Michigan Department of Education Office of Special Education IDEA Proportionate Share and Equitable Services: Serving Parentally Placed Private School Students with Disabilities Michigan Department of Education Office of Special Education

OVERVIEW Child Find Consultation Proportionate Share Q & A

Child Find What is Child Find? Parentally Placed Private School Children Child Find

What is Child Find? Identify, locate and evaluate all children that “reside in the state” and meet the definition of “child with a disability” Includes public & private schools Child Find and Private Schools “Each LEA must locate, identify and evaluate all children with disabilities who are enrolled by their parents in private, including religious, elementary and secondary schools located in the school district served by the LEA.” 34 CFR § 300.131(a)(2006) LEA must identify all “parentally placed private school children” with disabilities

Parentally-Placed Private School Children w/ Disabilities 34 CFR §§ 300.130 – 300.144 Who are these children? Voluntarily enrolled by their parents in private schools Not referred to private schools to receive FAPE Right to “equitable participation services” in IDEA, Part B NO individual right to services, not entitled to FAPE Must spend proportionate share of Part B subgrant funds on providing special education and related services LEA makes final decisions on services – type, how, where, by whom “Services Plan” vs. IEP “Must Spend”  Special carry-over rule

Consultation

IDEA Consultation Requirements “Timely and meaningful” consultation Who? Private school representatives Representatives of parents of parentally-placed private school children with disabilities

CONSULTATION: Must be “Timely and Meaningful” Before the LEA makes any decisions Meaningful Genuine opportunity for parties to express their views Views seriously considered Not unilateral offer without opportunity for discussion BUT NOTE: LEA has final decision

Required Consultation Topics 1- Child find process 2- Proportionate share of Part B funds How calculated (Appendix B) Crucial to have accurate count of eligible children 3- Consultation Process How will consultation operate throughout the year to ensure parentally-placed private school children with disabilities can meaningfully participate?

Required Consultation Topics (cont.) 4- Provision of special education & related services a- How, where, and by whom b- Types of services c- How apportioned if funds insufficient for all d- How and when decisions will be made

Proportionate Share

Calculate the Proportionate Share Each LEA must expend, during the grant period, on the provision of special education and related services for the parentally-placed private school children with disabilities enrolled in private elementary schools and secondary schools located in the LEA an amount that is equal to – A proportionate share of the LEA’s subgrant under section 611(f) of the Act for children with disabilities aged 3 through 21. A proportionate share of the LEA’s subgrant under section 619(g) of the Act for children with disabilities aged 3 through 5. The LEA must calculate the proportionate share amount for both their IDEA flowthrough and preschool allocations, separately.

Calculating the Proportionate Share Number of eligible parentally-placed private school CWDs _______________ Total number of eligible CWDs in the LEA (public and private) % of LEA IDEA, Part B Grant for Equitable Services to Parentally-Placed CWDs

Calculate the Proportionate Share LEA Child Find Results: A total of 20,000 SWDs Of those, 2,000 are parentally placed SWDs Half of the eligible parentally placed SWDs participate in equitable services What % of the LEA’s IDEA, Part B Grant for Equitable Services should be used for providing equitable services to Parentally-Placed CWDs?

Calculate the Proportionate Share (cont.) Number of eligible parentally-placed private school CWDs 2,000 _______________ Total number of eligible CWDs in the LEA (public and private) 20,000 % of LEA IDEA, Part B Grant for Equitable Services to Parentally-Placed CWDs 0.1 = 10% REMEMBER: Calculation based on students eligible, not just those participating.

Additional Considerations Reverse supplement not supplant requirement! State and local funds may supplement and in no case supplant the proportionate share of Federal Part B funds required to be expended.  Spend your federal funds first! CARRYOVER If LEA has not expended by end of FY, must obligate remaining funds on equitable participation services for parentally-placed private school CWDs during carryover period of one additional year. 34 C.F.R. § 300.133(a)(3).

Carryover “…LEA must spend” the proportionate share If fails to spend entire proportionate share for the given year LEA must obligate remaining funds for equitable services for a carry-over period of one additional year. At end of carry-over year? Assuming LEA is in compliance with Child Find, consultation, and other IDEA equitable services requirements  LEA may use the unexpended funds to pay for other allowable Part B expenditures for that same LEA. The SEA is responsible for ensuring that LEAs are in compliance with these requirements. 34 CFR §§300.149(a) and 300.600(b)(2) If the LEA is not in compliance with these requirements and has not expended the funds on parentally-placed private school children, the LEA must return the funds to the U.S. Department of Education (Department of Education).

IDEA Equitable Services Citations 20 USC § 1412(a)(10)(A)/IDEA § 612(a)(10)(A) See also IDEA Regs., §§ 300.130-300.144 34 CFR Appendix B to Part 300 – Proportionate Share Calculation

The Single Auditor’s Role Ensure that the LEA has documentation to demonstrate that they have performed the proportionate share calculations for the flowthrough (Section 611) and preschool (Section 619) allocations separately. Ensure that the proportionate share amounts are set aside for this purpose Ensure that the expenditures attributed to the required proportionate share are based upon actual work performed and not budgeted amounts Ensure that appropriate time and effort documentation is available to substantiate the staff time spent providing services to parentally-placed private school children with disabilities separate from the provision of services to public school children with disabilities Ensure that any unspent proportionate share amounts are made available to be obligated for this purpose in the carry-over year

Questions?

Contact Information Michael Wynn, Auditor WynnM@Michigan.gov Nancy Jo Serna, Auditor SernaN@Michigan.gov MDE, Office of Special Education Program Finance Phone: (517) 241-1235