USED IDEA Resource Round-Up

August 25, 2021

This week, the U.S. Department of Education released a new guidance document reiterating the importance of complying with child find requirements during the pandemic. They also stated they would be releasing a series of other policy guidance on meeting IDEA in the coming weeks.

In addition, many districts are reporting that they are beginning to see the ARP funding increase for IDEA hit their bank accounts. You'll recall that Democrats sought a $3.5 billion plus-up to IDEA in the American Rescue Plan. This funding, like all increases to IDEA done through the appropriation process, is subject to the same stringent local maintenance of effort requirements. While House Democrats have proposed level-funding IDEA from the ARP baseline for FY22 it is not guaranteed. We are cautiously optimistic that we will see a sustained investment over two years at the same level for IDEA, but it's important for districts to monitor their compliance with MOE and review this document that ED shared on ARP and IDEA MoE compliance.