Administrative Rules of Montana › Department 10 - EDUCATION › Chapter 10.16 - SPECIAL EDUCATION › Subchapter 10.16.38 - Special Education Funding › Rule 10.16.3818 - SPECIAL EDUCATION TUITION RATES

Current through Register Vol. 13, July 5, 2024
(1) To
				be eligible to charge tuition for special education services, a district must
				provide a special education program that complies with Board of Public
				Education policies and is approved by the Superintendent of Public
				Instruction.
(2) The maximum
				tuition rate for students with disabilities is the general education tuition
				rate established in ARM
				10.10.301, reduced by any waivers
				that a district must apply equally to all students whose tuition is paid by the
				same type of entity, plus the additional charges as calculated in (3), that
				apply to districts only.
(3) A
				responsible school official of the receiving school district shall use one of
				the options defined below to determine the maximum amount which may be charged
				to the resident district for students with disabilities in addition to the
				general education tuition rate:
(a) Option A:
				The additional charge shall be calculated by determining the number of hours
				during which direct special education and related services are being provided
				each week, as established on the student's individualized education program
				(IEP). If the total hours are less than 15 (7 1/2 for half-time kindergarten),
				tuition may not exceed the general education tuition rate. If the total hours
				per week are 15 (7 1/2 for half-time kindergarten) or more, the total hours
				will be divided by 30 (the average number of school hours per week, 15 for
				half-time kindergarten), and multiplied by the maximum general education
				tuition rate in ARM
				10.10.301 to determine the amount
				which may be added to the rate in ARM 10.10.301.
(b) Option B: The actual unique costs of
				services provided to the student ages 3 to 21 as per the individualized
				education program (IEP), less 80% of the maximum per-ANB rate established in
				20-9-306(10),
				MCA for the year of attendance and less the per ANB special education block
				grants received by the district, may be added to the rate in ARM
				10.10.301 if the county
				superintendent determines all of the following factors are present:
(i) the allowable special education costs for
				that student exceed the rate determined under Option A;
(ii) the costs are for special education and
				related services unique to the student, including specialized one-on-one staff
				and specialized equipment and supplies and excluding:
(A) the costs for removal of architectural
				barriers;
(B) prorated costs of
				ordinary special education services such as teachers' salaries and benefits;
				and
(C) costs of equipment and
				supplies commonly used in special education programs.
(c) Option C: For specialized
				school district programs which provide concentrated services for significant
				numbers of students with low incidence disabilities, including nonresident
				students who enroll in the host district specifically to attend the program,
				the estimated total per-pupil cost of the program including administrative
				operating costs, less 80% of the maximum per ANB rate established in
				20-9-306(1),
				MCA for the year of attendance and less the per ANB special education block
				grants received by the district, may be added to the rate in ARM 10.10.301,
				provided:
(i) such services provided in any
				multidistrict program must be determined by the student's IEP team and cannot
				be based solely on the student's identified low incidence disability;
(ii) the host district has submitted a
				written description of the program and the Office of Public Instruction has
				provided written approval for the host district to apply the Option C special
				education tuition add-on rate for nonresident students of the
				program;
(iii) the host district
				does not pass program costs for resident students on to parties paying
				nonresident student tuition;
(iv)
				the host district uses any unreserved balance after operating the prior year's
				special education program for low incidence disabilities to defray the ensuing
				year's program costs used to determine the tuition rate; and
(v) the total per-pupil cost of operating the
				program is determined based on the estimated average number of students
				expected to participate in the program for the following year.