RIDGEFIELD — The school board on Thursday night approved a resolution to eliminate 86 full-time classroom aide positions in an effort to save the district more than $1 million.

The resolution, which the board approved 4-3, also called for the creation of an additional 172 part-time teaching-assistant jobs.

About 100 people attended the meeting. Some residents and parents of special-education students criticized the board’s decision to eliminate full-time classroom aide positions as a cost-saving move to meet the budget that voters approved last month. The resolution empowers the district to hire the aides back without offering them health benefits.

“Do any of you who are voting for this have any children with special needs?,” asked Maria Gross of Ridgefield, who said the decision would have a disruptive impact on special-education students, who she said need consistency in their lives to optimize learning.

Carol Feinstein, a borough resident, chastised the board for not working with the union representing the classroom aides to forge a compromise that would avoid personnel cuts and not affect the student population.

She wondered how the board would find 172 “highly qualified” part-time aides before July 1, when the special-education program starts anew for the 2011-2012 school year.

Full article available here.

The letter states, in part:

“In reviewing the September 29, 2010, request, as part of our review of “equitability,” we considered all of the information provided by the State in all of its submissions–including that the percent reduction in State financial support for special education and related services was less than the average percent reduction in appropriations across agencies and less than the percent reduction in revenues.  We also considered other relevant information, including the current information provided by the State with regard to the targets it has set and its data on the compliance and performance indicators under section 616 of the IDEA (20 U.S.C. §1416).  In addition, when evaluating the equity of the requested waiver, we considered the fact that the IDEA American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds were available to assist the State and local educational agencies (LEAs) in meeting their obligation to make a FAPE available to all children with disabilities in SFY 2010.”

Full letter is here. Information on all waiver requests is here.

In its September 29, 2010 letter, New Jersey claims that it has a $2 billion deficit in FY10, forcing a reduction in state support of education including a $52 million reduction in special education support. According to the request, the special education reduction is less – 4.2% – than the reduction in overall state aid to school districts (6.2%).

As required by IDEA, if a state receives a waiver, the state must return to the prior year’s level of state support the following year or face a reduction in federal funds (unless a new waiver is requested and granted.)

The U.S. Dept. of Education is providing all documents relating to state requests for MOE waivers at this webpage.

Finding 1:
Condition: Through the interview process the district revealed that although the district monitors the use of labs established in the private nonpublic school, the district is unable to assure that the labs are being utilized solely by the students identified as in need of special education and related services and not the general needs of the students enrolled in the private school.
Citation: IDEA Regulations 34CFR&300; 300.141; 300.144.
Required Action: The district is required to develop a method to ensure that equipment and technology provided to students with disabilities in the nonpublic setting are utilized only for the students who require these services as per their ISP and not for the general needs of the private setting.

Finding 2:
Condition: Although the district stated they held monthly meetings with nonpublic schools, the district could not consistently provide verification of consultation with nonpublic schools for both IDEA and ARRA-IDEA Basic. The district was able to produce a list of nonpublic students who receive services under IDEA and ARRA-IDEA nonpublic program activities. The list of students in nonpublic schools with service plans did not match the services listed in the grant. The ISP did not specify the services provided by separate funding sources. Current ISPs combine Chapter 193 and IDEA services.
Citation: IDEA Regulations 34CFR&300.130.144.

Required Action: The district must develop procedures to consistently capture evidence of consultation with nonpublic schools and obtain confirmation of consultation. The district must develop separate lists of nonpublic students and services under both IDEA Basic and ARRA-IDEA Basic grants. The individual service plans must be revised to reflect the funding source.

Finding 3:
Condition: The district is providing equipment from Coordinated Early Intervening Services (CEIS) funding to establish a Response to Intervention (RTI) system as well as servicing the CEIS students. CEIS funds cannot be used to establish an RTI system. The district is required to provide CEIS services for students identified by their established procedures. Students are eligible for these services in addition to other programs that the students participate in. Therefore, the district needs to separately fund RTI and CEIS.
Citation: IDEA Regulations 34CFR&300,226(e).
Required Action: The district must ensure that students identified through the CEIS process are receiving services with programs that are in addition to other programs and do not supplant funds that provide services through other Elementary and Secondary Education Act activities and services.

Finding 4:
Condition: Based on documentation provided by the district, customized supplies purchased through the ARRA-IDEA grant are not reflected in current student Individualized Education Program (IEPs). Based on interviews and a review of this documentation, there was no demonstration of a link between the instructional supplies purchased and the delivery of services to students with disabilities in either segregated programs or included in the general education classes. Specifically, the district implemented an application process to determine which classes received these supplies and instructional materials. Although they only provided equipment to the classrooms with students with disabilities, they could not produce IEPs that documented the need.
Citation: IDEA Regulations 34CFR&300.208 (Permissive Use of Funds).
Required Action: The district must maintain appropriate documentation that purchases are consistent with the grant requirements in order to show that they are not supplanting federal funds by purchasing materials intended for school wide, general curriculum use.
At the next regularly occurring annual review meeting, the district should list specialized materials and devices purchased to support instructional programs for students with disabilities in their IEPs.

Finding 5:
Condition: The district does not have the required supporting documentation to verify the activity of IDEA funded staff as required by federal law.
Citation: OMB Circular A-87, Attachment B, Section 8(h): Cost Principles for State, Local and Indian Tribal Governments (Compensation for personal services).
Required Action: The district must maintain records to verify the time and activity of staff charged to the grant.

Full Jersey City report is here.

The findings and recommendations specific to IDEA Recovery Act funds are below:

Finding 18: The district does not maintain affirmations of consultation from the nonpublic schools with which they hold consultations regarding services for students disabilities who attend the nonpublic school. The location, time and services table in the nonpublic tab of the Electronic Web Enabled Grant (EWEG) ARRA application provides summary information and does not list the actual services and the locations for the delivery of services.
Citation: IDEA Regulation 34 CFR 300 and 301 (Assistance to States for the Education
of Children With Disabilities and Preschool Grants for Children With Disabilities).
Required Action: The district must obtain and maintain affirmations from the nonpublic schools that they consult with regarding services to IDEA eligible students. The ARRA-IDEA application needs to be revised to include necessary detail regarding the provision of nonpublic services.

Finding 19: The district is not using appropriate academic or behavioral data to identify students at-risk for referral to the child study team for participation in the proposed Coordinated Early Intervention Services (CEIS) program. The district developed log sheets for the CEIS initiative do not conform to the tracking log information required by the NJDOE to demonstrate the provision of CEIS services and student outcomes. The current program does not meet the requirements of the grant for funding for CEIS efforts.
Citation: 34CFR §300.205(d); §300.226(a-d).
Required Action: The district should adopt the state model CEIS tracking form or develop an internal logging system which incorporates all of the components of the OSEP log. Students who receive CEIS services must be followed and recorded on the log for a period of two years, even if they are subsequently referred for evaluation.

Finding 20: Components of the renovation/construction projects included in the ARRA-IDEA grant application are capital improvement or maintenance projects and are not permitted expenditures in the grant.
Citation: Section 605(a) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 2004 (IDEA 2004).
Required Action: The district must back out the costs of improvement/maintenance projects including carpeting of non instructional areas, security lighting, asphalt resurfacing and installation of curb cuts at the Barclay Early Childhood Center.

Finding 21: The district did not have an equipment inventory for items purchased with federal grants (IDEA and Title I).
Citation: EDGAR, PART 80–Uniform Administrative Requirements for Grants and Cooperative Agreements to State and Local Governments, Section 32, Equipment.
Required Action: The district must have formal tracking of equipment purchased with federal grants. Although the state threshold for reporting equipment is $2,000 in the EWEG system, the district may have its own lower threshold. The district must track any amount that is less expensive to track then it is to replace. All inventoried items should include tag number, cost, location, date of purchase, and item description.

View the full report on Cherry Hill.

ARRA- IDEA :: DETAILED FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Finding 1:
Condition: The district has not established a method to provide evidence of the impact the ARRA-IDEA Basic and Preschool funded services will have on students. They have not established expectations for success for activities included in the ARRA-IDEA Basic and Preschool Plan.
Citation: IDEA Regulations 34CFR §300.202.
Required Action: The district must have a plan for the evaluation of each activity specified in the ARRA Plan. The district can consider individual progress towards the Individualized Education Program goals and objectives, pre and post test scores, report cards and classroom observations. They may also consider data to track mathematics and reading scores using the purchased programs.

Finding 2:
Condition: Condition: The ARRA IDEA plan recorded in EWEG system did not match the intended use of these funds for services to special education students. This was discovered through document review and interviews with district administrative staff.
Citation: EDGAR, PART 80–Uniform Administrative Requirements for Grants and Cooperative Agreements to State and Local Governments, Section 20, Standards for financial management systems.
Required Action: The district should review the ARRA-IDEA plan recorded in EWEG and, if necessary, amend the application to assure concurrence between the grant application and allowable program expenditures for IDEA.

Finding 3:
Condition: The district was not in compliance with the requirements for the provision of services to nonpublic schools. The contract with the service provider agency(s) has not been executed. Also, the district was not able to provide affirmations of the consultation with the nonpublic representative as the district advised that the meetings have not been held.
Citation: IDEA Regulation 34 CFR 300 and 301 (Assistance to States for the Education
of Children with Disabilities and Preschool Grants for Children with Disabilities).
Required Action: The district must submit a copy of the fully executed contract with the nonpublic service provider, develop procedures to capture consultations specifically for IDEA and ARRA-IDEA services, and obtain confirmation of consultation forms from the nonpublic schools. The district must submit its updated contract(s) and control procedures to the NJDOE for review.

Finding 4:
Condition: The district is not in compliance with the requirements for services to nonpublic schools. The district does not participate in consultation and collaborative decision making with the nonpublic schools; communicate directly with the nonpublic schools regarding the delivery of service and new requests for service; maintain a list of students being served; and current service plans.
Citation: IDEA Regulation 34 CFR 300 and 301 (Assistance to States for the Education
of Children With Disabilities and Preschool Grants for Children With Disabilities).

Required Action: The district must conduct consultation activities with the nonpublic schools and develop procedures to participate in a collaborative decision making process with the nonpublic schools. In its communication with the nonpublic schools, the district must clarify how services will be delivered and the process for authorizing new requests for services that come through the district and not the provider. Additionally, the district must generate a list of students receiving services under ARRA-IDEA, and revise the students’ service plans to match the list.

Finding 5:
Condition: The ARRA-IDEA consolidated application on the EWEG system is missing the verification of affirmation of consultation for nonpublic preschools located within the district.
Citation: IDEA Regulations 34CFR §300.130-300.144.
Required Action: The ARRA-IDEA consolidated grant must be revised to include the nonpublic preschools consulted with, in addition to the decision making rationale pertaining to why parentally placed preschool students are not receiving services.

Finding 6:
Condition: The district did not have detailed equipment inventory for items purchased with ARRA-IDEA funds.
Citation: EDGAR, PART 80–Uniform Administrative Requirements for Grants and Cooperative Agreements to State and Local Governments, Section 32, Equipment.
Required Action: The district must have formal tracking of equipment purchased with federal grants. Although the state threshold for reporting equipment is $2,000 in the EWEG system, the district may have its own lower threshold. All inventoried items should include tag number, cost, location, purchase date, and item description.

Finding 7:
Condition: The district is charging ineligible costs for instructional software that is being used across general education programs in the district and is not solely for the benefit of students with disabilities. Amounts charged must only pay for the excess costs of providing special education and related services to children with disabilities.
Citation: IDEA Regulation 34 CFR 300.202(a)(2) (Use of Funds).

Required Action: The district must remove the ineligible costs and submit adjusting entries showing the removal and board approval for the adjustments. A detail listing of all adjusted costs must be submitted to the NJDOE for review.

Finding 8:
Condition: The district is charging ineligible costs for electronic hardware including 12 servers that are being used for district wide programming and are not solely for the benefit of students with disabilities. Amounts charged must only pay for the excess costs of providing special education to children with disabilities.
Citation: IDEA Regulation 34 CFR 300.202(a)(2) (Use of Funds).
Required Action: The district must remove the ineligible costs and submit adjusting entries showing the removal and board approval for the adjustments. A detail listing of all adjusted costs must be submitted to the NJDOE for review.

Finding 9:
Condition: The district has assigned an employee to an unrecognized job title. Employee #37593 is certificated as an elementary school teacher and also a teacher of the handicapped. This employee is assigned to an unrecognized job title of “Crisis Teacher.” Position assignment is inconsistent with certification.
Citation: N.J.A.C. 6A:23-4.2(r).
Required Action: In accordance with the administrative code, the district must use recognized titles and assign employees to positions commensurate with their certifications.

Full monitoring report for Newark Public Schools.

The 2009 federal stimulus money for schools is almost all spent by now in New Jersey, but it’s still drawing attention from state monitors and raising questions as to how it was spent.

Acting Education Commissioner Rochelle Hendricks last month sent an alert to districts on the findings that have arisen in the state’s monitoring of more than $1.6 billion in federal aid distributed to districts in 2009 – 2010.

The monitoring is ongoing, with the state so far releasing local reports on about half of the more than 80 districts being monitored, including most recently Newark. The selected districts represented about 60 percent of the overall stimulus funds disbursed.

Accounting Errors

And while there appeared few instances so far of any alleged wrongdoing, there were plenty of examples of sloppy bookkeeping and other accounting errors with funds distributed under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), according to Hendricks’ alert.

For instance, one of the centerpieces of the ARRA money was for it to be used to retain school jobs, but Hendricks said nearly half of the districts failed to properly account for which specific jobs were saved.

“In 41 percent of the districts monitored, no backup was provided,” said the October 4 letter from Hendricks.

>> FULL STORY

>> NJ DOE ARRA Monitoring website ~ includes links to ARRA monitoring tools and protocol and links to monitoring reports for several NJ districts.

>> NJ DOE ARRA Monitoring Findings Alert ~ Oct 4, 2010 – provides a list of monitoring and reporting issues that have occurred in multiple districts, by program including IDEA.

Latest state-by-state spending reports are always available here. All IDEA Recovery Act funds must be obligated by September 30, 2011.

All funds must be obligated by Sept. 30, 2011.

Hunterdon Central Regional High School
Flemington, NJ 08822
Award amount: $625,920
Hunterdon Central Regional High School reported that it used its Recovery Act IDEA award to improve the district’s self-contained programs in life skills education and the behavioral disabilities program and to improve core content instruction in special education academic settings. These funds supported approximately 500 students with special needs in the district’s single school. Specifically, the funds were used to hire consultants to train staff about behavioral interventions in the classroom and on using new computer-assisted materials that remediate writing, reading, and mathematics weaknesses. New materials were purchased to improve the depth of the curriculum offered in special education classrooms and that focus on the remediation of writing, reading, and math skills. In addition, personal computing devices will be purchased for special education students to assist with coursework completion. As a result of these funds, officials reported that the district was able to maintain programs for students with multiple disabilities and behaviorally disabled students. They also said that they anticipate improved test results on standardized state testing. They indicated that their Recovery Act IDEA award activities were 50 percent or more completed.

Sea Girt Borough Public Schools
Sea Girt, NJ 08750
Award amount: $43,835
Sea Girt Borough Public Schools reported that it used its Recovery Act IDEA award to provide all special education teachers with a full range of multisensory approaches to improve the teaching of reading. It also offset the unbudgeted cost due to specific individualized education program (IEP) demands. These funds supported approximately 10 to15 percent of the single school district’s 180 students. Specifically, the funds were used to provide professional development (i.e., Wilson Training and instructional materials) and make capital improvement to the classroom through installation of infrared sound field systems. As a result of these IDEA funds, officials reported that the district was able to increase classified students’ ability to perform on all academic assessments (i.e., greater reading proficiency) and continue with regular established programs to the benefit of all students. Officials indicated that their Recovery Act IDEA award activities were more than 50 percent completed.