[SE-Dir] FW: OSL&P: Notice for MOE Waiver Req and OSEP Visit

[ALLRAN Laura]

TO:  All District and ESD Special Education Directors

The message below is being sent to you on behalf of:


Nancy Latini, PhD
Assistant Superintendent
Student Learning & Partnerships
______________________________________________
March 25, 2011

RE:   Notice for Maintenance of Effort (MOE) Waiver Request and the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) Verification Visit

Statewide MOE Waiver Request:

There seems to be some confusion regarding district special education MOE requirements under IDEA and state level special education MOE under IDEA.  Please note that the special education MOE has nothing to do with district level MOE requirements.  Districts are expected to continue to meet MOE as before and nothing changes whether Oregon secures or does not secure a state MOE waiver. It is solely Oregon information on "how much the state provides for special education.  In other words does the legislature provide at least as much as the prior year and does the legislature treat special education equally when compared to all other education agencies (higher education, community colleges, K-12) and equally when compared to all other state agencies (correction, DHS, etc).  You might also note the difference in that districts have to report on expenditures for special education while the state reports on amount made available for special education.

Oregon submitted a request for the MOE waiver for special education in an effort to maintain the IDEA funding rather than being reduced the amount we would fall short ($17 M).  That shortage would mean less funds in the flow through formula for districts and programs.  We held our first conference call with OSEP about the waiver on March 24 where they asked for clarification about our biennial budget, calculation of MOE and a few other things.  We will inform you of their decision which may not come until summer.

OSEP Verification Visit:

As you know OSEP conducted a site visit to the Department.  We had a group of talented directors of special education offer time for interviews with OSEP and also some talented EI/ECSE contractors.  In addition staff at ODE was interviewed over a four day period.  We received the findings of that visit which include four items we must correct: two items relate to fiscal practices, one to SPR&I notification of findings, and one to procedures for reconsideration under dispute resolution.  You will receive detailed information on each as we prepare our responses for OSEP.  The commendations were numerous, among them,  (1) the seamless EI/ECSE system for birth to kindergarten, (2) the SPR&I system of accountability and self review/analysis, (3) system for county contacts to support districts and programs, (4) our PBIS initiative and (5) the early childhood efforts in addressing social emotional behaviors along with the coordination between EI/ECSE and Head Start/OPK.

Also, Watch for the Following Notices:


1.    Special Education Report Cards

2.    Response to Intervention Application

3.    Updates on PBIS and Scaling Up

If you have any difficulty viewing this document, please contact Laura Allran at laura.allran at state.or.us<mailto:laura.allran at state.or.us>  or 503-947-5674.

Messages to and from this e-mail address may be made available to the public under Oregon law.
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