The IDEA requires that districts base the annual calculation of proportionate share on child counts occurring between October 1 and December 1 of the prior year. Child count occurring in one year is used as the basis for calculations and expenditures for the subsequent fiscal year.
Using the attached calculation form, please reevaluate your district's child count that occurred between October 1 and December 1, 2015. Consistent with IDEA, districts should have used this child count for the purpose of calculating required proportionate share expenditures in FY17. A district must revise the proportionate share calculation for FY17 if it determines that:
- the child count was incorrect, and
- the calculation of proportionate share for FY17 was based on the incorrect child count.
Further, if the district did not meet the revised level of required expenditure for FY17, the district must carry over the additional amount not spent to FY18 for proportionate share calculations. If the district has spent all of its IDEA funds for FY17, then it must allocate additional FY18 entitlement funds to cover the shortfall from FY17.
Districts must record any corrections to child count, the calculation of proportionate share, and required carry-over funds on the budget tab of the proportionate share form submitted with the grant application for FY18 Fund Code 240. Please retain all documentation created and used when reviewing child count and the calculation of proportionate share and required carry-over funds. ESE will review this documentation during the compliance monitoring and audit processes. We also will not collect any revised forms for FY17.
Review the process used by the district in determining the number of eligible students who were privately enrolled by their parents and educated in your district. The count should have been taken between October 1 and December 1, 2015. This includes all resident and non-resident students attending private schools in your district during this time, including students who were home schooled. The total should include all students identified as eligible for special education services at any time during the three years preceding this time period. Please note that it is not relevant to the count whether a student is or has ever received services or from whom; rather, the count must include all eligible students attending a private school located in the geographic boundaries of your district. These eligible students are students the district would have found during regular child find activities and those found or who should have been found during timely and meaningful consultation with the private schools in your district. The count must include all eligible students who are home schooled in your district; students who are home schooled in Massachusetts are privately enrolled under Massachusetts law. Students who live within the geographic boundaries of your district but who attend private school in another district should not be included in your count.