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

To:	David Cantrell, U.S. Office of Special Education Programs
From:	Russell Johnston, PhD, Senior Associate Commissioner
Date:	May 21, 2021

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) 2021 Massachusetts' Fiscal Year (MFY) 2022, school-year 2021-2022.

MASSDE award for the FFY 2021 appropriation is $312,386,626.00. The Part B grant is considered to consist of three parts:

Part 1 — Required flow-thru:	$275,097,109.00
Part 2 — State Administration:	$6,892,124.00
Part 3 — Other State Activities:	$30,397,393.00
Total	$312,386,626.00

Part 1 — MASSDE provided the required amount for FFY 2021 and intends to flow-thru the required amount for school-year 2021-2022.
Part 2 — MASSDE is using the full award amount for FFY 2021 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 2021 in a similar fashion to the way we have allocated in FFY 2020 consistent with the required and allowable activities articulated on the included Use of Funds form.

Planning for FFY 2021 is in process. MASSDE begins its planning for each fiscal year in October of the preceding year and has been planning for these funds since October 2020. Our entire planning process will be completed by the end of May 2021. During this period, MASSDE reviews data from our general oversight programs, input from constituent groups, and information from our various planning and accountability processes including a review of planned activities articulated in our State Performance Plan. Opportunities for input occurred and will continue to occur through participation in planning for our State Performance Plan and Annual Performance Report, and in working group discussions related to each of the Indicators, discussions with our State Advisory Council and our State Steering Committee, as well as discussions and review of current funded programs with key constituents. LEAs, parents and other constituent groups are represented on our state advisory council for special education and our state special education steering committee and on State Performance Plan working groups.

The Use of Funds form, 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 and providing them with information on how they may obtain hard copies of the information if they do not have easy web access. 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: May 6, 2021