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Oregon Special Education Funding and Finance

The purpose of this page is to provide school district employees and the general public with a central location to find information related to Special Education funding.

Special Education Funding in Oregon

Funding for Special Education in Oregon is provided through state and federal funding sources. This page provides details on both sources.

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Federal Funding

IDEA Part B

IDEA Part C

State Personnel Development Grant

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Applications/Allocations

State Applications

District Applications

Allocation Information

 

Fiscal Monitoring

Maintenance of Effort

Excess Cost

CEIS

Proportionate Share

Time and Effort

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.

Federal Funding

The Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) administers three non-competitive formula grant programs listed below to support children with disabilities from birth to twenty-one.

  • IDEA Part B formula grants assist states in providing a free appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment for children with disabilities through two separate grant awards:
    • Section 611 - Grants to States
      • Supports children with disabilities aged 3 through 21
      • Includes the “flow through” funds to be allocated to LEAs to assist with the excess costs of educating students with disabilities.
    • Section 619 - Preschool Grants
      • Provides additional support for eligible children aged 3 through 5.

  • IDEA Part C
    • Supports early intervention services for infants and toddlers birth through 2, and their families.
    • Emphasizes collaboration among health, social services, to support families whose children have, or may have disabilities.
    • Does not provide a free appropriate public education (FAPE).
    • The ODE is currently the Lead Agency for Part C. As Lead Agency, ODE may use Part B Section 611 funds to support specific Part C activities, such as dispute resolution. These uses do not confer FAPE on the youngest children in the Inclusive Services program, but a smooth transition of supports.

    Please see the IDEA Part B Funding page for details on how Part B funds are allocated and distributed.

ODE also administers the State Personnel Development Grant, a competitive grant authorized under IDEA, Part D. For more information, see the ODE’s State Personnel Development Grant web page.

Below are links to additional aspects of special education funding as they relate to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

Annual IDEA Grant Applications

  • State Grant Applications

    Oregon's annual applications to the United States Department of Education (USED) for parts B and C of the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) funds. IDEA requires states to solicit input on its spending priorities through a public review and comment period. Please see the page linked above for the current and historic state IDEA Part B and IDEA Part C applications.

  • District Application and Assurances

    The annual application is used by public Local Education Agencies (LEA) and school districts to apply for federal formula flow-through funds under the IDEA. LEAs may apply for two grants under Part B: Section 611 for supporting children experiencing disabilities aged 3 through 21, and Section 619 for additional support targeted at preschool children ages 3 through 5.

IDEA Part B Allocation Tables (Flow-Through Awards)

Annual Local Education Agency (LEA) and School District allocation amounts. Amounts provided are estimates only and may change as new information is made available.

IDEA Fiscal Monitoring

The ODE Office of Enhancing Student Opportunities (OESO) provides technical assistance to ensure that all subrecipients of IDEA awards are compliant with applicable federal statutes and regulations including the uniform administrative requirements and cost principles for federal awards given in Title 2 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 200, the Education Department General Administrative Regulations (EDGAR), the General Education Provision Act (GEPA), as well as the specific administrative and fiscal requirements of IDEA.

  • IDEA Subrecipient Fiscal Monitoring Manual: This manual contains the ODE – Office of Enhancing Student Opportunities standards for fiscal monitoring and oversight of the IDEA Part B grant, and provides procedures developed to standardize guidelines concerning oversight, evaluation, and monitoring of each Oregon Local Education Agency (LEA) and other sub-recipients.

  • IDEA Excess Cost Report: LEAs annually report their calculation for IDEA excess costs which details the average annual per student expenditure (AAPE) by elementary and secondary school. The AAPE shows LEAs the minimum amount they must spend prior to spending IDEA funds on the education of students with disabilities.

  • IDEA Part B Maintenance of Effort (MOE) IDEA requires Local Education Agencies (LEA) to budget and spend at least the same amount of local — or state and local — funds for the education of children with disabilities on a year-to-year basis. The required LEA MOE levels for budgeting and spending are referred to, respectively, as the “eligibility standard” and the “compliance standard.”

  • IDEA requires LEA’s provide evidence that employee activities paid with IDEA funds match approved IDEA budgets and federal allowable use of IDEA funds.  2 CFR 200.430(i)​.  

    If the LEA does not have an existing system of internal controls that meet these requirements they may use and modifiy any of the following IDEA Time and Effort sample templates.


Coordinated Early Intervening Services (CEIS)

CEIS are services provided to students in kindergarten through grade 12 (with a particular emphasis on students in kindergarten through grade three) who are not currently identified as needing special education or related services, but who need additional academic and behavioral supports to succeed in a general education environment.


Private School Proportionate Share

LEAs that have private schools in their area must expend a proportionate amount of their IDEA funds on equitable services for parentally placed private school children with disabilities. The page linked above details the fiscal requirements of this. Through the Private School Data Collection, LEAs report on the private schools in their area, the number of children enrolled in those schools, and the timely and meaningful consultation the LEA had with those schools.