ÈËÆÞÓÕ»ó

The purpose of this letter is to alert local educational agencies (LEAs) to the upcoming release of 2020–2021 preliminary compliance reviews for Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Part B (IDEA-B) LEA maintenance of effort (MOE). This letter also provides guidance about MOE compliance and steps you should take to prepare for the preliminary compliance reviews.

IDEA-B LEA MOE Compliance Process

If your LEA receives IDEA-B grant funds, the MOE requirement specifies that you must spend at least the same amount of state and local funds to provide services to students with disabilities that you spent in the previous fiscal year. Each fiscal year the ÈËÆÞÓÕ»ó (ÈËÆÞÓÕ»ó) analyzes financial data and uses four tests approved by the US Department of Education (USDE) to determine if LEAs are in compliance with the MOE requirement. In late March, ÈËÆÞÓÕ»ó will release preliminary compliance reviews, which will notify LEAs of the following:

• The LEA passed at least one of the four tests, which means it is compliant with the MOE requirement.

or

• The LEA failed all four tests, which means it is not compliant with the MOE requirement.Ìý

LEAs have an opportunity to respond to ÈËÆÞÓÕ»ó regarding their preliminary compliance review and submit exceptions and/or adjustments, with supporting documentation, that may change the outcome of one or more of the four compliance tests.ÌýYou will have 10 business days to respond to ÈËÆÞÓÕ»ó after the preliminary reviews are released.ÌýOnce all documentation has been reviewed, ÈËÆÞÓÕ»ó will issue final compliance reviews. LEAs that are not compliant with the MOE requirement may owe a refund of IDEA-B funds to ÈËÆÞÓÕ»ó.

What Should I Do Now?

LEAs areÌýstrongly encouragedÌýto gather relevant data and perform their own MOE calculations before the preliminary reviews are released. ÈËÆÞÓÕ»ó provides an MOE calculation tool, which has been updated for the 2020–2021 compliance cycle, on theÌýof the ÈËÆÞÓÕ»ó website. An additionalÌýdata sources documentÌýis also available to help you identify the specific data you should use to perform the calculations.

When the preliminary compliance reviews are released in late March, LEAs should compare ÈËÆÞÓÕ»ó’s results to their own MOE calculations and decide if they will accept ÈËÆÞÓÕ»ó’s compliance review or if they would like to respond by submitting exceptions and/or adjustments for further consideration.

Release of Preliminary Compliance Reviews

ÈËÆÞÓÕ»ó will release 2020–2021 preliminary compliance reviews for IDEA-B LEA MOE in late March 2022. At that time, LEAs can view their compliance review reports by logging on to the secure GFFC Reports and Data Collections application, which is accessible throughÌý.

On the same day that ÈËÆÞÓÕ»ó releases the preliminary reviews, it will also make available the 2020–2021 Exceptions/Adjustment Workbook. LEAs must use the workbook if they choose to respond to ÈËÆÞÓÕ»ó and submit documentation. The workbook is available in GFFC Reports and Data Collections (inÌý) and on theÌýÌýof the ÈËÆÞÓÕ»ó website. These resources can help identify any exceptions and/or adjustments that may be applicable to your LEA, which are also described below.

Due Date for LEA Responses to ÈËÆÞÓÕ»ó

LEAs that choose to respond to ÈËÆÞÓÕ»ó regarding the preliminary compliance reviews must do soÌýwithin ten business daysÌýof the release date of the preliminary reviews and workbook.

Why Should I Respond to ÈËÆÞÓÕ»ó?

LEAs that fail all four compliance tests may want to respond to ÈËÆÞÓÕ»ó to demonstrate that they can pass at least one test, and thus may avoid owing a refund.

LEAs that pass at least one compliance test, but fail other tests, may also want to respond to ÈËÆÞÓÕ»ó to demonstrate that they can pass more tests, or all of the tests; however, to be deemed compliant, an LEA is required to pass only one of the four tests.

Your LEA can also accept ÈËÆÞÓÕ»ó’s preliminary compliance review and take no further action. In this case, your LEA’s preliminary compliance review will become the final compliance review.

Allowable Exceptions and Adjustments

LEAs that choose to respond must use the Exceptions/Adjustment Workbook to submit at least one of the following, as applicable, with the appropriate supporting documentation:

• Applicable federal statutory exceptions. See specific exceptions below.
• Adjustment to fiscal effort (MOE voluntary reduction). See page 10 of theÌýIDEA-B LEA MOE HandbookÌýfor additional information.
• SHARS Reimbursement Survey reporting errors. The survey can be resubmitted with correct information.
• PEIMS reporting errors with auditor’s supporting documentation. See page 12 of theÌýIDEA-B LEA MOE HandbookÌýfor additional information.

Specific Federal Statutory Exceptions

If your LEA has failed at least one of the four compliance tests, you may use any of the following allowable federal statutory exceptions to fiscal effort considerations that may apply to your LEA:

• The voluntary departure, by retirement or otherwise, or departure for just cause, of special education or related services personnel.
• A decrease in the enrollment of children with disabilities.
• The termination of the obligation of the LEA, consistent with IDEA-B, to provide a program of special education to a particular child with a disability that is an exceptionally costly program, as determined by ÈËÆÞÓÕ»ó, because the child has left the jurisdiction of the LEA; the child has reached the age at which the obligation of the LEA to provide FAPE to the child has terminated; or the child no longer needs the program of special education.
• An exceptionally costly program to a particular child with a disability is a program with a cost greater thanÌý$10,830.The termination of costly expenditures for long-term purchases, such as the acquisition of equipment or the construction of school facilities.
• The assumption of cost by the high-cost fund operated by ÈËÆÞÓÕ»ó under Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) §300.704(c).
• The adjustment to fiscal effort provision under 34 CFR §300.205.

Detailed information about allowable exceptions and/or adjustments is given in the IDEA-B LEA MOE Guidance Handbook, posted on theÌýÌýof the ÈËÆÞÓÕ»ó website.

Online Resources

Please refer to theÌýÌýof the ÈËÆÞÓÕ»ó website for further information and additional resources regarding IDEA-B LEA MOE. More guidance will also be provided when ÈËÆÞÓÕ»ó announces the release of the preliminary compliance reviews and workbook.

Contact Information

If you have any questions regarding the IDEA-B LEA MOE compliance review process, please contact the Federal Fiscal Compliance and Reporting Division by email atÌýcompliance@tea.texas.gov.Ìý

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