Mississippi Administrative Code › Title 7 - Education K-12 › Part 3 - Board Policies › Chapter 74 - Special Education › Rule 7-3-74.14 - Pooling State Funds

Current through June 25, 2024
Designated state Educable Child Program funds from the
				  Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) may be utilized to assist in
				  providing a local or regional system of care in order to return a child with a
				  serious emotionally disturbed disability to a community setting. Designated
				  funds are the state moneys available to pay for the placement of a child who 1)
				  has a disability and is diagnosed as seriously emotionally disturbed in
				  accordance with regulations, and 2) has been placed in a private facility by a
				  school district or the Department of Human Services (DHS), in accordance with
				  regulations.
The designated state funds which would be used for a child's
				  placement in a facility by a school district or DHS may be paid into a pool of
				  funds from other state agencies. Such funds must be used for the implementation
				  of a child's individualized plan of care. The individualized plan of care
				  provided must be designed and provided in a manner which enables the child to
				  successfully return to a community with the appropriate support for the child
				  and family. The child's individualized plan of care must include the provision
				  of a free appropriate public education in accordance with regulations. If there
				  are sufficient funds to serve other children, due to cost savings as a result
				  of serving more than one child at home and/or matching the pooled funds with
				  federal dollars, the funds may be used to implement individualized plans of
				  care for other children.
To ensure state funds from MDE are expended in a manner
				  which will provide appropriate educational services, the information listed
				  below must be submitted by the lead agency responsible for coordinating the
				  system of care. The following information must be submitted to the Office of
				  Special Education for approval prior to funds being paid:
1. A description of the local or regional
				system of care to be implemented including the responsibilities of each state
				agency and the school district(s) involved in the system,
2. The amount of funding to be provided by
				each state agency for the system of care and an assurance that the funds
				necessary to implement the system will be available,
3. The timeline for implementing the system
				of care,
4. The individualized plan
				of care for the child including the specific plan for support to ensure a free
				appropriate public education is provided, and
5. An assurance from the school district
				involved in the provision of the educational program for the child that an
				Individualized Education Program has been developed and services can and will
				be implemented in accordance with regulations.
If the school district responsible for providing a free
				  appropriate education does not agree that an educational program can be
				  provided for the child through a system of care, funds from the MDE for that
				  particular child will not be utilized to support the system.
If, for any reason, during the implementation of the
				  individualized plan of care, the district cannot meet the child's educational
				  needs, the MDE, Office of Special Education must be notified by the district
				  prior to an alternate out-of-district placement being made.
The Office of Special Education will then determine the
				  reason(s) for the child's plan not being effective and notify the lead agency
				  responsible for coordinating the system of care that the educational needs of
				  the child can no longer be met by the district. If the district originally
				  placed the child in a facility outside of the district, it will be responsible
				  for determining the appropriate placement for the child. Such placements must
				  be made in accordance with regulations. The district will be responsible for
				  paying $6,000 or 10%, whichever is greater, of the total cost of such a
				  placement as required by regulations. Federal funds will be utilized to pay the
				  remaining cost of such a placement in accordance with regulations.
If DHS originally placed the child in a facility, it will be
				  responsible for the placement of the child in an alternate setting based on the
				  recommendation of the child's IEP committee. The MDE, Office of Special
				  Education will coordinate such a necessary placement with DHS. The MDE will be
				  responsible for the educational costs and DHS will be responsible for the room
				  and board cost as specified in state law and regulations.
Miss. Code Ann. §
										37-1-3
				  (Adopted9/1994)