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Government Accountability Office (GAO)
Following the Money ...
The GAO's September 2010 National overview and links to reviews of selected states is available here.
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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 ...just 344 days remain!
Thanks for your interest in this project!
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The Balance Sheet Close Up: How 50 districts are using IDEA Recovery Act funds
Our current Balance Sheet blog posting reports on the use of IDEA Part B Recovery Act funds across 50 schools and districts. The summaries, intended to be "illustrative", were published in the GAO report, "States Could Provide More Information on Education Programs to Enhance the Public's Understanding of Fund Use" released in July 2010.
Read about some of the most frequent uses of funds and some uses we found dubious. >> Go to The Balance Sheet
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September 30th Spending Report :: State Update
States report vast differences on "obligated" funds
The U.S.ED's latest report on IDEA Part B Recovery Act funds "obligated" by States goes from 23% (UT, WY) to 93% (IO).
Across the States, the average rate of obligation for IDEA Part B funds is 50%. All Recovery Act funds must be obligated by Sept. 30, 2011. That's just 11 months away!
Find out where your state stands >> Go to our state-by-state chart.
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No End in Sight
A new report from the Center for Public Education - part of the National School Boards Association - predicts that school district budgets will not regain their pre-recession (2008) funding levels until late in the decade.
The report, "Cutting to the Bone: How the Economic Crisis Affects Schools", gives several reasons for this dire prediction. Among them:
- Reduced local revenues from real estate taxes
- Lagging state budgets
- Medicaid and other state programs with high cost increases
- Reduced funding from the federal stimulus program
The reports goes on to say:
"Although resources are declining, requirements are not. Districts still have to comply with underfunded mandates such as the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and the No Child Left Behind Act, as well as with state accountability systems, scheduled reporting dates, and other requirements. Merits aside, meeting these mandates takes time and money, giving districts limited flexibility in making needed cuts in other parts of their already lean budgets. And unfortunately, the worst appears far from over."
According to GAO estimates, one third of the nation's school districts exercised the IDEA provision allowing a reduction in local spending when an increase in federal funds occurs (up to half of the increase). Since all IDEA Recovery Act funds were considered as FY09 funds, this increase was substantial. More importantly, the reduction in local spending is permanent unless and until a district voluntarily increases its local spending on special education.
As we reported in Budget Dust and Double Trouble, the combination of Recovery Act funds drying up + local and state revenues remaining stagnant + reduction in local spending on special education + the unlikelihood of increases in federal IDEA appropriations = a dangerous situation for special education in the coming years.
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Alabama Submits Waiver Request
As we first reported in "Show Us the Waivers" and later in "The FOIA Chronicle" states must obtain a "waiver" from the U.S. Dept. of Education (USED) if they reduce their financial support of special education to local districts from the year before.
To date, three states have requested waivers and received approval from USED - Iowa, Kansas and West Virginia. A fourth state - South Carolina - requested a waiver several months ago but still awaits USED action. Alabama filed its request in late September via a one-page letter to OSEP.
In June of this year, OSEP released a memorandum outlining the process and criteria it would use to evaluate requests by States to waive Maintenance of Effort (MOE) requirements under Part B of the IDEA.
Waivers - if granted - are good for one year. States are required to either return to the pre-waiver level or submit another waiver request.
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RTI Funding Confusion
Many of the GAO's summaries of 50 school/district spending, as well as other reports from around the country, indicate that many school districts have used IDEA Part B Recovery Act funds for "Response to Intervention" activities. Such reports make us wonder...exactly what funds are being used for RTI?
To be clear, the use of IDEA Part B Recovery Act funds to pay for RTI activities is prohibited except for the limited use of funds allowed under the "Coordinated Early Intervening Services" (CEIS) provision. As with all IDEA federal funds, allowable uses of IDEA Recovery Act funds are restricted to the excess costs of providing special education and related services to students with disabilities. Under IDEA 2004, some elements of an RTI process could be funded with IDEA Part B funds by utilizing the CEIS provision. However, as the USED guidance on "Implementing RTI Using Title I, Title III and CEIS Funds" points out, there are restrictions regarding use of CEIS funds for RTI.
Alternatively, RTI could be funded with local funds - provided by using the MOE reduction provision in IDEA - without the restrictions that govern use of CEIS funds. This funding alternative is explained in an article by Anna Munson for the RTI Action Network.
It will be quite some time before we know how many school districts elected to use the CEIS provision and/or the MOE reduction provision. A new data collection requirement issued by OSEP will provide this information (and much more!), but not until well into next year.
Meanwhile, we hope that the RTI activities that local districts are reporting under the IDEA Part B Recovery Act are adhering to the restrictions above. If districts are using local funds made available via the IDEA MOE reduction provision, then the use of such funds should not be included in reporting on use of IDEA Part B Recovery Act funds. __________________________________________
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