July 17th, 2011
IDEA Money Watch has obtained the information submitted by the Tennessee Dept. of Education to the U.S. Dept. of Education regarding reduction to local spending (maintenance of effort or MOE) and use of federal IDEA funds for Coordinated Early Intervening Services (CEIS) for each school district for the 2009 fiscal year. Get Tennessee information here. (PDF, 25 pgs).
This information is important because it indicates if school districts reduced local spending in light of IDEA Recovery Act funds in FY 2009. IDEA does not require that local districts replace these funds when the Recovery funds run out, putting services for students with disabilities at risk.
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October 8th, 2010
According to spending reports released by the U.S. Dept. of Education, Tennessee has obligated 52% of its IDEA Part B Recovery funds, or $118,648,119 as of September 30, 2010. The national average is 50%. Spending details by local school district are available at EdMoney.org.
Current spending reports are always available here. All IDEA Recovery Act funds must be obligated by September 30, 2011.
Tags: ARRA, IDEA, Recovery Act, Special Education, Stimulus, students with disabilities, Tennessee School for the Deaf
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October 8th, 2010
From the GAO report, States Could Provide More Information on Education Programs to Enhance the Public’s Understanding of Fund Use, released July, 2010, the following information was collected via a GAO survey between March and April 2010 and through follow-up communications:
Tennessee School for the Deaf
Knoxville, TN 37920
Award amount: $37,051
Tennessee School for the Deaf, a residential facility for deaf and hard-of-hearing students, reported that it used its Recovery Act IDEA award to purchase classroom supplies and two-way radios to be used by principals and other administrators in case of an emergency. These funds supported each of its three schools (an elementary, middle, and high school) and approximately 180 students from across the state of Tennessee. Specifically, the funds were used to purchase instructional materials and emergency radio equipment. As a result of funds, officials reported that the school was able to enhance students’ learning through instructional materials. Additionally, they said that two-way radios will be used in emergency situations to relay information quickly to the school departments. Officials indicated that their Recovery Act IDEA award activities were more than 50 percent completed.
IDEA Money Watch comments: While these seem like appropriate uses of IDEA Part B federal funds, one is left wondering how the schools were handling emergency situations before they received these extra funds!
Tags: ARRA, IDEA, Recovery Act, Special Education, Stimulus, Tennessee School for the Deaf
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May 26th, 2010
Nashville
Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools will use stimulus funding to serve its 1,412 district students who are considered homeless by the federal definitions. ARRA stimulus dollars will pay for school supplies, transportation services, supplemental instruction services, and social services for families of homeless students.
The district anticipates that the number of homeless students increasing in the next school year, and the stimulus funding will provide the resources necessary to meet these students’ needs. The district allocated Title I stimulus funding to local schools, offering additional funds to support the implementation of school improvement plans. The district also reserved the required set-asides for parental involvement and professional development. Parental involvement funds will pay the salaries of family-school liaisons, who are charged with helping to bridge the gap among community, parents, and school. Professional development funds will focus on the Director of Schools’ reform agenda, “MNPS Achieves,” which strives to increase the capacity for instructional leadership. An additional set-aside for extended-learning time was taken to allow schools to lengthen the school day beyond traditional hours in an effort to supplement instruction.
Metropolitan Nashville’s IDEA stimulus funding was dedicated to three major areas of need in special education: to fund 74 positions; to purchase needed instructional supplies and materials, including a large amount of assistive technology for students; and to expand professional development offerings considerably.
For the full report Click Here.
Tags: ARRA, ESE, IDEA, IEP, Special Education, Stimulus
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June 3rd, 2009
June 3, 2009
Tennesseean reports that Rutherford County Schools plan to use Recovery Act funds to fund existing special education teaching positions. As noted in the article, this sets up a dangerous situation when the Recovery Act funds dry up, leaving the local district in the position of paying for the positions with local funds or letting the teachers go. Full article here.
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April 25th, 2009
April 13, 2009
Tennessean article “Stimulus will help underfunded special education”
“Stimulus money is finally flowing to Tennessee schools, with local districts eligible for millions in additional funds to help low-income and special education students.
Metro Nashville will receive almost $11 million for disabled students and $24.6 million for low-income students. It’s the second largest award in the state, just behind Memphis City Schools, which has a larger enrollment.”
Read the full article at http://www.tennessean.com/article/20090413/COLUMNIST0122/904130328/1008/OPINION01
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April 9th, 2009
Tennessee will be receiving $229,613,418 in Recovery Act Funds to improve services for its 108,661 students with disabilities. More details are available here.
We’ll be reporting on how local school districts are using these funds.
Share your comments with us.
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