Current through Register Vol. 18, September 20, 2024
(1) To be eligible
to charge tuition for special education services, a district must provide a
special education program that complies with Board of Public Education policies
and is approved by the Superintendent of Public Instruction.
(a) Districts may not charge a parent or
guardian tuition for a student with disabilities.
(b) For discretionary out-of-district
attendance agreements, districts may not discriminate on the basis of
disability in the approval or disapproval per 20-5-320,
MCA.
(2) The maximum
tuition rate for students with disabilities is the general education tuition
rate established in ARM 10.10.301, reduced by any waivers that a district must
apply equally to all students whose tuition is paid by the same type of entity,
plus the additional charges as calculated in (3), that apply to districts
only.
(3) A school official of the
district of attendance must use one of the options defined below to determine
the maximum amount which may be charged to the resident district for students
with disabilities in addition to the general education tuition rate:
(a) Option A: The additional charge must be
calculated by determining the number of hours during which direct special
education and related services are being provided each week, as established on
the student's individualized education program (IEP). If the total hours are
less than 15 (7 1/2 for half-time kindergarten), tuition may not exceed the
general education tuition rate. If the total hours per week are 15 (7 1/2 for
half-time kindergarten) or more, the total hours will be divided by 30 (the
average number of school hours per week, 15 for half-time kindergarten), and
multiplied by the maximum general education tuition rate in ARM 10.10.301 to
determine the amount which may be added to the rate in ARM 10.10.301.
(b) Option B: The actual unique costs of
services provided to the student ages 3 to 21 as per the individualized
education program (IEP), less 120% of the tuition per-ANB rate defined in 20-5-
323(7), MCA, and less the per ANB special education block grants received by
the district, may be added to the rate in ARM 10.10.301 if the county
superintendent determines all of the following factors are present:
(i) the allowable special education costs
for that student exceed the rate determined under Option A;
(ii) the costs are for special education and
related services unique to the student, including specialized one-on-one staff,
specialized equipment, and supplies and excluding:
(A) the costs for removal of architectural
barriers;
(B) prorated costs of
ordinary special education services such as teachers' salaries and benefits;
and
(C) costs of equipment and
supplies commonly used in special education
programs.
(c)
Option C: For specialized school district programs which provide concentrated
services for significant numbers of students with low incidence disabilities,
including nonresident students who enroll in the district of attendance
specifically to attend the program, the estimated total per-pupil cost of the
program including administrative operating costs, less 120% of the maximum per
ANB rate established in 20-9-306(1), MCA, for the year of attendance and less
the per ANB special education block grants received by the district, may be
added to the rate in ARM 10.10.301, provided:
(i) such services provided in any multidistrict program must be
determined by the student's IEP team and cannot be based solely on the
student's identified low incidence disability;
(ii) the district of attendance has submitted a written
description of the program and the Office of Public Instruction has provided
written approval for the district of attendance to apply the Option C special
education tuition add-on rate for nonresident students of the
program;
(iii) the district of
attendance does not pass program costs for resident students on to parties
paying nonresident student tuition;
(iv) the district of attendance uses any unreserved balance after
operating the prior year's special education program for low incidence
disabilities to defray the ensuing year's program costs used to determine the
tuition rate; and
(v) the total
per-pupil cost of operating the program is determined based on the estimated
average number of students expected to participate in the program for the
following year.
(4) The special education tuition rate calculation should be
prorated for the portion of the year the student is enrolled in special
education services in the district of attendance, based on the percentage found
when the number of days the student was enrolled is divided by 180.
(5) When a student's IEP requires special
education or related services beyond the 180-day school year, the school
district of attendance providing services may initiate an attendance agreement
or amend an existing agreement to provide tuition that covers the additional
extended year period by prorating the actual cost on a daily or hourly
basis.
AUTH: 20-5-323, 20-9-201, MCA; IMP: 20-5-320, 20-5-321,
20-5-323, 20-5-324, 20-9-306, MCA
