ADMINISTRATIVE LETTER NO: 36
POLICY CODE: IHBA
TO: Superintendents of Schools, Directors of Special Education and Business Administrators
FROM: Stephen L. Bowen, Commissioner of Education
DATE: April 5, 2011
RE: 2010-2011 EPS High Cost Out-of-District Placement Cost Adjustment Report (EF-S-214)
Currently, in each school administrative unit’s 2010-2011 Computation of Unit Allocation (ED 279 subsidy printout), the EPS Special Education Allocation on line 32 contains an “estimated” amount for high cost out-of-district placements, pursuant to 20-A MRSA §15681-A, sub-§2. This amount must be revised, based on the information you will provide in the 2010-2011 EPS High Cost Out-of-District Placement Cost Adjustment Report (EF-S-214). Please note that a column has been provided for the MEDMS student ID number. This ID number must be included for each student.
If your school administrative unit expects to pay more than $30,208 (4 times the statewide EPS special education rate of $7552) in tuition and board for an individual special education student in an approved out-of-district placement during the 2010-2011 school year, you must include this student on this report. Do not report State Wards or State Agency Clients on this report. For the “Total Anticipated Cost”, you may be required to estimate the remaining payments for the student for this fiscal year.
All school administrative units must complete this report. If your unit does not have any students that cost more than $30,208, please submit a zero report.
The 2010-2011 EPS High Cost Out-of-District Placement Cost Adjustment Report (EF-S-214) is available on the Department of Education’s Reporting Forms website at: http://www.maine.gov/education/forms/specservices.htm
After the report is reviewed by the Special Services Team, the report’s data will be compared to the estimated amount currently included in the EPS Special Education Allocation and one of the following will take place:
* If the high cost out-of-district adjustment needs to be increased, and if this results in an increased EPS Special Education Allocation, then this change will be made in the 2010-2011 ED 279 subsidy printout. Should this adjustment increase subsidy for 2010-2011, the increased subsidy will be paid in the remaining subsidy checks for this fiscal year.
* If the high cost out-of-district adjustment needs to be decreased, and if this results in a decreased EPS Special Education Allocation and would have resulted in a decrease in 2010-2011 subsidy, then this change will result in an audit adjustment in the 2011-2012 ED 279 subsidy printout, reducing the amount of subsidy for the 2011-2012 fiscal year.
* If the high cost out-of-district adjustment is the same as the data reported on the 2010-2011 EPS High Cost Out-of-District Placement Cost Adjustment Report (EF-S-214), then no action is necessary and there will be no change in 2010-2011 subsidy.
Finally, the information on the 2010-2011 EPS High Cost Out-of-District Placement Cost Adjustment Report (EF-S-214) will be compared to the “actual” expenditure data to be reported on the 2010-2011 web-based report of 2010-2011, the Special Education Tuition & Board Report (EF-S-07). The 2010-2011 web-based report of 2010-2011 Special Education Tuition & Board Report (EF-S-07) should include all actual tuition and board expenditures for the approved out-of-district special education students reported on the EF-S-214, as well as those approved out-of-district special education students below the $30,208 threshold.
The completed EF-S-214 Excel form must be attached to an emailed to mailto:EFS214.DOE@maine.gov and a signed copy should be mailed to the Office of Special Services no later than April 16, 2011, where it will be reviewed for approved placements. Note: The emailed electronic version is required for processing.
If you have any questions regarding the completion of this form, please contact Marcia McInnis, Office of Special Services, at (207) 624-6650 or by email at mailto:EFS214.DOE@maine.gov.