IDEA Money Watch
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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 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 224 days remain!
Thanks for your interest in this project!
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The Funding Cliff
We've been keeping a close eye on events taking place in Washington over the past week regarding FY 2011 and FY 2012 funding for IDEA Part B Grants to States. It's important stuff because the "funding cliff" created by the Recovery Act IDEA funds is quickly approaching.
For those school districts that exercised the option provided in IDEA to decrease local spending on special education by up to half of an increase in federal funds from one year to the next, the cliff will be particularly steep. To illustrate this, we've put together a short presentation on the Impact of ARRA IDEA Funds, Federal Annual Funds and IDEA Provisions over Time. View it to get a better understanding of just how this plays out.
The FY 2012 Federal Appropriations for IDEA Grants to States are important because all districts will have exhausted the Recovery Act funds by the time this appropriation makes its way to local budgets. The first step in the process is the recommendation made by the President to the Congress. The President released the FY 2012 Budget on Monday, February 14th. It includes a 2% increase in IDEA Grants to States - an increase that won't begin to fill in the funding cliff or get closer to the IDEA authorized appropriation. But even this small increase is subject to the Congressional Budget and Appropriations process, which begins in the House of Representatives.
That process is sure to be impacted by actions taken this week in the House Committee on Appropriations in dealing with the FY 2011 funding via a new Continuing Resolution (CR). This CR is needed because Congress never passed Appropriation bills for the current federal fiscal year that ends September 30, 2011. Instead, Congress has issued 3 CRs, the latest will expire on March 4, 2011. So last Friday, February 11th, the House Appropriations Committee released HR 1, a CR to fund the government for the balance of FY 2011. Generally CRs simply continue the previous year's funding unaltered. But this CR - for the first time in history - contains cuts. What the CR does to IDEA Grants to States is discussed in our Balance Sheet Blog, Rogers to Our Kids: You're Excessive, Unnecessary, and Wasteful. It's a must-read!
We'll keep you posted on the budget and appropriations process for FY 2012.
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February Spending Report :: State Update
The U.S.ED's latest report on IDEA Part B Recovery Act funds "obligated" by States goes from 41% (UT) to 93% (IO).
Across the States, the average rate of obligation for IDEA Part B funds is 63%. All Recovery Act funds must be obligated by Sept. 30, 2011. That's just 8 months away!
Find out where your state stands >> Go to our state-by-state chart.
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Reports on ARRA IDEA Funds Lacking
A recent report on education stimulus spending from the Hechinger Institute on Education and associated stories by Education Week have given short shrift to the $11.3 billion IDEA funds.
Instead, much of the reporting has been focused on the Fiscal Stabilization Fund ($48.6 billion) and, in particular, the Race to the Top (RTTT) State Competitive Grant program ($4 billion). IDEA Money Watch is disappointed with the lack of attention paid to the IDEA funds provided by the ARRA, as well as the $10 billion provided to Title I. These funds have much shorter spending timelines than the RTTT grants and create the serious funding cliff mentioned above. Education Week will hold a live chat on "Education Stimulus: Gauging the Impact of a Federal Windfall" on Tuesday, Feb. 22, at 2 p.m. Eastern time. You can sign up for the chat here. Let's ask why so little reporting has been devoted to IDEA funds! _______________________________________
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Few States Monitor ARRA Spending
We've seen little information about efforts by States to monitor the use of ARRA Education funds. So we were particularly impressed by efforts undertaken by the New Jersey Dept. of Education. The NJ DOE monitored a selection of its local school districts and reported its findings in great detail.
We posted blogs about the NJ process as well as findings specific to use of IDEA funds in these school districts: Jersey City, Cherry Hill, and Newark.
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USED Slow to Respond to Waiver Requests
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. Three more states, South Carolina, Alabama and New Jersey requested waivers several months ago but still await USED action.
Waivers - if granted - are good for one year. States are required to either return to the pre-waiver level or submit another waiver request. Visit USED's State Waiver web page for more information. __________________________________________
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