Top 10 FAQ | Application Procedures | Use of IDEA Recovery Funds | Use of Funds for CEIS | Parentally Placed Private School Students | MOE | Use of Freed Up Funds | Reporting and Accountability | Claims
A. Application Procedures
| A1. | What are the procedures for receiving IDEA Recovery funds? |
| A2. | How does an LEA submit an application for Recovery funds? |
| A3. | What amount of IDEA Recovery funds will each LEA receive? |
| A4. | May an LEA refuse IDEA Recovery funds? |
| A5. | Must all IDEA budgets, regular IDEA entitlement and IDEA Recovery budgets, be submitted before an LEA may use IDEA Recovery funds? |
| A6. | May an LEA budget just part of its IDEA Recovery allocation if it has not yet decided how to use the entire allocation? |
| A7. | How soon after a budget is submitted will it be reviewed? |
| A8. | Will LEAs be able to apply an indirect cost rate for IDEA Recovery budgets? |
| A9. | How are indirect cost rates determined? |
| A10. | I dont remember my password for the Special Education Portal. What should I do? |
B. Use of IDEA Recovery Funds
| B1. | What are the timeframes for use of IDEA Recovery funds? |
| B2. | What does it mean to obligate funds? |
| B3. | How should the IDEA Recovery funds be used? |
| B4. | What are allowable costs for IDEA Recovery funds? |
| B5. | How can you determine if a cost is an excess cost of providing special education services? |
| B6. | Will the provisions for the permissive and the required use of flow-through funds for coordinated early intervention services (CEIS) apply to IDEA Recovery funds? |
| B7. | May regular IDEA entitlement funds and IDEA Recovery funds be used to retain staff slated for layoff? |
| B8. | Can IDEA Recovery funds be used to purchase or lease equipment? |
| B9. | Can IDEA funds, including Recovery funds, be used to purchase a bus? |
| B10. | Can IDEA funds be used for construction or alteration of facilities? |
| B11. | Are there special requirements for the use of Recovery funds for construction? |
| B12. | Can IDEA funds, including Recovery funds, be used for alterations to a classroom that will house an integrated 4K/EC program? |
| B13. | Can IDEA Recovery funds be used to pay for substitute teachers for regular education teachers? |
| B14. | Can IDEA Recovery funds be used for classroom technology like SMART boards? |
| B15. | Why is account 436000 the only function available for purchased instructional services in the Purchase Services section (300 objects)? |
| B16. | May IDEA funds be used for construction or remodeling for a timeout room? |
| B17. | Are IDEA Recovery funds exempt from time and effort reporting requirements of OMB Circular A-87? |
C. Use of Funds for Coordinated Early Intervening Services (CEIS)
| C1. | May IDEA Recovery funds be used for coordinated early intervening services (CEIS)? |
| C2. | May Recovery funds be used for interventions and progress monitoring in a system of CEIS? |
| C3. | May Recovery funds be used to fund Positive Behavioral Intervention and Supports (PBIS)? |
| C4. | How may RtI activities, including an RtI coordinator, be funded? |
| C5. | May Recovery funds be used for all components of an RtI system, including universal screeners or other costs associated with core programming? |
| C6. | If an LEA does not plan on submitting a CEIS budget until later in the summer, but before the November 1 deadline, where should the LEA budget the amount that might be used for CEIS? |
D. Parentally Placed Private School Students
| D1. | Will the provisions for equitable service set-aside calculations be affected by the Recovery funding? |
| D2. | Are expenditures of local funds included when determining whether an LEA expended the required amount on equitable services? |
| D3. | Must LEAs consult with private schools and parents on the use of IDEA Recovery funds to provide equitable services? |
| D4. | Where do LEAs budget for equitable services set-aside for parentally placed private school students? |
E. Maintenance of Effort (MOE)
| E1. | Will the current rules for MOE apply to IDEA Recovery funds? |
| E2. | Will expending IDEA Recovery funds increase an LEAs required MOE for subsequent years? |
| E3. | What are the provisions permitting reduction of required MOE? |
| E4. | What is the 50% rule? |
| E5. | Does the 50% rule apply whether the increase occurred because of an increase in the regular IDEA allocation or because of the IDEA Recovery funds? |
| E6. | Doesnt the supplement not supplant requirement prevent the use of IDEA Recovery funds for costs that were supported with local dollars during the previous year? |
| E7. | Does reducing required MOE using the 50% rule mean an LEA is reducing special education services? |
| E8. | How does reducing required MOE by shifting special education costs from local funds to IDEA impact the LEA's state special education categorical aid? |
| E9. | Which LEAs may reduce MOE with the 50% rule? |
| E10. | Where can I find the MOE reduction permitted for my LEA? |
| E11. | Where do LEAs report a reduction in required MOE? |
| E12. | Will the 50% rule apply to Recovery funds in 2010-2011? |
| E13. | What effect will using the 50% rule and other provisions for reducing required MOE have on MOE for future years? |
| E14. | What impact will the end of Recovery funding have on 2011-2012 LEAs budgets? |
| E15. | Will a reduction in the amount required for MOE affect an LEAs IDEA allocation in subsequent years? |
| E16. | What effect does the voluntary expenditure of funds for CEIS have on reducing required MOE using the 50% rule? |
| E17. | Is there an advantage to reducing MOE and not using IDEA funds for CEIS? |
| E18. | When reducing local MOE, may LEAs use more than one of the options available for MOE reduction? |
| E19. | If an LEA (with significant disproportionality) fails to use the required 15% of IDEA funds for CEIS in 2008-2009 and expends these funds in 2009-2010, does the expenditure affect the LEAs calculation of its required MOE for 2009-2010? |
| E20. | How does the DPI ensure LEAs meet the MOE requirement? |
| E21. | What is the MOE eligibility test? |
| E22. | What do the entries in the MOE Eligibility Report under 50% Rule Calculation and Free- up Funds mean? |
| E23. | If an LEA fails all four tests, is the only way to meet the MOE requirement through the 50% rule? |
| E24. | What documentation does the DPI require to demonstrate an LEA meets the MOE eligibility requirement through one of the exceptions listed in question E18? |
| E25. | How does receipt of Medicaid funds affect an LEAs MOE calculations? |
| E26. | How do expenditures for students attending the LEA under the full-time open enrollment law affect the MOE calculations? |
| E27. | What is the impact on local MOE if an LEA stops contracting for CESA special education services and provides the services directly? |
| E28. | What should the LEA do if accounting adjustments made after the close of the fiscal year would affect the MOE calculations? |
| E29. | What action will the DPI take if the LEA has not complied with the MOE requirement after the end of the fiscal year? |
| E30. | If an LEA has a $3000 short-fall in local fiscal effort and DPI recovers this amount from the LEA, is the LEAs required local fiscal effort reduced by $3000 for the next fiscal year? |
F. Use of Funds Freed Up Through the 50% Rule
| F1. | Must local funds freed up using the 50% rule be expended or may the amount be cut from the LEAs budget? |
| F2. | For what purposes can funds freed up with the 50% rule be used? |
| F3. | Does an LEA have to be eligible for Title or Impact Aid in order to use the freed-up local funds on these activities? |
| F4. | May local funds freed up under the 50% rule be used to retain staff slated for layoff or contract reduction? |
| F5. | Must the LEA already be using ESEA funds to support the activity that freed-up local funds will support? |
| F6. | May freed-up funds be used for expenses previously paid by ESEA funds? |
| F7. | Must LEAs expend funds freed up in 2009-2010 through the 50% rule in the same year? |
| F8. | If an LEA reduces MOE through the 50% rule, can the LEA move the previously locally funded special education costs to the regu |
For questions about this information, contact dpisped@dpi.wi.gov (608) 266-1781