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Special Education and ARRA

Special Education and ARRA. WASA/WASBO/OSPI Dr. Doug Gill & Mary Ellen Parrish September 29-30, 2009. AGENDA. Use of IDEA and IDEA ARRA funds Recipient Reporting Maintenance of Effort. Federal Funding Available to the state of Washington.

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Special Education and ARRA

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  1. Special EducationandARRA WASA/WASBO/OSPI Dr. Doug Gill & Mary Ellen Parrish September 29-30, 2009

  2. AGENDA • Use of IDEA and IDEA ARRA funds • Recipient Reporting • Maintenance of Effort

  3. Federal Funding Available to the state of Washington

  4. Assurances Pertaining to the Use of IDEA Special Education Funds Including ARRA The LEA (Local Education Agency) assures that amounts provided: • shall be used only to pay the excess costs of providing special education and related services to children with disabilities; • shall be used to supplement State, local, and other federal funds and not to supplant such funds; and • shall not be used to reduce the level of expenditures for the education of children with disabilities made by the LEA from local funds below the level of those expenditures for the preceding fiscal year subject to the exceptions contained in 20 U.S.C. 1413 (a) (B) and (C). 34 CFR 300.202-205 and WAC 392-172A-06005 through 06025

  5. Use of ARRA IDEA Funds • Align with core goals of ARRA • Save and create jobs and advance reforms; • Focus on short-term investments with potential for long-term benefits. • Follow IDEA, Part B statutory and regulatory requirements • Improve teaching and learning and results for children with disabilities through reforms authorized under ESEA;

  6. Use of ARRA IDEA funds (cont.) • Ensure transparency, reporting, and accountability; • Investments that do not result in unsustainable continuing commitments after the ARRA funding expires.

  7. Guidance from the OSEP suggests5 broad areas to consider when using IDEA–B and 619 ARRA funds: • Purchase state-of-the art assistive technology devices; • Provide intensive district-wide professional development for special education and regular education teachers; • Develop or expand the capacity to collect and use data to improve teaching and learning; • Hire transition coordinators; • Expand the availability and range of inclusive placement options for preschoolers with disabilities.

  8. Given the temporary nature of the funding • OSEP is strongly encouraging LEAs to use these funds "for short-term investments that have the potential for long-term benefits." • OSEP is strongly discouraging use of these funds “for expenditures the LEAs may not be able to sustain once the recovery funds are expended.” • Hiring staff or beginning programs that cannot be funded after two years when your ARRA funding has been expended is discouraged.

  9. ARRA funds rubricfor decision making • Will the proposed use of funds drive improved results for students, including students in poverty, students with disabilities, and English language learners? • Will the proposed use of funds increase educators’ long-term capacity to improve results for students?   • Will the proposed use of funds advance state, district, or school improvement plans and the reform goals encompassed in ARRA?

  10. ARRA Funds Rubric (cont.) • Will the proposed use of funds foster continuous improvement? Include approaches to measure and track implementation and results and create feedback loops to modify or discontinue strategies based on evidence? • Will the proposed use of funds avoid recurring costs that states, school systems, and schools are unprepared to assume when this funding ends, and will the district avoid the funding cliff?

  11. The Funding Cliff

  12. ARRA IDEA Projects/Activities Priorities Indicate the priorities that will be funded with this grant. Check all appropriate boxes: Purchase of Direct & Support Services  Special Education Staff Development  Schoolwide Intervention Initiatives (Positive Behavior, RTI)  Assistive Technology  Transition  Instructional Material  Capital  Other  (Insert Text Here)

  13. Details on Selected Priorities • Provide a description of the project(s) or activities checked above . • Estimate the number of jobs to be created by the project(s) or activities checked above. (# of FTE’s) • Estimate the number of jobs to be retained by the project(s) or activities checked above. (# of FTE’s)

  14. ARRA Sec. 1512 - Required Reporting • Completion status of projects/activities • Number of jobs created or retained • Payments to vendors and contractors

  15. Quarterly Reporting via iGrants • OSPI will pre-populate the form package with district ARRA award amounts and the amount drawn down during each reporting period. • At the end of each quarter, districts will enter the number of positions created by FTE and the number of positions retained by FTE. • Districts will also report the amount paid to vendors during the quarter.

  16. Reporting Procedures • All districts with a grant number must report on each fund each quarter even if they had no expenditures in the quarter. • Districts will file their first report using Form Package 491 by Close of Business on October 5th. • If a district has a grant number and has not completed a form package, the district’s superintendent will be contacted on October 6th. • Between October 6th – 8th, OSPI will review reports and contact districts if there are questions.

  17. Excess Cost The excess cost requirement has been a requirement of the IDEA since 1975 and included in the regulations since 1977.

  18. 34 CFR 300.202 (a)(2) When applying for IDEA, the district assures that IDEA funds will only be used to pay the excess costs of providing special education and related services for children with disabilities.

  19. What are excess costs? Excess costs are those costs that are in addition or in excess of the annual average per pupil expenditure for a non-eligible elementary or secondary student. An LEA must spend at least the average annual per student expenditure on the education of an elementary or secondary student with a disability before IDEA funds are used to pay the excess costs of providing special education and related services.

  20. How do I document excess cost compliance? Perform the calculation in Appendix A or Use our pre-populated form - access the Link: http://www.k12.wa.us/SpecialEd/aspx

  21. How is Supplement Supplant tested? • The MOE test is part of the F-196 year end close process. • The test is run initially by the district. • OSPI also runs the test. • Districts are notified of a potential fail and asked to explain if any of the allowable exceptions apply.

  22. MOE Tests • State support in the aggregate • State support on the per pupil basis • Local support in the aggregate • Local support on the per pupil basis

  23. Allowable MOE Exceptions 34 CFR §300.204 provides exceptions for: • Departure of special education or related services personnel; • Decrease in the enrollment of children with disabilities; • Termination of costly expenditures for long-term purchases, such as the acquisition of equipment; • Termination of an obligation to provide services for an exceptionally high cost special education student; • Assumption of cost by a high cost fund operated by the SEA under 34 CFR §300.704(c).

  24. Exception #5 Assumption of cost by a high cost fund operated by the SEA under 34 CFR §300.704(c): 1 x State APPE $5,000 3 x State APPE $15,000 Amt LEA can reduce MOE = $10,000

  25. Part B LEA MOE Adjustments With certain exceptions, for any fiscal year for which an LEA’s Part B allocation under section 611 exceeds the amount the LEA received for the previous fiscal year, the LEA may reduce the level of expenditures otherwise required for MOE by not more than 50% of the amount of the excess. 34 CFR §300.205(a)

  26. Can ARRA IDEA funds be used to reduce your district’s MOE? • Only LEAs with a “Meets Requirements” designation can use up to 50% of the increase in federal IDEA, Part B and ARRA IDEA, Part B funds as state or state and local funds. • Section 619 funds are not included in the calculation of the increase in IDEA funds from 2008 to 2009. • There are restrictions on the use of these “freed up” funds” (34 CFR §300.205). • Your ability to reduce your MOE is related to how much money you charge to CEIS.

  27. Reporting to OSEP Additional reporting to OSEP will allow the Department of Education to: • Monitor the reduction of MOE by each LEA; • Determine the amount IDEA and IDEA ARRA funds reserved for CEIS; • Exercise fiduciary responsibilities to prevent fraud, waste and abuse; • Provide information to Congress and the public regarding LEAs that took advantage of these flexibilities.

  28. Location of Additional Guidance Using ARRA Funds Provided Through Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to Drive School Reform and Improvement http://www.ed.gov/policy/gen/leg/recovery/guidance/idea-b-reform.pdf Implementing Guidance for the Reports on Use of Funds Pursuant to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/assets/memoranda_fy2009/m09-21.pdf Guidance--Funds for Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Made Available under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act http://www.ed.gov/policy/gen/leg/recovery/guidance/idea-b.pdf .

  29. Questions?

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