HOUSE BILL NO. 160
INTRODUCED BY J. ANDERSEN
AN ACT REVISING THE SPECIAL EDUCATION FUNDING FORMULA TO ESTABLISH FIXED LIMITS FOR DISTRIBUTION OF THE STATE'S TOTAL SPECIAL EDUCATION ALLOCATION; LIMITING DISTRIBUTION OF THE TOTAL ALLOCATION TO 52.5 PERCENT FOR INSTRUCTIONAL BLOCK GRANTS, 25 PERCENT FOR REIMBURSEMENT OF DISTRICTS WHOSE SPECIAL EDUCATION COSTS EXCEED THE RELATED SERVICES BLOCK GRANT PLUS THE REQUIRED DISTRICT MATCH, 17.5 PERCENT TO RELATED SERVICES BLOCK GRANTS, AND 5 PERCENT FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION COOPERATIVE AND JOINT BOARD ADMINISTRATION AND TRAVEL; ELIMINATING THE REQUIREMENT TO DISTRIBUTE TO DISTRICTS PRO RATA SHARES OF AVAILABLE SPECIAL EDUCATION APPROPRIATIONS WHEN TOTAL SPECIAL EDUCATION COSTS EXCEED LEGISLATIVE APPROPRIATIONS; AMENDING SECTIONS 20-7-431 AND 20-9-321, MCA; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE AND AN APPLICABILITY DATE.
WHEREAS, state funding for special education has not kept pace with school districts' required special education expenditures, which has caused a financial shift under the formula from providing districts with block grants to reimbursing districts for disproportionate special education costs; and
WHEREAS, this financial shift has made a school district's funding level less predictable, and those districts receiving reimbursements for disproportionate costs have not been adequately compensated for extraordinarily high special education costs; and
WHEREAS, a revision of the current special education funding formula is necessary to stabilize the proportion of the state appropriation for special education that is distributed through block grants and for special education cooperative administration and travel.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MONTANA:
Section 1. Section 20-7-431, MCA, is amended to read:
"20-7-431. Allowable cost schedule for special programs -- superintendent to make rules -- annual accounting. (1) For the purpose of determining the allowable cost payment amount for special education as defined in 20-9-321, the following allowable costs and reports must be reviewed by the superintendent of public instruction for the purposes of determining the amount of the allowable cost payment for special education payments and a district's special education expenditures:
(a) instruction: salaries, benefits, supplies, textbooks, and other expenses, including:
(i) the cost of salaries and benefits of special program teachers, regular program teachers, and teacher aides, corresponding to the working time that each person devotes to the special program;
(ii) the total cost of teaching supplies and textbooks for special programs;
(iii) the purchase, rental, repair, and maintenance of instructional equipment required to implement a student's individualized education program;
(iv) activities associated with teacher assistance teams that provide prereferral intervention;
(v) the cost of contracted services, including fees paid for professional advice and consultation regarding special students or the special program, and the delivery of special education services by public or private agencies;
(vi) transportation costs for special education instructional personnel who travel on an itinerant basis from school to school or district to district or to in-state child study team meetings or in-state individualized education program meetings;
(b) related services, including:
(i) the cost of salaries and benefits of professional supportive personnel, corresponding to the working time that each person devotes to the special program. Professional supportive personnel may include special education supervisors, speech-language pathologists, audiologists, counselors, social workers, psychologists, psychometrists, physicians, nurses, and physical and occupational therapists.
(ii) the cost of salaries and benefits of clerical personnel who assist professional personnel in supportive services, corresponding to the working time that each person devotes to the special program;
(iii) the cost of supplies for special programs;
(iv) activities associated with teacher assistance teams that provide prereferral interventions;
(v) the cost of contracted services, including fees paid for professional advice and consultation regarding special students or the special program, and the delivery of special education services by public or private agencies;
(vi) transportation costs for special education related education-related services personnel who travel
on an itinerant basis from school to school or district to district or to in-state child study team meetings
or in-state individualized education program meetings;
(vii) equipment purchase, rental, repair, and maintenance required to implement a student's individualized education program;
(viii) the additional cost of special education cooperatives or joint boards, including operation and maintenance, travel, recruitment, and administration.
(2) The superintendent of public instruction shall adopt rules in accordance with the policies of the board of public education for keeping necessary records for supportive and administrative personnel and any personnel shared between special and regular programs.
(3) An annual accounting of all expenditures of school district general fund money for special education must be made by the district trustees on forms furnished by the superintendent of public instruction. The superintendent of public instruction shall make rules for the accounting.
(4) Allowable costs prescribed in this section do not include the costs of the teachers' retirement
system, the public employees' retirement system, or the federal social security system, or the costs for
unemployment compensation insurance.
(5) (a) Notwithstanding other provisions of the law, the superintendent of public instruction may not
approve an allowable cost payment amount for special education that exceeds legislative appropriations;
however,. However, any unexpended balance from the first year of a biennial appropriation may be
spent in the second year of the biennium in addition to the second year appropriation.
(b) If the total special education allowable cost payment, as determined in 20-9-321, exceeds
legislative appropriations available for special education, each district shall receive a pro rata share of
the available appropriations."
Section 2. Section 20-9-321, MCA, is amended to read:
"20-9-321. Allowable cost payment for special education. (1) For the purpose of establishing the allowable cost payment for a current year special education program for a school district, the superintendent of public instruction shall determine the total special education payment to a school district, cooperative, or joint board for special education services formed under 20-3-361 prior to July 1, 1992, using the following factors:
(a) the district ANB student count as established pursuant to 20-9-311 and 20-9-313;
(b) a per-ANB amount for the special education instructional block grant;
(c) a per-ANB amount for the special education related education-related services block grant;
(d) weighted cost factors an amount for cooperatives or joint boards meeting the requirements of
20-7-457, to compensate for the additional costs of operations and maintenance, travel, supportive
services, recruitment, and administration; and
(e) district and cooperative expenditure reports; and
(f) any other data required by the superintendent of public instruction to administer the provisions of
this section.
(2) (a) The total special education allocation must be distributed according to the following formula:
(i) 52.5% through instructional block grants;
(ii) 17.5% through related services block grants;
(iii) 25% to reimbursement of local districts; and
(iv) 5% to special education cooperatives and joint board for administration and travel.
(b) Special education allowable cost payments outlined in subsection (2)(a) must be granted to each school district and cooperative with a special education program as follows:
(a)(i) An The instructional block grant limit prescribed in subsection (2)(a)(i) must be awarded to
each school district, based on the district ANB and the per-ANB special education instructional amount.
(b)(ii) A The special education related education-related services block grant limit prescribed in
subsection (2)(a)(ii) must be awarded to each school district that is not a cooperative member, based on
the district ANB and the per-ANB special education related education-related services amount, or to a
cooperative or joint board that meets the requirements of 20-7-457. The special education related
education-related services block grant amount for districts that are members of approved cooperatives
or a joint board must be awarded to the cooperatives or joint board. If a cooperative or joint board meets
the requirements of 20-7-457, the special education related services block grant must be weighted for
the factors in subsection (1)(d).
(3) The superintendent of public instruction shall annually determine the per-ANB special education
instructional and special education related services block grant amounts based on the prior years'
trustees' expenditure data for special education instruction and related services.
(iii) If a district's allowable costs of special education exceed the total of the special education instructional and special education-related services block grant plus the required district match required by subsection (4), the district is eligible to receive at least a 40% reimbursement of the additional costs. To ensure that the total of reimbursements to all districts does not exceed 25% of the total special education allocation limit established in subsection (2)(a)(iii), reimbursement must be made to districts for amounts that exceed a threshold level calculated annually by the office of public instruction. The threshold level is calculated as a percentage amount above the sum of the district's block grants plus the required district match.
(iv) Of the amount distributed under subsection (2)(a)(iv), three-fifths must be distributed based on the ANB count of the school districts that are members of the special education cooperative or joint board and two-fifths must be distributed based on distances, population density, and the number of itinerant personnel under rules adopted by the superintendent of public instruction.
(4)(3) The superintendent of public instruction shall adopt rules necessary to implement this section.
(5)(4) A district shall provide a 25% local contribution for special education, matching every $3 of
state special education instructional and special education related education-related services block
grants with at least one local dollar. A district that is a cooperative member is required to provide the
25% match of the special education related education-related services grant amount to the special
education cooperative, but the district is not required to match the weighted funding factors.
(6)(5) The superintendent of public instruction shall determine the actual district match based on the
trustees' reports. Any unmatched portion reverts to the state and must be subtracted from the district's
ensuing year's special education allowable cost payment.
(7) If a district's allowable costs of special education, as verified by the trustees' reports, exceed by
at least 10% the total of the special education instructional and special education related services block
grant plus the required district match, the district is eligible for a 65% reimbursement of the costs that
exceed the additional 10%.
(6) A district that demonstrates severe economic hardship because of exceptional special education costs may apply to the superintendent of public instruction for an advance on the reimbursement for the year in which the actual costs will be incurred."
Section 3. Effective date -- applicability. [This act] is effective July 1, 2001, and applies to school budgets for fiscal school years beginning on or after July 1, 2001.
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Latest Version of HB 160 (HB0160.ENR)
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