EFIS Instructions
2025-26
2025-26 Estimates
Data Form A2
Special Education

Data Form A2 - Special Education

The entire Special Education Fund (SEF) is enveloped for use only on special education expenses. Within this, there is one sub-envelope:

  • Northern Adjustment: this is part of the Differentiated Needs Allocation (DNA). The current year allocation for the three cooperative lead boards is from Section 4B, items 1.2 + 1.3. Two cells on Data Form A2, items 2.3 and 2.5, track the Northern Adjustment funding transferred from the cooperative lead boards to any recipient boards. This envelope is tracked in deferred revenue on Schedule 5.1, item 1.2 for the lead boards; any amounts received by recipient boards are tracked on Schedule 5.1, item 4.9. The recipient boards must return unused Northern Adjustment funds back to the cooperative lead boards at year end, and hence will always have a nil closing balance for Northern Adjustment deferred revenue on Schedule 5.1.

    • Item 2.3 (Enveloping Transfer to Other Boards) can only be used by the cooperative lead boards to record the transfer out net of any unspent funds returned by the non-lead boards.

    • Item 2.5 (Enveloping Transfer from Other Boards) can only be used by the recipient boards to record the transfer in. Note that any recipient board that inputs a value at item 2.5 must also input the same value at item 2.8 (Enveloping Net Incremental Expenses).

    • There are built-in error checks to prevent school boards from accidentally entering data in the non-applicable line.

School boards report their incremental special education expenses on Schedules 10A and 10B. The total expenses entered there are loaded to item 1.1, Enveloping Operating Expenses. To calculate the amount of revenue that can be recognized to address these expenses, there are several adjustments:

  • Strike savings are added to the Schedule 10A/B expenses, so that the deferred revenue will be reduced by the amount of savings entered (item 1.2).

  • Total other non-Core Ed revenue sources that are used to fund special education services are deducted (item 1.3). Note that ministry REP funding designated for special education should be included in this section.

  • Core Ed funding for pupils in self-contained special education classes are deducted (item 1.4). The value loaded here is calculated on page 2, items 5.1 to 5, and uses the ADE and number of pupils input by the school board at items 4.1 to 4.4.

  • Total Core Ed funding from the non-SEF funding pillars that is used for special education is deducted (item 1.5).

There are three input tabs in EFIS to collect the data needed for the enveloping calculations.

TAB: Self-Contained Classes

Amounts on this tab appear on page 2 of the report at items 4.1 to 5.

  • Number of Pupils, Average Daily Enrolment: Input the number of pupils and ADE of pupils in self-contained special education classes. This enrolment is used for the calculation of funding for pupils in self-contained classes, which reduce the incremental special education expenses.

    • For elementary grades, report full ADE when the students spend more than 50% of their time in the self-contained classes; do not report ADE when the students spend equal or less than 50% of their time in the self-contained classes. The reasoning behind this requirement is that pupils in self-contained special education classes are already generating CSF funding through their ADE, but they are not in a regular classroom; some of this should be used first, before any SEF deferred revenue.

    • For grades 9 to 12, ADE is based on the existing two count dates within the school year, October 31 and March 31, which is consistent with all reporting. Where secondary self-contained students are integrated into a regular classroom for one or more periods, the ADE should reflect only the portion of the day the student is in a self-contained classroom.

  • Items 5.1 to 5 calculate the funding for pupils in self-contained classes, based on the enrolment (items 4.1 to 4.4) and benchmarks from three portions of the Classroom Staffing Fund (CSF Per Pupil Allocation, FFL Component of the Language Classroom Staffing Allocation, and Q&E Teachers Component of the Local Circumstances Staffing Allocation). As noted above, the final value calculated at item 5 is loaded to page 1 of the report at item 1.4 and will reduce the net incremental expenses.

TAB: Incremental Expenses

Amounts on this tab appear on the report at items 2.2 to 2.4.

  • Enveloping Net Strike Savings: Input any net strike savings that are attributable to special education. These savings will increase the net incremental special education expenses for enveloping purposes.

  • Other Revenue Sources - Special Education: Input any revenues other than Core Ed funding which are used to provide special education to pupils, including any REP funding that is designated for special education. Please provide a description of the revenues and the amount. These other revenues will reduce the net incremental special education expenses for enveloping calculation purposes.

    • The total value input for other revenue sources (item 1.3) should equal the amounts input on Data Form D, item 3, columns 10 (Fees Revenue) and 11 (Other Revenues (excluding SGF and Capital)). This is enforced through warning message Warning_DFD_2.

    • In the rare case where a school board has reported special education expenses on Schedules 10A/B for a non-pupil of the board that they were not able to fund entirely through other revenue sources, they should input the total expenses in this section (including the portion that did not have offsetting revenues). This will ensure that special education deferred revenue is not used for the expenses. In this case, please input a warning explanation for Warning_DFD_2 describing the reason for the variance compared to Data Form D.

  • Funding for Pupils in Self-Contained Classes: The value here is loaded from page 2, item 5, and reduces the net incremental special education expenses for enveloping purposes.

    • Note that this value is also included in the amounts loaded to Data Form D, column 6 (Special Education Funding Adjustments), to reallocate funding from Classroom Staffing (item 1.0) to Special Education (item 3).

  • Core Ed funding used for Special Education: Input any Core Ed funding that has been used to provide special education to pupils, on the provided rows for each non-SEF funding pillar. The total amounts input in this section will reduce the net incremental special education expenses for enveloping purposes.

    • The values input in this section will be loaded to Data Form D, column 6 (Special Education Funding Adjustments) to reallocate funding from other Core Ed funding pillars to SEF for variance calculation purposes. On Data Form D, users will then need to allocate the loaded values for Classroom Staffing Fund and Learning Resources Fund across the related expense category lines.

TAB: Envelopes

This tab is for data entry related to the apportioning of amounts between special education sub-envelopes. Amounts on this tab appear on the report at items 2.1 to 3.

  • Enveloping Transfer to Other Boards, Enveloping Transfer from Other Boards: Input the amount transferred to recipient boards or received from lead boards for the Northern Adjustment.

    • Note that for Northern Adjustment lead boards, when recording a transfer to recipient school boards at item 2.3, this value should also be recorded on Schedule 10 in column 11 (Transfer to Other Boards). Error_SC10_7 ensures that this expense is not missed.

    • Note that for Northern Adjustment recipient boards, the value input at item 2.5 must also be input at item 2.8 (Enveloping Incremental Expenses). Error_DFA2_10 ensures that this is not missed.

  • Enveloping Strike Savings: Input the amount of strike savings applicable to the Northern Adjustment sub-envelope. Any remaining strike savings are automatically applied to the general special education envelope.

  • Enveloping Net Incremental Expenses: Input the eligible expenses funded by the Northern Adjustment amount. Any remaining incremental expenses are automatically loaded to the column for the general special education envelope.

    • For Northern Adjustment lead boards, the only expenses that should be input here are those that are spent within the board. Amounts that are transferred to recipient boards should be reported only at item 2.3 (Transfer to Other Boards).

    • For Northern Adjustment recipient boards, the value input here must be equal to the value input at item 2.5 (Enveloping Transfer from Other Boards). Error_DFA2_10 ensures that this is not missed.

Relationship to other forms:

  • Item 1.1 (Enveloping Operating Expenses) is loaded from Schedules 10A and 10B, item 50, column 20.

  • The value input at item 1.2 (Enveloping Net Strike Savings), if any, is loaded to Data Form D, item 3 (Special Education), column 12 (Strike Savings).

  • The total other revenue sources at item 1.3 should equal Data Form D, item 3 (Special Education), columns 10 (Fees Revenue) + 11 (Other Revenues). This is enforced through warning message Warning_DFD_2. The only valid difference would occur if a school board had special education expenses for pupils who are not pupils of the board, but which they did not have offsetting revenues for. In that case the unsupported expenses should be included on Data Form A2 item 1.3 but excluded from Data Form D.

  • The Core Ed funding used for special education at items 1.5.1 to 1.5.5 are multiplied by -1 and loaded to Data Form D, column 6 (Special Education Funding Adjustments), items 1.0, 2.0, 4, 5, and 6. The value loaded to item 1.0 (Classroom Staffing) also includes the negative of the funding for pupils in self-contained classes (Data Form A2, item 1.4). For amounts loaded to Classroom Staffing (item 1.0) and Learning Resources (item 2.0), school boards need to distribute the loaded value among the related expense lines (enforced through error messages Error_DFD_3 and Error_DFD_4). The value loaded to Data Form D, column 6, item 3 (Special Education) is the sum of:

    • Funding for pupils in self-contained classes (item 1.4),

    • Total Core Ed funding used for special education (item 1.5), and

    • The Northern Adjustment transfer to revenue for recipient school boards (Schedule 5.1, item 4.9, column 6).

  • The deferred revenue continuity at items 2.1 to 3 correspond to the values from Schedule 5.1, items 1.1 (Special Education - General) and 1.2 (Special Education - Northern Adjustment). If an amount is input at item 2.5 (Enveloping Transfer from Other Boards) by a Northern Adjustment recipient school board, the value is loaded to Schedule 5.1, item 4.9 (Northern Adjustment - Transferred from Other Boards), column 2 (Contributions Received) and column 6 (Transferred to Revenue).

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