011.01A The special education
assurances and flexible funding application of a school district and approved
cooperative shall be submitted electronically via the NDE website to the Office
of Special Education. Any amendment to the assurances and flexible funding
application shall be subject to the same review as the initial assurances and
flexible funding application.
011.01A1 The
fiscal year for school age special education programs shall be September 1 to
August 31.
011.01B The
allowable and reimbursable costs for special education services are restricted
to the following items, which shall be documented and are subject to audit;
011.01B1 Salaries of special education
personnel as per 92 NAC
51-010 and clerical personnel directly
associated with special education services;
011.01B2 School district or approved
cooperative share of fringe benefits for the special education staff:
011.01B2a Fringe benefits shall be limited to
social security, retirement programs, workers' compensation, health, life, long
term disability, and unemployment insurance.
011.01B3 Inservice costs directly related to
the special education programs provided that:
011.01B3a Allowable inservice expenditures
are costs directly related to special education programs. Allowable activities
must be designed to contribute to the professional growth and competence of
staff serving children with a disability and their parents through workshops,
demonstrations, and school visits. Tuition and expenses of attending special
education courses for college credit are not allowed.
011.01B3b Allowable costs include: presenter
fees and expenses; mileage; board and room of staff to attend inservice
programs; costs of substitutes for staff attending inservice programs; cost of
inservice programs which directly assist special and regular educators in
providing appropriate programs for children with a verified disability in their
classrooms; and costs of special education workshop attendance.
011.01B3c Costs of attending meetings
conducted by organizations where only organizational business is conducted is
not an allowable reimbursable expense.
011.01B4 Travel costs incurred by the school
district or approved cooperative in delivering the special education programs
including costs for:
011.01B4a Children
attending nonpublic schools who are required to leave the nonpublic school to
receive special education and related services; and
011.01B4b Children who are assigned to more
than one attendance center to receive special education.
011.01B5 Travel costs incurred by parents to
attend educational planning meetings held outside the resident district which
are necessary to provide a free appropriate public education or to visit their
child who is assigned to a residential program outside the district as agreed
upon through the lEP process.
011.01B6 Costs of transporting children with
a disability which are authorized under Neb. Rev. Stat. §
79-1129 and Section 014 are
budgeted and claimed separately;
011.01B7 Instructional equipment including
assistive technology devices and equipment, supplies and publications necessary
to aid the child in accomplishing the goals and objectives of the individual
education program (lEP) are allowable reimbursable costs under this Chapter.
The equipment, supplies, and publications shall be used by the child in
association with the implementation of the child's lEP or evaluation. This
shall also include equipment, supplies, and publications used by staff when
instructing a child with a verified disability; when evaluating a child who is
suspected of having a disability; or when reevaluating a child with a verified
disability. Allowable and reimbursable costs shall include printing,
publication and postage costs that are necessary to carry out the provisions of
this Chapter. This shall not include equipment, supplies, and publications used
by staff for administrative purposes. This shall not include personal equipment
and supplies or life support equipment. When equipment is used for purposes
other than for special education, the school district or approved cooperative
shall only claim the applicable prorated portion for special education
payment.
011.01B8 Those contracted
special education services in which children with a disability are served by a
service agency whose special education programs and rates have been approved by
the Department of Education; and
011.01B9 Costs of acquisition (purchase,
lease, lease-purchase), renovation and operation of a mobile unit(s) (i.e.,
trailers, mobile homes, vans, or any combination thereof) used, or to be used,
as mobile learning centers for delivery of special education services to any
eligible children with a disability. Reimbursement shall be subject to approval
by the Nebraska Department of Education and shall be based on allowable
depreciation and reimbursement as per Section 014.
011.01B9a The maximum number of mobile units
a school district or approved cooperative may purchase shall be based on the
total enrollment of both public and nonpublic schools as per the following
schedule:
011.01B9a(1) 1 to 10,000 total
enrollment for the maximum purchase of one (1) mobile unit;
011.01B9a(2) 10,001 to 20,000 total
enrollment for the maximum purchase of two (2) mobile units;
011.0189a(3) 20,001 to 30,000 total
enrollment for the maximum purchase of three (3) mobile units;
011.01B9a(4) 30,001 to 40,000 total
enrollment for the maximum purchase of four (4) mobile units;
011.01B9a(5) 40,001 to 50,000 total
enrollment for the maximum purchase of five (5) mobile units; and
011.01B9a(6) all districts with an enrollment
exceeding 50,001 for the maximum purchase of six (6) mobile
units.
011.01B10 Costs for support services, as
defined in Neb. Rev. Stat. §
79-1125.01 and 92 NAC 51-003.60,
identified in 92 NAC 51-011.05 as the Flexible Funding
Option.
011.01C The
adjusted average per pupil cost of the preceding year or a portion of that cost
shall be calculated according to the following criteria:
011.01C1 For Level I special education
services the school district is considered to have expended its adjusted
average per pupil cost for each child with a disability who participates in a
special education support service(s) for an aggregate of not more than three
hours per week.
011.01C2 For Level
II special education classroom services in which a child with a disability
participates more than an aggregate of three hours per week, the school
district shall pay that portion of the adjusted average per pupil cost for that
portion of the instructional time devoted to the special education
activity;
011.01C3 For Level III
special education contractual services the school district shall pay an amount
equal to the average per pupil cost (program per pupil cost) of the service
agency of the preceding year to the agency providing the educational program
for each child with a disability. In deriving allowable excess cost, the
district shall deduct its adjusted average per pupil cost from the cost of the
program contracted from the service agency;
011.01C4 When a school district or approved
cooperative provides or contracts for a summer school special education program
for a child with a verified disability, the cost of such program will be
considered for allowable excess cost reimbursement if the child's needs for
such program can be verified by review of the lEP.
011.01D Student Special Education Full Time
Equivalency (FTE) shall be determined by calculating the percent of aggregate
time a child receives special education and related services. In calculating
student special education full-time equivalency, time spent in transportation,
extended school day and extended school year services are excluded from the
aggregate time.
011.01D1 The aggregate amount
of a child's special education FTE includes:
011.01D1a The amount of time the child spends
in a separate setting other than the regular classroom; and
011.01D1b The amount of time the child with a
disability spends in the regular classroom receiving instruction as indicated
in the child's lEP from special education staff.
011.01D2 Full-time equivalency (FTE) is
calculated each year.