1. Jon Peterson Scholarship Program Updates 9-13-12

2. State of Jon Peterson in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati Ascension Chaminade Julienne HS John Paul II LaSalle HS Lehman HS McAuley HS Our Lady of Victory Purcell Marian HS Roger Bacon HS St. Cecilia St. Clement St.Ignatius St. John the Baptist St. Joseph St. Lawrence St. Louis St. Michael Consolidated Sr. Rita St. Teresa of Avila St. William Stephen Badin HS Good Shepherd Montessori

3. The information provided in this presentation comes from JPSN information posted on the ODE website as well as oral and written conversations with ODE personnel. JPSN is essentially a parental choice program; however, it must work with existing State and Federal regulations related to finance, special education, and public/non-public schools. As such, the law and its implementation are evolving.

4. Ico Category of disability and scholarship amounts: Speech and language$7,196 Specific Learning Disability and Cognitive Disability $7,608 Hearing/vision impairments; Severe behavior Disability $14,832 Orthopedic impairment $17,902 Multi-handicap $20,000 Autism, traumatic brain injury JPSNSP

5. Is the provider required to implement the full IEP? Answer: At least one special education service within the IEP must be provided to the scholarship student for the scholarship to remain in effect. Note – Providers are encouraged to utilize an MOU in which the provider and parents agreed on the services that will be provided for the student. JPSNSP

6. Is a registered provider required to staff an intervention specialist for its special education program? Answer: Yes. The ODE will not approve a registered providers special education program unless an intervention specialist is retained. What is the consequence if the registered provider does not retain an intervention specialist? Answer: The registered provider would be reimbursed for general education, not special education services. JPSNSP

7. Question: If a school is providing general education in addition to the specific IEP services, how should that should be billed? (ie. In theory the general education could be billed as of July 1 but the specific services would probably only begin as of the first day of school) Who would be the staff member assigned in the case of the general education component. Answer: General Tuition can be billed for the time the child is actually being educated. This will be necessary for students who choose to transfer or leave the program during the school year. If the school has not already done so, they can list either the principal or regular classroom teachers on the staff tab in order to bill for education.

8. Can funding from the scholarship be utilized to pay for transportation? Answer – If transportation is listed on the students IEP as a related service, then the parent may obtain transportation from a registered provider qualified to provide such transportation for a scholarship student. JPSNSP

9. Is a scholarship student required to participate in state assessments? Answer: The student must participate in all applicable state assessments. If a school is a site, who is to administer the state assessments? Answer: An individual who has an ODE credential. Note – A personnels credential is jeopardized if testing protocol is breeched. JPSNSP

10. Scholarship Checks are written to the provider and parents. Parents must endorse each scholarship check before the provider can cash or deposit the scholarship payment. Invoicing Screens will be available in a few weeks. For invoices in September, the system will allow for any services to be billed in July and August. The invoices will be imported from month to month to save data entry for students who use the same services each month. Once the invoicing process is operational, the provider will be able to submit an invoice each month and receive a check each month for each student. JPSNSP

11. Question: Does the invoicing need to exactly align with the date of services rendered or can it be divided evenly over the course of the year? (i.e. If there will be 90 one hour sessions with a specialist over the course of the year, can that be divided equally over 9 months or does it need to match the exact monthly billing period, giving some months fewer sessions and some more?) Answer: Billing should match when service is provided to accommodate for students who transfer or go back to public school.

12. Question: If a school is paying a third party contractor to deliver a specific service, I assume that the school can add a fee to cover administrative costs associated with the contractor. Is there any rule of regulation that sets a limit to an administrative fee? Answer: Nonpublic schools receive administrative cost reimbursement to cover such tasks. Note: This will require more discussion. We need to clarify what counts as an administrative cost and what can go into the true cost of delivering a service. (i.e. If a 3 rd party contractor bills out at $50 per hour, that will not cover the schools costs to implement the program.)

13. Can Auxiliary Services be utilized for the scholarships students? Answer – Yes. Auxiliary Services are to supplement, not supplant the providers special education program for the scholarship student. Auxiliary Services are not part of the providers special education program and as such, cant be reimbursed from the scholarship. Note: This is currently under review at ODE. There is a wide diversity of opinion about what exactly this means. JPSNSP

14. IDEA Part B Services All scholarship students should be counted as special needs students in the NS3 form. Presently, a service plan may be developed by the district where the private school is located for a service that the child needs, but is not listed on the IEP. The ODE is drafting rules to clarify that scholarship students may use IDEA, Part B services. JPSNSP

15. Deadlines – The application deadline is April 15 for a student to receive a scholarship for the July 1, Dec. 31 academic term. The application deadline is Nov. 15 to receive a scholarship for the Jan. 1 to June 30 academic term. If applicants are awarded scholarships, they do not need to reapply during the second application period in order for their scholarship to continue for the second term of the academic term. JPSNSP

16. What happens if a district refuses to complete an IEP for a student who is eligible for a scholarship: Answer – Ask the students parent to request an evaluation for the student. This will create a time line for the district to explain why it refuses to conduct an evaluation, or it will lay the ground work for an evaluation to be conducted within 60 days. JPSNSP

17. Next application period: The second application period will begin in October and continue through November 15, 2012 for students to receive a scholarship for the Jan. 1-June 30 academic term. Students who are currently receiving a scholarship for the July 1-Dec. 30 term do not need to apply for the Jan. 1-Juen 30 academic term. JPSNSP

18. We will keep you informed as to changes or clarifications about the law through the following methods: Principals Bulletin – emailed every Tuesday of the week Government Programs Website of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati We continue to advocate on behalf of our schools. Please contact me if you have specific questions. Chris Pastura – cpastura@catholiccincinnati.org – 513-421-3131 extension 2724cpastura@catholiccincinnati.org