Federal Budget Update

Nearly three months after the start of Fiscal Year (FY) 2020, Congress and the White House have reached an agreement on spending bills and begun to move forward with approving the measures. The 12 spending bills have been broken into two packages, or “minibuses.” The deal honors the $49 billion in increased funding that was agreed to under a bipartisan budget deal signed into law in July. Education spending will get a $1.3 billion increase, reaching a total of $72.8 billion in discretionary funding for the U.S. Department of Education (ED).

All of the programs that CASE and CEC advocates on behalf of saw an increase. Details are as follows:

• Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Grants to States Program (Part B) will receive a $400 million increase, for a total of $12.76 billion.
• IDEA Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities Program (Part C) will receive a $7 million increase, for a total of $477 million.
• IDEA Preschool Program (Part B Section 619) will receive a $3 million increase, for a total of $394 million.
• IDEA National Activities (Part D) will receive a $6.5 million increase, for a total of $250 million.
• National Center for Special Education Research, within the Institute for Education Sciences will receive a $500,000 increase, for a total of $56.5 million.
• Title I will receive a $450 million increase for a total of $16.3 billion in funding.
• Title II-A will receive an increase of $76 million for a total of $2.1 billion in funding.
• Title IV-A will receive an increase of $40 million for a total of $1.2 billion in funding.

Additionally, the bill includes language that instructs the ED and other agencies on matters pertaining to CASE and CEC’s policy priorities. A few examples are:

Jacob K. Javits Gifted and Talented Program: Congress requests ED to use funds to “increase the number of grants that assist schools in the identification of, and provision of services to, gifted and talented students who may not be identified and served through traditional assessment methods, such as children with disabilities, English learners, children of color, and economically disadvantaged students.”

Special Education Teacher Shortages: Congress requests a report from the Government Accountability Office on “…factors contributing to school districts' challenges with teacher recruitment and retention.” The report is to also include a review and analysis of challenges with recruitment and retention of “special education teachers, paraprofessionals, and teacher aides; the extent to which licensure requirements are waived or modified to address shortages; and geographic and demographic characteristics of districts facing the greatest challenges or shortages, including rural and urban areas,” and to make recommendations on “potential Federal interventions to improve teacher recruitment and retention.”

Medicaid: Congress advises the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services to coordinate with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to provide technical assistance to reduce administrative barriers for providing health services in coordination with schools.

On Tuesday, the U.S. House of Representatives advanced the two minibuses. The Senate is expected to clear the spending measures and President Trump is expected to sign them into law before the current spending deal expires at midnight on December 20.

Congratulations to the field for its continued pressure on appropriators to increase spending for students with exceptionalities. Your ongoing advocacy is critical, and we thank you for your hard work.

Read the Labor-H bill here.
Read the Labor-H report here.

ISBE - Employer’s TRS Contribution on Federally Funded Salary for Summer Activities

Employer’s TRS Contribution on Federally Funded Salary for Summer Activities

The Teachers’ Retirement System (TRS) requires earnings for summer work to be reported on an accrual basis. Earnings for work performed in June 2018 must be reported on the 2018-19 TRS Annual Report, even if the member is not paid for the June work until July or August. The 2018-19 TRS and THIS contribution rates apply to accrued earnings for work performed in June, regardless of when the June earnings are paid to the teacher.
Earnings for work performed in July and August 2019 must be reported on the 2019-20 TRS Annual Report. The 2019-20 TRS and THIS contribution rates apply to accrued earnings for work performed in July and August, regardless of when the July and August earnings are paid to the teacher.

Several questions from the field regarding what federal TRS rate to use for SUMMER salaries has prompted TRS to instruct LEAs to use the new employer TRS contribution on federally funded salaries that are providing services AFTER the start of the new fiscal year (July 1, 2019). Below are three scenarios and what federal TRS rate to use in each scenario:

• FY 2019: Federally funded staff/teachers who have completed their assignments by June 30, 2019, but are being paid after July 1: The CURRENT RATE (FY 2019) applies (9.85 percent).
• FY 2019: Federally funded staff/teachers providing services and being paid after July 1: The NEW RATE (FY 2020) applies (10.66 percent). (Please note that an FY 2019 amendment may be needed in this scenario.)
• FY 2020: Federally funded staff/teachers: The NEW RATE applies (10.66 percent). 

More information is available on the TRS website.

Further questions can be directed to the TRS Employer Services Division at employers@trsil.org or (877) 927-5877 (877-9 ASK TRS).

Wondering About Carryover Funds from FY19?

The following is information from ISBE sent to IAASE by Tim Imler.
FY 2019 IDEA Part B Carryover
Carryover funds are unbudgeted and/or unexpended funds from the previous fiscal year calculated from the grantee’s final expenditure report. It is important to note that carryover cannot be computed unless the final expenditure report is submitted.

A final expenditure report is defined as:

• The cumulative expenditure through date is equal to or is greater than the project end date, and;
• There are no outstanding obligations reported.

Special education cooperatives with a FY19 IDEA Part B project end date of June 30 must submit a completion report on or before July 20. If that report does not reflect any outstanding obligations, then the report is considered final and carryover will be computed.

If the July 20 report is submitted with outstanding obligations, then a final expenditure report that reflects total project expenditures (with all prior obligations liquidated) must be submitted no later than 90 calendar days after the project end date. Cooperatives with project end dates of August 31 must submit the completion report on or before September 20. The same liquidation timelines apply.

For Those Cooperatives NOT on a One Year ExtensionThe following guidance is applicable to special education cooperatives that did not elect the one year extension. Please communicate to your member districts that carryover will not be allocated to them until the cooperative’s final FY19 expenditure report(s) is on file at ISBE. It is critical that the final report submitted is accurate so that any carryover can be allocated correctly. Once the FY19 final expenditure report is on file with ISBE, the special education cooperative must send a letter signed by the cooperative administrator that lists each member district and the amount of carryover to be allocated to them. The signed letter can be scanned and emailed to me at timler@isbe.net or mailed to:

Illinois State Board of Education
Division of Funding and Disbursement Services (E-320)
100 North First Street
Springfield, IL 62777

Once the signed letter is received, Funding and Disbursements staff will manually load the carryover amounts into each member district’s FY20 IDEA Part B Flow Through or Preschool grant as appropriate. Member districts will then be able to login to the electronic Grants Management System and submit an amendment to access the additional funds. Questions regarding this process can be directed to the division at 217/782-5256.

ISBE Update - Deadline for Final FY 2019 Grant Amendments and End Date Extensions

Tim Imler from ISBE has been kind enough to send IAASE some great information about upcoming grant information for our members.

Deadline for Final FY 2019 Grant Amendments and End Date Extensions
Final FY19 budget amendments for IDEA Part B as well as all other state or federal grants must be received at ISBE (submitted via the electronic Grants Management System) no later than 30 calendar days prior to the end date of the project.

As a reminder, please be advised of the following regarding the need for a project end date extension:

• An end date extension past June 30 is NOT needed for regular term staff salaries paid on a 12-month salary schedule.
• An end date extension past June 30 is NOT needed to pay obligations (e.g., purchase order for supplies) incurred June 30 or prior.
• An end date extension past June 30 IS NEEDED for new activities and obligations incurred July 1 or later (e.g., Summer School, Professional Development).

Final amendments for state and federal grants with a project end date of June 30, 2019, must be received by ISBE no later than May 31, 2019. The last day amendments will be accepted for grants with a project end date of August 31, 2019, is August 1, 2019. The deadline for grant applications in the electronic Grants Management System is also referenced on the Program Overview page under “Amendment Due Date.”

Cooperatives please note: Member district amendments need to be submitted to the cooperative administrator in a timely fashion to accommodate a final review for accuracy and approvability before acceptance and approval to ISBE on or before the May 31/August 1 deadline.

ISBE Announces Delay "Option" in Implementing Changes to IDEA Grants

This morning, ISBE announced that after careful consideration, they will allow cooperatives the option of submitting a request for a 6-month extension to meeting these new procedural guidelines.  If granted, the timeline would be extended until December 31, 2019. 

ISBE's preference remains that all cooperatives are compliant with the new procedures by June 30, 2019. However, for those cooperatives who do not feel this is possible, the extension will allow for a delayed implementation.  The specific guidelines and process that will need to be followed to request the extension are still under development.