Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 24, December 18, 2024
(a)
One-day trips that do not involve overnight lodging shall not be eligible for
subsistence reimbursement, except for meals expressly authorized at
N.J.A.C.
6A:23A-7.12.
(b) Generally, overnight travel shall not be
eligible for subsistence reimbursement if travel is within the State. Overnight
travel is permitted if it is authorized pursuant to (c) below, or is a
component required by the entity issuing a grant, donation, or other funding
agreement with the school district. The specific required overnight in-State
travel event shall be detailed in the final grant, donation, or other fund
acceptance agreement along with the number of authorized travelers and total
cost. All reimbursements shall be subject to this subchapter unless the funding
acceptance agreement specifies otherwise.
(c) The Commissioner shall be authorized to
grant waivers for overnight travel for district board of education members and
school district employees to attend in-State conferences. Such waivers will be
granted in only extremely limited circumstances when the sponsoring
organization can demonstrate the conference is broad and multi-disciplinary in
scope, incorporates content offerings from numerous specialty areas, and
includes important professional development opportunities and/or required
training. In addition, the sponsoring organization shall demonstrate the
conference's content, structure, scheduling, and anticipated attendance
necessitate that it be held on multiple consecutive days with overnight
lodging. When such waivers are granted, individual school districts or
individuals shall not be required to submit waiver requests for attendance at
these conferences.
1. Sponsors of in-State
conferences may submit to the Commissioner a request for a waiver of this
prohibition by providing information regarding the conference as follows:
i. The name and dates of the event;
ii. Justification for the length of the
conference and the necessity to hold events for each day beyond the first day
of the conference;
iii.
Identification of all other conferences sponsored or co-sponsored by the
organization (whether single or multi-day) in the previous year;
iv. A description of the target audience by
position title and/or educational certificate and endorsement;
v. Justification of the importance of the
target audience attending the event;
vi. The cost of registration;
vii. A detailed list and description of any
activities to be charged to the participants by the sponsor separate from the
registration fee, such as luncheons, workshops, entertainment, etc., including:
(1) The cost of the activity;
(2) Whether participation is mandatory or
voluntary; and
(3) The purpose such
as social, guest speaker, working session, etc.;
viii. A copy of agenda or program for the
event;
ix. A brief statement that
includes the primary purpose of the event, the key issues that will be
addressed at the event, and their relevance to improving instruction or the
operation of a school or school district;
x. For training events, whether the training
is needed for a certificate required for continued employment, continuing
education requirements, or requirements of Federal or State law; and
xi. For annual events, total attendance, and
registration cost for the previous year.
(d) If a waiver of the prohibition on
overnight travel is granted pursuant to this section, it shall permit
reimbursement for travel expenses only for individuals whose home-to-convention
commute exceeds 50 miles.
(e)
Overnight travel within the State shall not be eligible for subsistence
reimbursement if travel is on the day prior to the start of the conference.
Reimbursement shall be prohibited for lodging prior to check-in time for the
first day of the event or after check-out time on the last day of the
event.
(f) The United States
General Services Administration publishes a schedule of Federal per diem rates
in the Federal Register for approved overnight travel by the event location.
The latest Federal per diem rates schedule for lodging, meals, and incidental
expenses by location can be found at
https://www.asa.aov/travel/plan-book/per-diem-rates.
The following restrictions apply to allowable per diem reimbursements:
1. Allowable per diem reimbursement for
lodging, meals, and incidentals shall be actual reasonable costs, not to exceed
the Federal per diem rates for the event location. Registration and conference
fees are not subject to the Federal per diem rate caps. If the event location
is not listed, the maximum per diem allowance shall be equal to the standard
continental United States (CONUS) per diem rates published by the General
Services Administration for meals, incidental expenses, and lodging.
2. Pursuant to
N.J.S.A. 18A:11-12.o, reimbursement for lodging
expenses for overnight travel, out-of-State or in-State as authorized by the
Commissioner, may exceed the Federal per diem rates if the hotel is the site of
the convention, conference, seminar, or meeting and the going rate of the hotel
is in excess of Federal per diem rates.
i. If
the hotel at the site of the current travel event is not available, lodging may
be paid for similar accommodations at a rate not to exceed the hotel rate at
the site of the current event.
ii.
If there is no hotel at the site of the current travel event (for example,
Atlantic City Convention Center), then reimbursement for lodging shall not
exceed the Federal per diem rate.
3. If the meal is not part of a one-sum fee
for a travel event, reimbursement may be approved for the full cost of an
official convention meal that the employee or district board of education
member attends, when such meal is scheduled as an integral part of the
convention or conference proceedings. Receipts shall be submitted to obtain
reimbursement in such situations. The amount of the Federal per diem rate for
the corresponding meal shall be deducted from that day's subsistence
allowance.
4. The allowance for a
meal(s) or incidentals shall not be eligible for reimbursement when included
and paid in the registration fee, the cost of lodging, or transportation
charge.
5. Receipts shall be
required for all hotel and incidental expenses. Meal expenses under the Federal
per diem allowance limits shall not require receipts pursuant to
N.J.S.A. 18A:11-12.o(3).
6. If the total per diem reimbursement is
greater than the Federal per diem rates, the costs shall be considered
excessive in the absence of substantial justification accompanying the travel
voucher submitted by the employee or district board of education member. In
such cases, receipts shall be submitted for all costs, including
meals.
7. Employees and district
board of education members shall patronize hotels and motels that offer special
rates to government employees unless alternative lodging offers greater cost
benefits or is more advantageous to the conduct of school district
business.
8. Actual subsistence
expenses shall not be reimbursable if paid by the traveler to a member of the
traveler's family, to another school district employee, or to a family member
of another school district employee.
