Special Education

Alert – FY2014 Tydings Flexibility Allows an Extended Period of Spending. Deadline April 28, 2014.

Districts may extend their Fy14 federal special education entitlement grant (fund code 240) spending into FY15. Authority for this action is received through the federal Tydings Amendment allowing school districts two years to spend federal entitlement funds.

The original project duration for the FY14 Fund Code 240 grant runs from September 1, 2013 - August 31, 2014. School districts continue to be able to expend the full amount of their grant award during this period. Districts are reminded that a new entitlement grant is available every year.

However, if a school district will not expend all of its allocated FY14 funds, the district should submit a grant amendment by April 28, 2014 to reflect the reduced amount of the funds that the district will spend in FY14. (e.g., if the original award was $100,000 and the district will only spend $75,000, the amendment should reflect removal of $25,000 and a bottom line total of $75,000 for the FY14 spending. The $25,000 removed at this time will be available to the district as of September 1, 2014 upon submission of an FY 15 Carryover Work book to the ESE.)

The opportunity for the grant amendment is a courtesy to allow the district to have earlier access to unspent FY14 funds in FY15. It is not available after May 1, 2014. So, act now to do your amendment.

If funds for FY14 remain in the FY14 grant application and are unspent during the 9/13-8/14 grant period, any remaining unspent funds will also be available to spend in FY15 after receipt of your completed Final Financial Report (FR-1) for FY14 and the receipt of the unspent funds. (Generally this will delay access to at least December.)

You may contact Grace Willis at 781-338-3363 for a carryover workbook for remaining FY 14 SPED 240 funds (FY15 Carryover), in this case, the grant period will be upon approval through 8/31/15. Districts must commit to expending these carryover funds early in FY 15 in order to ensure full liquidation of the funds within the allowed extension period. There will be no further extensions beyond 8/31/15, no exceptions.