IDEA Money Watch tracks $11 billion in annual federal funds provided to states and local school districts for special education as well as the $11.3 billion in federal funds provided to local school districts as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) and the $600 million threatened by sequestration.

IDEA Money Watch State-by-State Blogs report on use of funds and provide information and resources. State IDEA Facts provides quick data look-up on special education students and IDEA funds going to each state. State ARRA Spending provides the amount of IDEA ARRA funds obligated by each state. 

LATEST NEWS:

February 28, 2013: IDEA Cuts Begin Tomorrow! Find out how much your state will lose in IDEA funding, then contact your members of Congress to stop this madness.

February 14, 2013: Join in NDD Day of Action and tell Congress to avert sequestration and avoid any reduction in funding of IDEA. See our Action Alert for details.

September 17, 2012: OMB releases report on impact of sequestration, predicting a reduction of 8.2% to education programs. Read it here.

September 5, 2012: Fordham Institute releases new report, Boosting the Quality and Efficiency of Special Education. Read it here.

July 20, 2012: US Dept. of Education sends letter to Chief State School Officers regarding the impact of sequestration on several federal funding accounts that are advance funded, including IDEA. Read the letter here. 

April 19, 2012: We are tracking the $5 million planned reduction of local spending for special education in Pittsburgh Public Schools. Read about it here. 

April 4, 2012: U.S. Dept. of Education issues letter to the Center for Law and Education regarding IDEA maintenance of effort requirement for local school districts. Read our blog post and the letter here. 

April 2, 2012:  IDEA Money Watch releases Sequestration FAQs and potential cuts to IDEA funding for every state.

February 13, 2012: Obama released budget proposal for FY2012, forgets about special education. Read about it in our blog post.

February 3, 2012: IDEA Money Watch posts updated data on reductions to maintenance of effort (MOE) and use of IDEA funds for early intervening services in 2009. Visit our Balance Sheet blog post to get the data for each state and local district.

June 21, 2011:  The U.S. Dept. of Education has denied a request from Iowa for a waiver allowing the state to reduce its state financial aid to local school districts in 2010 and also adjust the waiver previously granted. More information.

June 17, 2011:  The U.S. Dept. of Education has denied a request from South Carolina for a waiver allowing the state to reduce its state financial aid to local school districts in 2010 and 2011. The state had requested a waiver for each of 3 consecutive years, 2009, 2010 and 2011. The waiver request for 2009 was granted. More information. 

June 16, 2011: IDEA Money Watch responds to a new report out of the American Enterprise Institute, "Something Has Got to Change," packed with interesting assertions, bad information, and food for thought. Read it here.

June 14, 2011: Stateline reports on education budgets across the nation. To date, governors have proposed a net of $2.5 billion in cuts to K-12 education and $5 billion in cuts to higher education, according to the National Association of State Budget Officers. Read the story. 

April 12, 2011: U.S. Dept. of Education grants waivers to Alabama and New Jersey allowing these states to reduce financial support for special education to local school districts. Oregon's request was denied. The U.S. Dept. of Education has a new web page that details its procedures for considering state requests to reduce financial support to local districts due to economic hardship and lists the states that have made a waiver request, including all documentation and USED response.

April 5, 2011: Council for Exceptional Children releases results of national survey on economic impact on special education. Results show that school districts across the nation are struggling to meet the needs of students with disabilities despite IDEA Recovery Act funds. More.

February 16, 2011: Cuts to IDEA Grants to States in House Continuing Resolution spark a discussion between Hal Rogers and kids with disabilities. Washington Congresswoman McMorris Rodgers comes to the rescue.

November 30, 2010: The Advocacy Institute and the Center for Law and Education Issue Letter to US ED. The letter asks OSEP Director, Dr. Melody Musgrove, to review current guidance provided by the U.S. Dept. of Education to States on monitoring of local educational agencies (LEAs) and references CLE's August 2009 memorandum challenging USED Guidance to States...Read the letter and memorandum here.

July 2010: GAO Recovery Act report finds States could provide more information on education programs to enhance the public’s understanding of fund use ... and provides 50 summaries from local districts on how they're spending their funds. Get the report here. 

June 2010: ARRA funds shift from "innovation" to "preservation." In a June Technical Assistance Webinar, the U.S. ED encouraged states and districts to show "courage" in using stimulus funds to hire personnel and minimize layoffs in the upcoming 2010-11 school year. More here.

May 2010: "Investing Wisely and Quickly" ... This report from the Council of Great City Schools provides results from a survey of forty (40) Great City School districts that received a total of $7.3 billion in IDEA, Title I, and State Fiscal Stabilization Funds via the Recovery Act. Get details here.

Stimulating Equity? A report from the Campaign for Educational Equity recommends another round of ARRA funding for education...but first, close the IDEA MOE loophole! Get the full report here.

IDEA Money Watch on Rose Moore Show ... Candace Cortiella and Mark Halpert discuss IDEA Recovery Act issues on the Rose Moore Internet Radio Show. Listen here. 

December 2009: GAO Report finds half of eligible LEAs plan to reduce local sped spending, more...investigated the "Status of States’ and Localities’ Use of Funds and Efforts to Ensure Accountability" by conducting a survey of 16 states and certain localities in those jurisdictions, as well as the District of Columbia. Findings showed roughly half of eligible LEAs plan to reduce local spending on special education as allowable under the IDEA. Several States reported changing the process used to make LEA determinations. Read the report here. The GAO also issues bimonthly reviews of use of Recovery Act funds in 16 states and the District of Columbia. Check out your state's report here. 

October 21, 2009: U.S.ED releases letter to State Chiefs and State Sped Directors re MOE Reduction...US Education Secretary Arne Duncan releases a Letter to Chief State School Officers and State Directors of Special Education urging states to maintain high standards and not compromise the section 616 determination process under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act  in view of the large increase in IDEA Part B federal funds that LEAs are receiving as a result of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). Read the letter here.

September 4, 2009: U.S.ED New Guidance on Use of IDEA ARRA Funds...clarifies that all IDEA Part B funds must be used only to pay the excess costs of providing FAPE to children with disabilities. Guidance on RTI also clarifies use of IDEA funds for this purpose. 

July 13, 2009: Capital Hill Briefing on IDEA ARRA Funds:: Multiple Perspectives...At this July forum, IDEA Money Watch founder, Candace Cortiella, participated in a panel discussion on use of ARRA funds for special education. Full story here. 

American Association of School Administrators :: Top five reported uses for ARRA IDEA funds...A survey of 160 school administrators conducted in July and August 2009 reports on how districts are using education Recovery Act funds. Read the Press Release here. Get the survey results here.