REVISED 12/2009

Criteria for Materials That Can Be Purchased with Instructional Funds

Definition:

ADA funding is received for the purpose of supporting new learning for a student and some minimal practice of those newly learned skills. Therefore, ADA funding may be spent for basic educational items that support new student learning and that fall into the categories below. An ES must remember to consult their ES Advisor if they have any questions about whether or not an item is acceptable.

Materials must be used to meet school and state standards for the student that the materials are being purchased for.

THE FOLLOWING PURCHASES ARE ACCEPTABLE:

-Educational curriculum appropriate for the students courses.

-Reading (library type) books that correlate to the student's English and History curriculum and are to be used in that study, as long as they are not sectarian, are allowed. (For example: A reading book with a study guide, phonics reader set, etc)

-Basic school & office supplies adequate for learning basic course skills (paper, pencils, etc).

-Enough basic raw materials (not top-of-the-line) for learning basic course skills in one learning record documented educational project: fabric, wood, yarn enough for one project (Exception: no food purchases allowed.) (ESs are responsible for monitoring the quantities of items purchased.)

-Basic equipment (not top-of-the-line) for documented learning as needed by student: sewing machine, cassette players or compact/single user cd/dvd players, manipulatives, cameras, tools (not power tools), musical instruments (basic school models), computers (see ES for school's computer options), printers, scanners.

-Items like digital cameras, printers, scanners, camcorders, etc. must be ordered from Gov Connection or a vendor that offers items comparable to the items on this quote page. Please note, WebCams are not allowed.

The following types of items can only be ordered for a high school student (and the grade level must be noted on the PO):

Bunsen Burners

The following types of items can only be ordered in small quantities for a student with the educational usage noted on the PO:

Chemicals

THE FOLLOWING TYPES OF ITEMS ARE UNACCEPTABLE: (If an ES accidentally orders and receives inappropriate materials, the ES should e-mail vendorrelations@ieminc.org and not give the materials to the family)

-Furniture, storage, organizational items (large or small items, e.g. backpacks, file storage, etc.), picture frames, and other non-educational household items.

-Computer parts, equipment, and software upgrades for non school-owned computers (exceptions made only for printers, scanners, and other external parts needed for courses).

-Ready- made clothes (including aprons)

-Ready-made jewelry

-Toys (including items like dolls, toy kitchen sets, non-educational video games, metal detectors)

-Personal hygiene items

-Personal PE items or PE items not typically supplied by schools: skis, bicycles, tricycles, heart rate monitors, karate gear, baseball gloves, golf gloves, Nintendo Wii Systems and software, exercise machines, etc.

(PE items that are non-personal, that are often supplied in PE classes in public schools, and can be easily transported from one student to another by ES, are allowed… like balls, small weights, exercise mats, junior golf club sets, exercise videos, etc.)

-Musical Instrument Rentals or Exchanges

-Home and Office Equipment: faxes, copiers- including all-in-one printers*, phones, laminating machine, dictation equipment, TV's (we assume that the student's home is equipped with basic home and office supplies), DVD and VCR players, Boom box-type CD/DVD players - (Only small players for use with one person are allowed), power tools, e-books (like Kindle).
*(Note, all-in-one printers are permitted for students taking online courses. The printers must cost less than $200 and may not have fax capability.)

-Kitchen Equipment: popcorn poppers, trays, plates, silverware, etc (we assume that the student's home is equipped with basic kitchen supplies)

-Yard Equipment: grass watering kits, garden ponds, swimming pools, etc.

- Items like fish aquariums, rabbit hutches, chicken coops, incubators, goat halters, pet feeders, etc. or any live animals that do not have a short life cycle (items like butterfly kits with educational materials OK, but no turtles, hermit crabs, fish, etc.)

Materials must not be sectarian or denominational

When ordering from vendors that sell both non-sectarian and sectarian materials, the items must be screened carefully by the ES before ordering, and reviewed when they arrive from the vendor prior to placing with a student.

If the ES is unfamiliar with an item, they should research it before ordering. The ES must go to the vendor’s website to read the item description or the customer reviews, or visit sites like Amazon.com for information on the item. Once items from these vendors are received, the ES must be careful to check any unfamiliar items before giving them to the student. It must be returned if it does not follow our policy.

Here are some vendors to be particularly careful about when ordering. There is a STOP note on the PO form for vendors like this. Keep in mind that many large vendors such as Borders Books also sell some of the same products.

Mount Hermon Outdoor Science School

Rainbow Resource Center

Borders Books

The following types of items are unacceptable:

-Religious materials of any type: Books, Magazines, DVDs, CD Roms, CDs, Videos, Cassette tapes, posters, etc.

Materials must not expose the ES or student to dangerous or serious injury

The following types of items are unacceptable:

Poisons

Knives (including Exacto and rotary blades)

Bows and Arrows

Darts with sharp points
Staple guns or glue guns

Trampolines

Swimming pools

Glue Guns

Rocket engines

Weapons

Power tools

Welding equipment

Large or heavy items must be limited to those items which the ES can transport.

The school conflict of interest policy must be followed

For Service vendors, the business may not be a CDE registered California private school that charges tuition and teaches core classes and needs to "enroll" our students into their private school in order for our student to take classes.

Per Ca Ed Code, a student may not be concurrently enrolled in a California private school and a California public charter school.

Procedure to receive items

When you have received your items, if you are not familiar with any of them, you should check to make sure that they are acceptable and non-sectarian. Any inappropriate item received, should have arrangements made for it’s return by contacting vendorrelations@ieminc.org. The item should NOT be given to the family, and the ES will be held responsible for any inappropriate items placed in a student’s home. Repeated ordering of unacceptable items will be cause for instituting the ES discipline process. If an unacceptable item is given to a family, it may be grounds for ES dismissal. State funding can only be spent on specific items, and any departure from this can result in problems with our audit.

If an ES has any question about whether or not an item can be ordered, they should ask their ES advisor.