FY26 FC0318 METCO Supplemental Special Education Grant Questions & Responses

1. If I included a student in my FY25 Circuit Breaker, am I precluded from including that student in my FY26 METCO Supplemental Grant, since it is based on FY25 data? [The student(s) in question] have specialized transportation in their IEPs...The cost for each student is significant. Since these students are not out of district, the transportation costs cannot be claimed on Circuit Breaker, so the METCO Supplemental SPED Grant would be the only place where we could get some additional financial assistance for those costs.
   1. No, a student claim that was submitted in the FY25 circuit breaker would not necessarily be ineligible for this grant, particularly for the student(s) in question given that circuit breaker reimbursement and grant funds would not overlap in covering the cost of transportation. The grant is explicitly designed to cover special education costs "that are not otherwise covered or reimbursed by other federal or state restricted sources."
   
   
2. Do most districts that apply for this grant complete a form for every single Metco student receiving special education services or students with a high level of services and supports?
   1. The number of student claims submitted depend on the capacity of districts' staff and so there is no norm. We recommend that districts submit all student claims as it helps our team track the demand for this grant.
   
   
3. Once we have completed the cost calculations for all students, what other information do we need to submit to complete the grant process? We ran into trouble with this last year. Thank you.
   1. Please submit the grant through all LEA steps in GEM$ by 5 p.m. on Friday, November 21, 2025. There are three LEA steps a competitive grant must be submitted through by the due date and time to be considered for funding:
      1. Grant writer Submitted
      2. LEA Fiscal Representative Approved
      3. LEA Superintendent / Chief Executive Approved
   2. The GEM$ application requires a budget submission (the total should reflect your cost calculator total) and a brief budget narrative describing how funds will be used during SY25-26 to support special education services. If awarded, your district team can expect to be notified in January or February and will be instructed to complete several steps in GEM$ to accept the award.
   
   

Last Updated: November 5, 2025