IDEA Money Watch
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Blog Bytes
Check out these recent reports from around the states:
- Connecticut: CT is an OIG "don't."
- Virginia: District uses Stimulus funds for "inclusion" training.
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Stimulating ReadsAASA: New Study Finds School Districts Struggling in Response to Economic Downturn, Bracing for More Cuts
Press Release :: Survey Results
STAR Coalition(States for a Transparent and Accountability Recovery): Find out what's happening in your state on Recovery Act accountability. Start here.
New America Foundation: The Ed Money Watch blog reports regularly on the Education Stimulus.
Read it here.
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Government
Accountability Office (GAO)
Following the Money ...
The GAO's bimonthly reviews, Following the Money, examine how Recovery Act funds -- including IDEA 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...
If you are in one of the following states, be sure to check out the GAO bimonthly reviews (April, July and September so far) and meet your GAO contact:
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Greetings!
IDEA Money Watch, a project of The Advocacy Institute, is keeping track of the use of $11.3 billion in federal IDEA Part B funds being provided to local school districts as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).
All IDEA ARRA funds must be obligated by September 30, 2011. We've added a countdown to our homepage...just 700 days remain!
Thanks for your interest in this project!
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The Balance Sheet
Arne's Awkward Advice
Last week U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan issued a letter to Chief State School Officers and State Directors of Special Education
urging states to maintain high standards and not compromise the section
616 determination process under the Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act in light of the large sums of additional funds being distributed to local districts via the ARRA.
Of course, this is an issue IDEA Money Watch has been reporting on for months...So, while we were pleased to see Duncan's letter, the guidance given by U.S. ED to States on how to go about the determination process for local school districts is pretty much what got us into this mess in the first place.
We've outlined the reasons why Arne's advice is awkward in this month's Balance Sheet. Tell us what you think...
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States Slow to Access ARRA Funds
USED Office of Inspector General Releases Report on State Implementation of ARRA
In October, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) within the U.S. Dept. of Education (the office responsible for oversight of the ARRA education funds) released an Alert Memorandum covering "issues of concern related to State educational agencies' (SEAs') management of the flow of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds to local educational agencies (LEAs).
According to the Alert, "ongoing OIG audits in seven States and Puerto Rico have identified a number of instances where SEA cash management systems (1) disburse ARRA funds without adequate information on whether LEAs are ready to spend the funds and (2) do not ensure LEAs remit interest earned on ARRA funds received in advance of LEA needs, or both."
The Alert also provides the percentage of ARRA Title I, IDEA, and State Fiscal Stabilization Fund (SFSF) funds drawn down by each State as of the week ended August 28, 2009. Most States have drawn down little if any of the IDEA funds -- with a few notable exceptions: CA (42%), HI (100%), Iowa (40%), Indiana (44%) and Oklahoma (100%). Get the Alert here and find out how your state is doing from the "drawdown" chart on pages 8-9.
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States Get Extra Funds for ARRA Reporting
Tracking Money Takes - you guessed it - Money ...
The U.S. Department of Education has provided increases in the amount of funds States (SEAs) may take to cover
administrative costs of ARRA reporting requirements.
Section 611(e)(1) of IDEA restricts the amount of funds an SEA may reserve for administration ofthe IDEA, Part B program to not more than the maximum amount the SEA was eligible to reserve for FY 2004 or $800,000 (adjusted annually for inflation), whichever is greater.
So, to help defray the additional costs of ARRA reporting, the Secretary used his authority to issue an Executive Order to increase the cap. The additional amounts available to States were released in the Federal Register on October 27, 2009 available here.
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IDEA Money Watch makes it easy ...
- Use our one-page information flier available here. Distribute it to parent groups, at conferences and meetings and reprint in newsletters;
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