During the 81st Texas Legislative Session (2009), the Legislature appropriated funds for the Local Educational Agency Risk Pool, Rider 47. These funds are to assist local education agencies (LEAs), including school districts and charter schools, in addressing the needs of "high need children with disabilities" and the financial impact on the budget of the child’s LEA. It is the intent of the Legislature that the use of these funds by school districts and charter schools does not violate the least restrictive environment (LRE) requirements of Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) 2004, as addressed in 34 CFR §300.114.
The LEA may request a High Cost Fund award provided that the LEA has not violated the least restrictive environment requirements of IDEA 2004; has not lapsed IDEA-B Formula or Formula Deaf funds from the previous school year; does not roll forward 80% or more of its 2008-2009 IDEA-B Formula funds; and has complied with all systems of accountability and reporting to the TEA, including but not limited to: accountability ratings, performance-based monitoring, compliance, fiscal reports, and dispute resolution processes.
The costs of each high need student must be in excess of $25,000 to meet eligibility requirements for a HCF award. These costs may only be those costs associated with providing direct special education and related services to the child that are identified in that child’s IEP.
Step One
The first step toward requesting a High Cost Fund award is to submit the HCF Eligibility Application.
The HCF Eligibility Application must be submitted by the Special Education Director or a designee. If the district is a member of a shared services arrangement (SSA), the HCF Eligibility Application must be submitted by the SSA Fiscal Agent.
A TEA SE (Texas Education Agency Secure Environment) account is required in order to access and submit the HCF Eligibility Application. If the submitter already has a valid TEA SE user name and password for at least one other TEA application, the submitter can log on as usual at the TEASE login page and click “Add/Modify Application Access.” From this page, the HCF Eligibility Application can be selected from the drop down list. If the submitter does not already have a TEA SE user name and password, the submitter must click https://seguin.tea.state.tx.us/appsng/um/apply.aspx to apply online for both a user account and for access to the HCF Eligibility Application. For information on how to apply for a TEA SE account, access: https://seguin.tea.state.tx.us/apps/help/tease.htm.
Step Two
After the HCF Eligibility Application has been submitted to TEA and has been reviewed for eligibility, an award letter or denial letter will be mailed to the Superintendent of the Single Member District or to the Superintendent of the Fiscal Agent of a SSA. A copy of the letter will be mailed to the Special Education Director of the LEA and also to the Special Education Contact of the Education Service Center (ESC).
Step Three
Once the award letter has been received by the district, the Single Member District or the Fiscal Agent of a SSA MUST budget the High Cost funds via the eGrants Standard Application System (SAS), using the 2009-2010 IDEA-B High Cost Grant Application (SPEDAH10). The eGrants application may be accessed at: https://seguin.tea.state.tx.us/apps/logon.asp. Failure to apply for these funds via the eGrants application will result in loss of funds.
Dates Applications are open
The HCF Eligibility Application will be available online at https://seguin.tea.state.tx.us/apps/logon.asp from September 1, 2009 through October 1, 2009.
The eGrants IDEA-B High Cost Grant application (to budget funds) will be available November 2, 2009.
Deadlines
The HCF Eligibility Application (to request an award) must be submitted electronically by 5:00 pm October 1, 2009. All HCF Eligibility applications received by this deadline will be considered for a High Cost Fund award, subject to eligibility criteria. HCF Eligibility applications received after the deadline will not be considered for a HCF award.
The deadline to submit the eGrants IDEA-B Discretionary High Cost Fund application (to budget the funds) is August 31, 2010.
Resources
Technical Assistance Contact information:
Texas Education Agency | Division of IDEA Coordination
1701 North Congress Avenue | Austin, Texas 78701-1494
Telephone: 512.463.9414 | Fax: 512.463.9560
Last Updated: September 18, 2009 | Created: March 4, 2005
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