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Appendix C: Audit Methodology and Standards We conducted this audit pursuant to Article V, Section 1 of the State Constitution and the State Comptroller’s authority as set forth in Article 3 of the New York State General Municipal Law. To achieve the audit objective and obtain valid audit evidence, our audit procedures included the following: ll We selected 20 school districts for the audit using a random number generator applied to a list of districts, broken out by five geographic regions (excluding NYC schools), not currently in the OSC audit process at the time of selection. The list was broken out by geographic region for an even representation of school districts across the State for this multi-unit audit. ll We interviewed District officials to gain an understanding of the process for creating, disseminating and monitoring mental health training for staff. We interviewed District officials to gain an understanding of the District’s computer systems used for creating, disseminating and monitoring mental health training provided to staff (if applicable). ll We reviewed relevant State laws and regulations, and guidance from SED and the DHHS. We reviewed District policies to gain an understanding of required mental health training. ll We reviewed school board minutes for the 2020-21 school year to determine the school board action taken related to District-wide safety plans or required mental health training. ll We requested and reviewed records supporting the Districts’ 2020-21 certification to SED that required annual training with a component of mental health. ll We reviewed and tested the mental health training materials provided by the Districts (if applicable) to determine whether training on mental health followed recommended DHHS guidance. We documented when training materials were not retained by the Districts. We extended the scope forward to August 12, 2021, August 19, 2021, October 6, 2021, October 26, 2021 and November 15, 2021 to include the date the auditor observed 2021-22 school year training material which was offered during the 2020-21 school year for select Districts. ll We determined the total number of individuals employed by the Districts during our audit period, by obtaining and reviewing an employee listing. ll If training was offered that met any of the recommended mental health components and records of completion were maintained, we drew samples to test training completion. Using the Districts’ employee listings, we grouped all employees by job type, specific (Superintendent, Principal, Assistant Principal and Counselors), teachers and other staff. We used a biased selection method and random number generator to select a sample of 10 percent of the total staff from each District, consisting of all employees in the Of f ic e of t he New York State Comptroller 11