IDEA Money Watch
Vol. 1, Number 1          June 2009
In This Issue
The Balance Sheet
Exploring SPPs and APRs
IDEA Funding Chart
State Blog Bytes
IDEA Money Watch
Quick Links
Government
Accountability Office (GAO)
Following the Money ...

The GAO's  new bimonthly reviews, Following the Money, examine how Recovery Act funds are being spent and whether they are achieving the act's goals.  Reviews focus on 16 states and the District of Columbia, which contain about 65 percent of the U.S. population and will receive about two-thirds of the  grants funds available through the Recovery Act.  More...
  Extra Stimulus $$ Resources

Here are some of our favorites!

Education Week's Follow the Stimulus


New America Foundation's
Ed Money Watch Blog
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Greetings!

IDEA Money Watch, the newest project at The Advocacy Institute, is keeping track of the use of $11.3 billion in federal funds being provided to local school districts as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). Special education advocates across the nation are keeping watch on the use of these funds and how the academic achievement of students with disabilities is improving as a result.

The ARRA was signed into law just 4 months ago! In that short time, we have built a website, created resources and recruited state watchdogs. And, with this newsletter, premiering today, we will keep you up to date with what's going on with  IDEA ARRA funds. Visit your state's IDEA Money Watch blog to learn about your state and share your comments.

Thanks for your interest in this project!

The Advocacy Institute
The Balance Sheet

What's in a Rating?

Plenty, according to the U.S. Department of Education (USED). Many were surprised...even amazed to learn by way of the USED Guidance on Use of IDEA funds provided by the ARRA that local educational agencies (LEAs, aka school districts) would need to have received a "Meets Requirements" rating from the state (based on the LEA's performance on the State Performance Plan) in order to take advantage of IDEA's provision allowing  LEAs to reduce local levels of expenditures on special education by up to 50% of any increase received from one fiscal year to the next.

Read the Balance Sheet and post your comments here.

P.S. IDEA Money Watch has obtained LEA ratings from 20 states to date. Visit Blog Bytes on the Homepage for a list of states.
Exploring SPPs and APRs

View our webinar archive!
 
Interested in learning more about the State Performance Plans and Annual Performance Reports? The Advocacy Institute, the not-for-profit organization that supports IDEA Money Watch, conducted a Webinar to provide an overview of the SPP and APR requirements of IDEA and how they intersect with how school districts can use the significant IDEA Part B funding provided in the ARRA.  Suggestions on how to align ARRA-funded activities with APR data are also discussed.

Subscribers to IDEA Money Watch News are invited to review the webinar archive free of charge for the next 30 days.

View the Webinar archive and access resource materials here.

P.S. On June 3, 2009, the U.S. Department of Education released state determinations on the implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) for Part B and Part C for fiscal year 2007. The announcement is available here. The states' SPP and APR letters are available here. The ratings also appear in our State IDEA Facts look-up page.
IDEA Part B 611 Funding Chart
Tips and Tools

Get our Comparison of IDEA
FY09 and ARRA Funds  >>>>>>>>>
Confused about the relationship between federal IDEA Part B funds provided to states in FY09 and IDEA funds provided in the ARRA? We've put together a nifty 2-page comparison chart to simplify the issue! It's user-friendly and printer-ready. Get it here.
State Blog Bytes

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