Description of Use of Funds (20 U.S.C. 1411(e)(5) — IDEA 2004)

To:	Valerie C. Williams, Director U.S. Office of Special Education Programs
From:	Russell Johnston, PhD, Deputy Commissioner
Date:	May 24, 2023

Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (MASSDE) provides the following information on our intended use of Part B funds for Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) 2023 Massachusetts' Fiscal Year (MFY) 2024, school year 2023-2024.

MASSDE award for the FFY 2022 appropriation is 386.466,982.

The Part B grant is considered to consist of three parts:

Part 1 — Required flow-thru:	$343,467,322
Part 2 — State Administration:	$7,903,218
Part 3 — Other State Activities:	$35,096,442
Total	$386,466,982

Part 1 — MASSDE provided the required amount for FFY 2023 and intends to flow-thru the required amount for school year 2023-2024.
Part 2 — MASSDE is using the full award amount for FFY 2023 for state administrative activities related to implementation of Part B and we have articulated the various uses of these funds on the included Use of Funds form.
Part 3 — MASSDE will use FFY 2023 in a similar fashion to the way we have allocated in FFY 2022 consistent with the required and allowable activities articulated on the included Use of Funds form.

The Department provides a variety of opportunities for LEAs to provide feedback and information about how to distribute funding for special education programming. The Department meets regularly with special education leaders and regularly conducts surveys to determine LEA professional development priorities, guidance needed to support successful implementation of IDEA related requirements, and other improvement activities. For example, the Department has recently updated its IEP form. This process involved extensive feedback from LEA staff and others. In addition, the Department also receives input from LEAs during training on new initiatives, the provision of technical assistance, and during routine monitoring. Finally, the state advisory panel and state steering committee includes staff from LEAs and provide additional opportunities for the Department to learn about the programmatic priorities among different LEAs.

The Department also distributes funding for special education program based on data from LEAs and the State Performance Plan and the Annual Performance Report (SPP/APR) as well as the state complaint system and due process complaints. These data help the Department to identify targeted supports and activities that are needed to improve outcomes for students in LEAs that, based on a root cause analysis, are Needing Intervention or Needing Assistance.

The Use of Funds form, GEPA-Section427-Form, and Notification of Higher Standard, along with our assurance statements, is posted on our website for public notice 60 days prior to the submission of this document. Notices are sent to multiple constituent groups directing them to the website for further information. We retain the information on our website for 60 calendar days and solicit and accept public comment for the first 30 calendar days of the posting. The posted information includes all required documents.

Last Updated: March 11, 2024