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Districts Face Funding Cliff
We've been posting story after story of school district cuts to special education for the upcoming 2011-2012 school year due to the end of ARRA funds.
One story - about New Hanover schools in North Carolina - got national press in Education Week after we wrote our Balance Sheet blog post about their plans to cut 63 special education positions that had been created with Recovery Act (ARRA) funds. Other recent stories tell of special education cuts in these districts: Loss of IDEA Recovery Act funds will be felt beginning in the next school year. Tell us how your district is handling the funding cliff. Meanwhile, the outlook is dim for any increases in federal funding for the IDEA in the next federal fiscal year, making the fall from the funding cliff feel rather permanent. These Balance Sheet blog posts address recent events: - No Harm, No Foul? No Way tells the story of how IDEA narrowly escaped funding cuts in the final version of the FY 2011 federal budget, plus a look at the state-by-state funding gaps that are likely to persist for years to come.
Read this post >>>
- Meet the ARRA Albatross asks the question: how long will annual IDEA funding be held captive to the Recovery Act funds? At least through FY 2012, according to US Education Secretary, Arne Duncan. Read this post >>>
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May Spending Report :: State-by-State Update
The U.S.ED's latest report on IDEA Part B Recovery Act funds "obligated" by States ranges from a low of 52% in Wyoming to a high of 100% in Iowa as of My 6, 2011.
Across all States, the average rate of obligation for IDEA Part B funds now stands at 75%. All Recovery Act funds must be obligated by Sept. 30, 2011. That's just 5 months away!
Find out where your state stands >> Go to our state-by-state chart.
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Maintenance of Effort data submission
As we reported way back in July of 2009, the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) at the U.S. Dept. of Education required all states to submit information for every school district (LEA) about Maintenance of Effort (MOE) reductions and use of IDEA federal funds for Coordinated Early Intervening Services (CEIS) in the 2009 fiscal year.
This request was made because of the significant increase in federal IDEA funds that districts received as a result of the Recovery Act. This information-due to OSEP on May 1, 2011-will provide the public with information otherwise unavailable, allowing the public to be better informed and the use of Recover Act funds to be more transparent. Details of the information to be submitted to OSEP are available here.
We encourage OSEP to share this information with the public as soon as possible. IDEA Money Watch, in collaboration with the Center for Law and Education, submitted a public records request for this information. We plan to make it available on the IDEA Money Watch website as soon as it is provided.
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IDEA Money Watch relies on the support of dedicated parents and advocates across the country.
Thanks to the Center for Law and Education for ongoing guidance and support!
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