IDEA--Reauthorized Statute

## **LOCAL FUNDING**

**(See also Early Intervening Services, Disproportionality and
Overidentification and Alignment With the *No Child Left Behind Act*)**

The reauthorized *Individuals with Disabilities Education Act* (IDEA)
was signed into law on Dec. 3, 2004, by President George W. Bush. The
provisions of the act became effective on July 1, 2005, with the
exception of some of the elements pertaining to the definition of a
"highly qualified teacher" that took effect upon the signing of the act.
This is one in a series of documents, prepared by the Office of Special
Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) in the U.S. Department of
Education, that covers a variety of high-interest topics and brings
together the statutory language related to those topics to support
constituents in preparing to implement the new requirements.[^1] This
document addresses only the changes to the provisions of IDEA regarding
local funding that took effect on July 1, 2005. It does not address any
changes that may be made by the final regulations.

**IDEA 2004:**

**1. Adds an exception to the local maintenance of effort (MOE)
requirements.**

Notwithstanding Sections 613(a)(2)(A)(ii)-(iii), for any fiscal year for
which the allocation received by a local education agency (LEA) under
Section 611(f) exceeds the amount the LEA received for the previous
fiscal year, the LEA may reduce the level of expenditures otherwise
required by Section 613(a)(2)(A)(iii) by not more than 50 percent of the
amount of such excess. \[613(a)(2)(C)(i)\]

**2. Places a limitation on the exception to local MOE requirements.**

If a state education agency (SEA) determines that an LEA is not meeting
the requirements of Part B, including the targets in the state's
performance plan, the SEA shall prohibit the LEA from reducing its MOE
under Section 613(a)(2)(C) for any fiscal year. \[616(f)\]

**3. Authorizes additional permissive use of funds.**

Notwithstanding Sections 613(a)(2)(A) or 612(a)(17)(B) (relating to
commingled funds), funds provided to the LEA under Part B may be used
for the following activities:

-   Early intervening services---To develop and implement coordinated,
    early intervening educational services, in accordance with Section
    613(f);[^2] and

-   High cost education and related services---To establish and
    implement cost or risk sharing funds, consortia, or cooperatives for
    the LEA itself, or for LEAs working in a consortium of which the LEA
    is a part, to pay for high cost special education and related
    services.

Administrative case management---An LEA may use funds received under
Part B to purchase appropriate technology for recordkeeping, data
collection and related case management activities of teachers and
related services personnel providing services described in the
individualized education program (IEP) of children with disabilities,
that is needed for the implementation of such case management
activities.

\[613(a)(4)(A)(ii)-(iii), (B)\]

**4. Clarifies requirements regarding providing funds to charter
schools.**

In carrying out Part B with respect to charter schools that are public
schools of the LEA, the LEA... provides funds under Part B to those
charter schools on the same basis as the LEA provides funds to the LEA's
other public schools, including proportional distribution based on
relative enrollment of children with disabilities, and at the same time
as the agency distributes other federal funds to the agency's other
public schools, consistent with the state's charter school law.
\[613(a)(5)(B)\]

[^1]: Topics in this series include: Alignment With the *No Child Left
    Behind Act*; Changes in Initial Evaluation and Reevaluation;
    Children Enrolled by Their Parents in Private Schools; Discipline;
    Disproportionality and Overidentification; Early Intervening
    Services; Highly Qualified Teachers; Individualized Education
    Program (IEP) Team Meetings and Changes to the IEP; Individualized
    Education Program (IEP); Local Funding; National Instructional
    Materials Accessibility Standard (NIMAS); Part C Amendments in *IDEA
    2004*; Part C Option: Age 3 to Kindergarten Age; Procedural
    Safeguards: Surrogates, Notice and Consent; Procedural Safeguards:
    Mediation and Resolution Sessions; Procedural Safeguards: Due
    Process Hearings; Secondary Transition; State Funding; and Statewide
    and Districtwide Assessments. Documents are available on the OSERS
    Web site at: www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/osers/index.html.

[^2]: In the case of a determination of significant disproportionality
    with respect to the identification of children as children with
    disabilities, or the placement in particular educational settings of
    such children, in accordance with Section 618(d)(1), the state, or
    the secretary of the interior, as the case may be, shall require any
    LEA identified under Section 618(d)(1) to reserve the maximum amount
    of funds under Section 613(f) to provide comprehensive coordinated
    early intervening services to serve children in the LEA,
    particularly children in those groups that were significantly
    overidentified under Section 618(d)(1). \[618(d)(2)(B)\]