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