Pupil Accounting

Michigan has two official pupil count days - the first Wednesday in October and the second Wednesday in February. The count days are used to determine the amount of state aid each district will receive. The Pupil Accounting Office works with local school districts and public school academies to ensure that both the local districts and IRESA have an accurate count of students, verifies that all Michigan Department of Education (MDE) procedures are followed, and serves as a resource to local districts.

Additionally, the State School Aid Act mandates that the MDE require each district, public school academy, and ISD to have a pupil membership audit by an ISD auditor. A desk audit is performed for every district in each count. A field audit is performed based on a rotation schedule. The MDE requires a field audit to be done on high school buildings at least once every two school years and on all middle school and elementary school buildings at least once every four school years. After completion of the audits, narratives are sent to the MDE, as well as the districts. 

The Pupil Accounting Office also verifies that every district provides at least the minimum required hours of instruction for the school year and that each district had at least 75 percent of the students scheduled for instruction in attendance on scheduled days counted.

Services provided to constituent districts and Public School Academies are:

  • Pupil Membership Consultation
  • Pupil Accounting Support and Training
  • Audit and Certification of Pupil Membership Counts
  • Days and Clock Hour Review and Certification
  • Graduation and Dropout (GAD) Exit Requests and GAD Audit
  • CEPI – MSDS and EEM Collections Support
  • Section 25e Support, Audit, and Claim Processing
  • Section 23a Support and Audit
  • Supply districts with necessary data, forms, and instructions
  • Teacher Certification Audit
  • Maintain records of audited student counts from year-to-year

Pupil Accounting Important Dates

Note: The pupil count dates are the 1st Wednesday in October and the 2nd Wednesday in February per Section 6(7) of the State School Aid Act.

PDF Document2023-2024 Count dates

External LinkCEPI Timelines and Due Dates

FORMS

Pupil Accounting Forms are available on the MPAAA website. Need not be a member to access. If you need access or a specific form, please email Shannon Rea or call her at 989-275-9525.