Special Education Finance

Topics:

Special Education
Back to top

Federal Programs

IDEA Part B LEA Awards

Iowa High Cost Plan

Iowa Plan for High Cost Fund - Outlines the program and links to the directions for expenditure reimbursements in special education.

School-based Medicaid

Medicaid is a federal/state cost sharing benefit program for health and medically necessary services for low-income individuals that was established as Title XIX of the Social Security Act in 1965. Originally, Medicaid benefits could not be used for services provided under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). In 1988, the Medicare Catastrophic Coverage Act allowed Medicaid to pay for covered medical services provided to Medicaid-enrolled children with special health care needs on their individualized education program (IEP) or individual family service plan (IFSP).

Back to top

Appropriate Uses of Special Education Funding

The following documents accurately and thoroughly describe the parameters of Iowa law and the expectations for school districts related to the provision of special education programming and qualified financial expenditures.

Contracted/Purchased Services

Consortia

Uses of Special Education Funding under Federal IDEA and State Law

Related Guidance

Back to top

Special Education Applications

Special Education Billing (SEB) Application

This application is due February 15 for first semester and July 15 for second semester. Instructions for the Special Education Billing Application can be found in the EdPortal, within the application under the "Help" tab.

SBRC Administrative Costs Application

This application is due February 1.

Special Education Supplement (SES) Application

This application is a supplement to the CAR-COA for additional detail related to the Special Education program. It is due September 15 or the following Monday when the due date falls on the weekend.

Back to top

Fiscal Data

Administrative Costs

When a district presents evidence of unusual circumstances that would justify charging administrative costs to the special education program, the SBRC may authorize such expenditures using the following criteria:

  1. The district has a separate school for special education which has a sufficient student population to warrant a certified special education administrator. If approved, the district may bill the prorated (proportionate) portion of the cost to other resident districts for students served in that school as well as include the prorated portion of the cost related to its own resident students in the special education program expenditures. These districts determined that the special education students are best served by providing the special education program in a separate special education school/facility, have a school listed on their BEDS data collection coded "05 special education" and have a special education administrator listed on their BEDS staffing data collection whose expenditures are coded on the CAR-COA in the 2330 function for special area administration.
  2. The district has one or more private facilities located within the district with a sufficient special education student population that is served by the district. If approved, the district may bill the prorated portion of the administrative cost to other resident districts for students served in that facility but shall not include the prorated portion related to its own resident students in the special education program expenditures. These districts have a residential facility or day program located within their district boundaries which serve school-age children, but which are not accredited schools. This means that Iowa Code requires that the educational program be provided by the district of location. The instructional program will either be provided directly by the district of location or through a purchased services contract for an educational program from a qualified provider.

The amount that may be charged is the lower of actual or approved costs. All costs must be allowable costs pursuant to Iowa Code and Iowa Administrative Code. Actual costs for this purpose are costs for administration that are measurable directly without allocating and are exclusively devoted to the programs of identified students served pursuant to their IEPs. These costs are costs that would normally be coded on the CAR-COA in the 2330 or 2410 function. Prior SBRC approval is required.

LEA

General Program Percentages

Special Education Receipts

These represent the Special Education headcounts, certified enrollment and special education weighting generated on students with IEPs. Prior years are available upon request.

Balances

These represent the Special Education deficit balances for which districts requested modified allowable growth from the SBRC and the positive balances in excess of allowable carryforward which will be redistributed to other districts with deficit balances. Prior years are available upon request.

Back to top Back to top