State Funding
The Oregon Legislature provides State funding for a variety of special programs and projects for children of various ages experiencing disabilities. These programs operate according to State law.
11% Cap and Waiver
ORS 327.013 provides that each child with an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) shall be given 1.0 weighting, which equates to additional funding to the General Education weight. However, all district IEP counts are capped at 11% of the Resident Average Daily Membership (ADMr). This means those districts with counts of IEP students greater than 11% will not receive additional weighting. The Legislature allowed the Department to grant automatic waivers based on a formula to those districts that have an above average number of IEP students and costs. The IEP cap waiver is dependent on the severity (number) of its IEP population and the amount of money it spends on special education. The individual district’s spending and severity is compared to the rest of the state so that those districts with above average numbers are allowed to get extra weights for those students. Note that even if a district obtains a waiver, it may not be able to count all of its students above 11% of its ADMr. The district may only get to count a portion of those students above its 11% cap depending on IEP severity and special education spending of the district.
For details of district payments, please see the
State School Fund: School District and ESD payment statements page.
High Cost Disabilities Funding
The High Cost Disabilities Grant goes beyond the IEP Cap and IEP 11% waiver weights. Districts can apply for additional funds for individual students that have more than $30,000 a year in special education expenditures. The Grant is currently $55 Million each year where initial reimbursement is based on estimates from the estimate of membership and revenue data collection. The grant is then reconciled the following year by districts submitting individual student and eligible expenditures in the High Cost Disability grant data collection. Please note that any eligible reimbursements will be prorated depending on availability of funds. Payment amounts may be found on the
K-12 School Funding Information page.
For more information about the 11% Cap and High Cost Disabilities Fund, please contact the State School Fund Program Manager,
Vanessa Clark.
Contact:
ode.ideafinance@ode.oregon.gov