Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 6, March 15, 2024
PURPOSE: The purpose of this amendment is to clarify
the qualifications for early childhood facility cost
reimbursements.
(1) The
Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (department) will reimburse
for facility lease agreements for early learning programs and will not
reimburse for the purchase, construction, renovation, or lease purchase of such
facilities. The department uses the following formula to determine the maximum
allowable cost per fiscal year for early learning programs facility lease
agreements:
(A) Standard amount of square
footage per child multiplied by the total number of eligible pupils educated at
the facility multiplied by the cost per square foot by county;
(B) Standard amount of square footage per
itinerant full-time equivalent (FTE) position multiplied by the total itinerant
FTE multiplied by the cost per square foot by county; and
(C) Standard amount of square footage per
administrative FTE position multiplied by the total administrative FTE actually
housed in the leased facility multiplied by the cost per square foot by
county.
(2) The square
footage must be utilized in accordance with the programs' state and federal
guidelines as found on the department's website.
(3) If the actual expenditures are less than
the amount determined by the formula, only actual expenditures will be
reimbursed.
(4) For purposes of
this rule, the following terms mean:
(A)
Standard amount of square footage per child is sixty (60) square feet. This may
encompass educational and ancillary space;
(B) Standard amount of square footage per
itinerant FTE position is one hundred twenty (120) square feet;
(C) Standard amount of square footage per
administrative staff is one hundred twenty (120) square feet;
(D) Eligible pupils-
1. For Early Childhood Special Education
(ECSE) programs- the number of students with disabilities who are educated at
the leased facility and have instructional services in their Individualized
Education Program (IEP) plus the number of non-disabled integrated peers who
are educated at the leased facility. The number shall be determined based on
the pupil enrollment on April 30 in the year for which facility lease payment
is requested;
2. For the Missouri
Preschool Program (MPP)-the number of slots approved by the department in the
grant award for the program; and
3.
For Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) preschools-the number of
slots determined by the district and approved within the budget application for
children who are educationally disadvantaged and are three (3), four (4), or
five (5) years of age;
(E) Cost per square foot by county-
1. The highest rate per square foot for the
county where the facility is located as computed based on the state lease
facility space information per county obtained from the Office of
Administration (OA) and posted on the department website annually; or
2. If there is no rate for an individual
county, the lowest rate from the contiguous counties is used in the
formula;
(F) Itinerant
positions are instructional, diagnostic, and related services staff that travel
from one (1) building/facility to a separate building/facility in order to
provide instructional and related services as set forth in an IEP, or who
provide services to eligible pupils outside the ECSE classroom, and are
identified in the approved ECSE Final Expenditure Report (FER);
(G) Administrative positions are director and
coordinator staff that are identified in the approved ECSE FER; and
(H) FTE is the number of total hours worked
divided by the maximum number of compensable hours in a full-time schedule as
defined by law.
(5) The
formula will be used for facility lease costs incurred starting July 1, 2016.
However, for leases that were fully signed and in effect on March 2, 2015, the
formula will be used for facility lease costs incurred starting July 1, 2019 or
the date the lease expires, whichever comes first.
(6) The formula applies to ECSE, MPP, and
ESEA programs with facility lease agreements.
(7) Early Childhood Special Education
multi-district cooperative programs can request a waiver of the use of the
formula from the department if the cooperative can validate that using a
facility that exceeds the formula amount reduces the total cost of the
cooperative Early Childhood Special Education Program for that year.
(8) Requests for payment shall be submitted
to the department's finance section handling the costs for the specific early
learning program in accordance with the deadlines for that program.
(9) Districts can have multiple early
learning programs in the same building but the facility lease costs must be
prorated among the programs based on a method approved by the
department.
