sure to complete the first three steps on the Nebraska SPEDFRS Completion Checklist before doing the steps below to complete the Nebraska SPEDFRS option.

Nebraska SPEDFRS Completion Checklist

1. From the Payroll screen, select the Government Reporting menu and then Nebraska SPEDFRS.

Generating the Nebraska SPEDFRS Report:

Tip:  Refer to the codes defined by the state provided with the instructions for the Nebraska Special Education Financial Reporting System when completing the fields that require a valid code; if needed, the Permitted Values can be edited.

Steps to Edit Permitted Values

2. At the Nebraska SPEDFRS screen, click the Report Options tab to complete the information.

• Enter the first processing month to generate in the Starting Processing Month field.  Use the mm/yyyy format or click the down-arrow button to select the desired month.

• Enter the last processing month to generate in the Ending Processing Month field.  Use the mm/yyyy format or click the down-arrow button to select the desired month.

• Click the down-arrow button for the Staff ID field to select the correct text custom field defined in the Employee File to track the staff IDs assigned by the Department of Education for the employees.

Tip:  If the Nebraska Staff Reporting option is utilized in the School Accounting System, the text custom field entered in the Staff ID field within that option will default into the Staff ID field in this option initially.

• If applicable, click the down-arrow button for the Staff Type field to select the correct referenced custom field defined in the Employee File to track the staff type code for the employees.

• If desired, enter the 1-digit number of the staff type code (or click the down-arrow button to select the correct one) to use as the default in the Default Value field for Staff Type for those employees where the Staff Type custom field was left blank (and the Staff Type field is blank for the assignment record on the Employee Maintenance tab if an employee only has one assignment record defined).

Tip:  If this is the first year using the Nebraska SPEDFRS option, the codes will only show in the drop-down list for the Default Value field after completing the Import Permitted Values option (refer to Step 2 on the Nebraska SPEDFRS Completion Checklist), and the Nebraska SPEDFRS screen must be closed and re-opened after importing the permitted values.

• Click the Save button.

3.  If needed, click the Pay Code Benefits tab to select the pay codes (if any) to be included on the report as benefits instead of salary.

• To select a pay code to be included in the benefits category (instead of the salary category), click the box under the Selected column to the left of the pay code ID.  A checkmark will appear in the box if the pay code is selected.

• Click the Save button.

4.  If needed, click the Employee Maintenance tab to view, edit, or add assignment records for employees.

Steps to Edit the Assignment Records on the Employee Maintenance Tab in the Nebraska SPEDFRS Option

 5.  Click the Report Options tab and then click the Execute button to generate.

Viewing/Editing the Nebraska SPEDFRS Report:

6.  To view the information generated for the employees and manually make changes if necessary, click the View/Edit Data tab.

Tip:  To lock a column in place so that it does not move while scrolling the information in the grid, click the pushpin located to the right of the desired column heading.  Once the pushpin has been selected for a column, the pushpin will appear vertical to indicate the column is locked, and the locked column will move to the left and appear in front of all unlocked columns.  To unlock a column, click the pushpin again; the pushpin will appear horizontal to indicate a column is unlocked.  If the screen is closed and re-opened, the settings for the pushpins will go back to the defaults.

• All the employees paid within the specified processing months with the valid special education functions (as defined within the Permitted Values section in the Nebraska SPEDFRS option) will have records generated and displayed in the Report Data List.  An employee will have multiple records listed if the employee was paid from multiple valid special education functions.

Note:  To delete a record for an employee from the Report Data List, click the Delete button to the left of the Employee ID for the desired row.

• Verify the employee records have all the necessary fields completed, and make any changes as needed.

Notes:  

• All the fields except the License Number field are required (the validation for the required fields is completed by the state once the file is uploaded).  

• The Position Assignment field and the SPI Code field reflect the codes as entered in the assignment record for the employee on the Employee Maintenance tab if the employee only has one assignment record defined; if the employee has multiple assignment records defined on the Employee Maintenance tab (or does not have any assignment records defined), the Position Assignment field and the SPI Code field will be blank and will need to be completed.  

• When clicking the down-arrow button for the Position Assignment field, the assignment records defined on the Employee Maintenance tab for the employee appear at the top of the list, if applicable.  If an assignment record defined on the Employee Maintenance tab for the employee is selected, the information for the position assignment, SPI code, staff type, FTE, supervision, and license number from the selected record will default into the appropriate fields as applicable.

• The Staff Type field reflects the staff type code as entered in the assignment record for the employee on the Employee Maintenance tab if the employee only has one assignment record defined; if the employee has multiple assignment records defined on the Employee Maintenance tab (or does not have any assignment records defined), the Staff Type field reflects the code as entered in the Staff Type custom field in the Employee File or else the default staff type code specified when generating.

• The Age Group field reflects the defined age group for the specified function (within the Permitted Values section) from which the employee was paid, if applicable.

• If applicable, the FTE field reflects the FTE value as entered in the assignment record for the employee on the Employee Maintenance tab if the employee only has one assignment record defined; if the employee has multiple assignment records defined on the Employee Maintenance tab (or does not have any assignment records defined), the FTE field will be blank and will need to be completed.  (Note:  The FTE can be between 0 and 1, and include up to 2 decimal places.  If the employee is a full-time employee and only has one assignment record, the FTE would be 1.00; if the employee has multiple assignment records, the combined FTE for all assignments should not exceed 1.00 (the validation for the total FTE value is completed by the state once the file is uploaded).)

• The Supervision field reflects the supervision code as entered in the assignment record for the employee on the Employee Maintenance tab if the employee only has one assignment record defined; if the employee has multiple assignment records defined on the Employee Maintenance tab (or does not have any assignment records defined), the Supervision field defaults to 2 for Non-Supervisory.

• If applicable, the License Number field reflects the license number as entered in the assignment record for the employee on the Employee Maintenance tab if the employee only has one assignment record defined; if the employee has multiple assignment records defined on the Employee Maintenance tab (or does not have any assignment records defined), the License Number field will be blank and will need to be completed only if required for the employee.

• If changes were made, click the Save button.

7.  To add a new employee to the Nebraska SPEDFRS option, enter the ID of the employee in the Employee ID field in the blank line (indicated with an asterisk) at the bottom of the Report Data List.  If the ID is not known, click the down-arrow button to select the correct one.  Then complete the necessary fields of information and click the Save button.

8.  To view the payroll records from which the salary and benefit totals for the employee were generated, click the plus sign (+) in the box in front of the employee to expand the record.

Creating the Nebraska SPEDFRS File:

9.  Select the Options menu and then Create Report File.

10. When prompted, select the desired path (drive and folders) for where to create the file and click the Save button.  The system will default to the location that was last specified.

Note:  Do not change the name of the file.

11. A prompt will appear asking to include records with missing required fields (all fields except the License field are required by the state); click Yes to include all the records in the file, click No to only include the records with all the required fields completed, or click Cancel to terminate creating the file.

12. A message will appear in the status bar to show that the file was created.

13. Upload the file into the Nebraska Special Education Financial Reporting System for the Supplementary Report of Staff Salaries.

14. The Nebraska SPEDFRS information can be accessed anytime during the year and will remain unchanged until you edit it or regenerate it.

15. Click the X in the upper right-hand corner to close the screen.