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State Budget Amends Special Education Funding Formula and Prereferral Requirements
October 1999.
The 1999 State budget enacted several amendments to Education Law relating to New York State's special education funding formula and prereferral requirements. This document summarizes these and other changes.
Special Education Funding Formula Amended
Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), states must change their special education funding formula, if it results in placements that violate the least restrictive environment requirements. During the past few years, the federal government threatened to withhold IDEA funds (approximately $330 million), if New York State did not change its funding system. The Board of Regents approved a funding proposal that would allocate special education dollars to local school districts based on enrollment and student poverty. NYSUT did not endorse this proposal; however, it did support an amendment to the current special education formula that promotes the placement of students with disabilities in less restrictive settings and complies with the requirements of the IDEA.
The Current Funding Formula
State Aid, called Public Excess Cost Aid, is available to school districts for special education programs and services made available to students with disabilities in public school districts and BOCES. Aid is available based on the full-time equivalent enrollment of students weighted according to the following categories.
- 1.7 - This weighting is available to students who require special services or programs for more than 60 percent of the school day.
- .90 - This weighting is available to students who require special services or programs for at least 20 percent of the school week but less than 60 percent of the school week. (For students in grades 7-12 or in a school/or grades 4-6 that operates on a period basis, the equivalent of five periods per week, but not less than 180 minutes.)
- .90 - This same weighting is available to students who require direct and or indirect consultant teacher services at least two hours per week.
The State Education Department (SED) is now required by law to notify all school districts that Public Excess Cost Aid is available within the regular education classroom setting as well as in other settings. This is to clarify that such aid is available regardless of the student's placement.
Integrated Settings Excess Cost Aid (NEW)
The new Integrated Settings Excess Cost Aid provides an additional weighting for students with disabilities who require special services and programs for more than sixty percent of the school day in a regular class setting. The new formula includes an additional apportionment, above that generated by the special services weighting for those students with disabilities who receive special education services or programs 60 percent or more of the school day and are provided services in the general education classroom by qualified personnel. This apportionment is based on a new weighted pupil count that is derived by multiplying the attendance of eligible pupils by 0.5. [Number of pupils who require 60% or more of the school day in the regular class X (.5 + 1.7)].
In addition, the Laws of 1999 gradually reduce the weightings for students who require special programs and services for more than 60% of the school year. The chart below summarizes these changes.
|
Aidable Year
|
Special Services
Weightings |
Additional Integrated Settings Weighting |
|
1999-2000 |
1.7 |
.5 |
|
2000-2001 |
1.68 |
.5 |
|
2001-2002 |
1.65 |
.5 |
According to the SED, the new formula is expected to provide approximately $13 million in 2000-2001 and $27 million in 2001-2002. The changes in the funding formula will sunset in three years, at the end of the 2001-2002 school year.
The Commissioner of Education must submit a report to the Legislature, Board of Regents and Division of the Budget comparing the aid available for students placed in separate and integrated settings and the cost of the programs. This
information will be considered in determining any modification to the funding formula beyond 2002.
Services that may be provided in the general education classroom to qualify for the Integrated Settings Excess Cost Aid.
- special class or resource room instruction provided in the general education classroom. This could be a team-teaching situation where the special and general education teacher are in the general education class
- related services combined with other special education programs and services that equal 60 percent of the school day
- a one-one instructional aide provided to a student in a general education class for 60 percent or more of the day
- direct and indirect consultant teacher services
- special education programs and services provided to a student to benefit from other non-academic activities (lunch, field trips) involving non-disabled students
Prereferral Requirements
Prereferral and referral procedures have been revised and are summarized below:
- A professional member of the school or school district who is submitting a referral to the CSE must describe in writing intervention services, programs or instructional methodologies to remediate the student's performance. If not, there must be a statement why no attempts were made.
- Educational alternatives to special education may include other services designed to address the learning needs of the student and to maintain a child's placement in general education with the provision of appropriate educational and support services.
- Each school district is required to develop a plan and policies for implementing schoolwide approaches and prereferral interventions.
Other Changes to Increase LRE Placements
Other changes regarding the duties of school districts in relation to the education of students with disabilities are as follows:
- Each school district must:
- develop policies to provide special services or programs to enable students to be involved in and progress in the general education curriculum; and
- develop plans and policies for the appropriate declassification of students consistent with the regulations of the Commissioner of Education.
- maintain a register containing the name of each student with a disability who resides in the district, the nature of the student's disability and their educational placement and setting.
- A Committee on Special Education provides, to the extent appropriate to the individual needs of the student, that the student is educated in a setting with students who are non-disabled.
The State Education Department is required to assume specific monitoring and technical assistance activities related to school districts with high classification rates, low declassification rates, high rates in separate placements and significant disproportionality based on race and ethnicity in such identification or placement:
The Department must work with these districts to verify data, determine underlying causes and develop corrective actions, if necessary.
The Department must provide technical assistance to the aforementioned school districts and submit annual reports to the Governor and Legislature on its actions, beginning December 1, 2000.
What These Changes May Mean for Local Leaders and Teachers
- NYSUT strongly encourages local school districts to establish clearly defined procedures for referring a student to a building level team versus the CSE. Locals should be aware that these prereferral procedures must not in any way limit a teacher's right to refer a student directly to the CSE, if the teacher believes that the student may have a disability.
- The Integrated Settings Excess Cost Aid
may result in increased numbers of student receiving services in the general education classroom for most of the school day. Local leaders and teachers should work collaboratively in planning and implementing this service delivery option. Issues to address may include:
- establishing clear definition of roles and responsibilities of teachers, related service providers and paraprofessionals.
- providing the necessary training to enable all those involved to effectively assume their roles and responsibilities.
- ensuring that necessary support services, environmental modifications, assistive technology and program modifications are available prior to the initiation of a student's individualized educational program.
- providing planning time during the school day for teachers and other school personnel to address the educational needs of all students involved in these integrated settings.
- making the parents of students with and without disabilities who attend these classes aware of the general components and expectations of the program delivery model.
- Some school districts may be required by the SED to implement corrective actions in response to high classification rates, high separate placement rates and significant disproportionality. Local Leaders should be proactive in determining if the SED has identified their school district and if so, in assisting school administration in developing the district's corrective action plan.
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