IDEA Grants Application: Maintenance of Effort

2 What is Maintenance of Effort? IDEA regulation (34 CFR § ) which directs districts, for each grant year, to expend local funds or a combination of local and state funds for special education, in total or per student, an amount equal to or greater than previous grant year. The purpose of the regulation is to ensure that districts use IDEA funding to supplement, not supplant, local and state funds for special education.

Exceptions to the Maintenance of Effort Requirement Districts may reduce state/local effort (funding) only for the following reasons (34 CFR § ). 1.The voluntary departure, by retirement or otherwise, or departure for just cause, of special education or related services personnel. 2.A decrease in the enrollment of children with disabilities. 3.The termination of costly expenditures for long-term purchases, such as the acquisition of equipment or the construction of school facilities. 3

Exceptions to the Maintenance of Effort Requirement (continued) 4. The termination of the obligation of the district to provide a program of special education to a particular child with a disability that is an exceptionally costly program, as determined by SED, because the child— (a) Has left the jurisdiction of the agency; (b) Has reached the age at which the obligation of the agency to provide FAPE to the child has terminated; or (c) No longer needs the program of special education (this includes bringing in children from a high cost out- of-district programs to a lower cost in-district programs). 4

Exceptions to the Maintenance of Effort Requirement (continued) 5. A district may reduce effort up to 50% of the increase of the district’s IDEA allocation over the prior year provided that the funds are used for activities that could be supported with funds under the Early and Secondary Education Act (ESEA).  An LEA that is identified by SED as Needs Assistance or Needs Intervention is prohibited from reducing its MOE for any fiscal year in which it is identified. Below is the link for the 2016 IDEA Determination List. nations/2016-idea-determinations.htmlhttp:// nations/2016-idea-determinations.html 5

Examples of Non-Allowable Reasons to Reduce Effort Non-voluntary staff layoffs Across the board district cuts Compliance with the state’s tax cap District is restructuring Special Education Department Balancing the budget 6

Tips on Completing the MOE Section of the IDEA Application Calculate MOE and complete the MOE table based on all 4 methods provided. In many cases, a district that does not meet effort using total expenditures will meet effort under a per child method. For the first 2 years listed on the table, use final expenditure amounts as practical. In case final expenditure amounts aren’t available for year 2, use a reasonable estimate (for example, expenditures plus remaining encumbrances). For year 3 of the table, districts can estimate the effort based on expenditure trends and enrollment data. Choose one of the 4 options as the district’s reporting method. Choose an option that shows the district is meeting effort or that minimizes the district’s reduction in effort. If effort is not met under any of the 4 methods, check all applicable reasons on the checklist of allowable reasons as to why effort was not met. 7

Avoid this Pitfall! If the district has a reduction in effort and only chooses to complete Option I and/or II and only checks off the allowable reason “decreased enrollment of students with disabilities”, be sure that the district meets effort under Option III or IV (the per student options). Sometimes, the decrease in student enrollment does not cover the entire reduction in effort. If this is the case and is not corrected, the district may be cited for failure to meet effort. 8

SED Monitoring of Maintenance of Effort Districts must maintain all records of how Maintenance of Effort was calculated on the IDEA Application for monitoring and audit purposes. SED routinely monitors district Maintenance of Effort through desk monitoring requests and on-site monitoring. The purpose is to ensure districts are compliant with IDEA regulations. While estimates are used during the IDEA Application process, please remember that whether Maintenance of Effort is met is ultimately determined by the final annual expenditures by the district. Please ensure that the district monitors special education spending throughout the year with MOE in mind. Districts that appear to meet effort during the application process can (and do!) fail to meet effort after final expenditures. 9

Sanctions for Failure to Meet Maintenance of Effort If a district fails to meet MOE without a legally allowable reason, the State Education Department is required to pay back to the Federal Government the amount the district failed to meet effort, up to the district’s annual grant allocation, with non-Federal funds. SED will then require the district that failed to meet MOE to reimburse SED for the repayment using district local funds. These sanctions are a last resort! Please ensure that any reductions in effort are for legally allowable reasons! 10

Questions? If you have any questions regarding Maintenance of Effort, please contact SED P-12 Administrative Support Group at (518) or 11