IDEA Money Watch tracks the use of $11.3 billion in federal funds provided to local school districts as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) as well as annual federal appropriations totaling more than $11 billion.

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

September 23, 2011: Minnesota advocates send letter to Congress requesting help to get OSEP's LEA MOE guidance rescinded. Read the letter.

September 22, 2011: Learning Disabilities Association of America sends letter to Senator Harkin, chair of Senate HELP committee, asking for assistance in getting OSEP's LEA MOE guidance withdrawn by US ED. Read the letter here. 

September 19, 2011: State and local disability advocacy organizations deliver letter to Maryland's Congressional delegation expressing objection to OSEP's gidance on MOE and asking for members of Congress to intervene on behalf of children with disabilities. Read the letter here.

September 15, 2011: New Jersey Education Law Center sends letter to USED regarding OSEP's informal guidance on MOE, calling it an "improper usurpation by the Executive Branch of the role of the Legislative Branch, as it is only Congress which is authorized to modify the MOE provision it long ago established." Read the letter here. 

September 10, 2011: Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates (COPAA) sends letter to USED expressing objection to recent OSEP information guidance on maintenance of effort requirements for local school districts. Read the letter here.

INFORMATION ALERT:  IDEA Money Watch, along with the Center for Law and Education urges action on the inaccurate guidance issued by the U.S. Department of Education on June 16, 2011. Read the Information Alert, and the letter to the US Dept. of ED's Office of Special Education Programs asking that it reconsider and rescind its June 16th informal guidance regarding the local maintenance of effort requirement of the IDEA.

August 2, 2011: Get the latest out of US ED on local districts' obligation to maintain level of spending on special education (MOE). Read about it on our Balance Sheet blog post, Deal or No Deal. 

July 17, 2011: IDEA Money Watch has obtained the information that all states were required to submit to the US ED for Table 8 (information on reductions to maintenance of effort and use of IDEA funds for early intervening services in 2009). Visit our Balance Sheet blog post to get the data for all states (PDF, 2186 pgs.) or to find information for your state. 

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 17, 2011: Recovery Act spending reports 81% of IDEA Part B funds obligated. According to spending reports made available on the U.S. Department of Education Recovery Act web site, about 81% of the IDEA Part B Recovery Act funds have been obligated as ofJune 17, 2011. Rates of spending vary across states--from as low as 57% in Wyoming to 100% in Iowa and Kansas. All IDEA Recovery Act funds must be obligated by Sept. 30, 2011 - just 4 months away. The State-by-State spending report is available here. 

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.

June 8, 2011: U.S. Dept. of Education responds to our request for data on LEA MOE reduction and use of IDEA funds for CEIS. Read about it in our blog post. 

April 15, 2011: IDEA Money Watch and the Center for Law and Education submit a FOIA request to USED for LEA-level data on MOE and CEIS for FY2009 required to be submitted by May 1, 2011. See the request here. 

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.

GAO Recovery Act report issued July 2010 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. 

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.

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 discussed IDEA Recovery Act issues on a recent broadcast of the Rose Moore Internet Radio Show. Listen here. 

GAO Report finds half of eligible LEAs plan to reduce local sped spending, more...A December 2009 GAO Recovery Act report (GAO-10-231) 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. 

U.S.ED releases letter to State Chiefs and State Sped Directors re MOE Reduction...On October 21, 2009  US Education Secretary Arne Duncan released 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.

U.S.ED New Guidance on Use of IDEA ARRA Funds...New Guidance released on September 4, 2009, 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. 

Capital Hill Briefing on IDEA ARRA Funds:: Multiple Perspectives...At a 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.