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Budget Summary FY2017

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70610012 - Circuit Breaker Reimburse for Special Ed Resident
Data Current as of:  8/9/2016





Account Description FY2016
Spending
FY2017
GAA
7061-0012 Circuit Breaker Reimburse for Special Ed Resident
For the reimbursement of extraordinary special education costs under section 5A of chapter 71B of the General Laws; provided, that reimbursements shall be prorated so that the expenses of this item do not exceed the amount appropriated in this item; provided further, that upon receipt by the department of elementary and secondary education of required special education cost reports from school districts, the department shall reimburse districts based on fiscal year 2016 claims; provided further, that the department may expend funds to continue and expand voluntary residential placement prevention programs between the department of elementary and secondary education and other departments within the executive office of health and human services that develop community-based support services for children and their families; provided further, that the department shall provide not less than $6,500,000 to the department of developmental services for the voluntary residential placement prevention program; provided further, that the department of elementary and secondary education shall fully cooperate in providing information and assistance necessary for the department of developmental services to maximize federal reimbursement and to effectively serve students in less restrictive settings; provided further, that the department shall expend funds: (i) to provide books in accessible synthetic audio format which are made available through the federal National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard-National Instructional Materials Access Center, or NIMAS-NIMAC, book repository; and (ii) for outreach to and training of teachers and students on the use of NIMAS-NIMAC and the use of human speech audio digital textbooks; provided further, that the department shall expend funds for the costs of borrowing audio textbooks by special education students; provided further, that funds may be expended for the monitoring and follow-up activities of the department's complaint management system, review and approval of local educational authority applications and local school districts' compliance with the requirements of part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, as amended in 2004, by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004, Public Law 108-446, 20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq. in the provision of special education and related services to children with disabilities; provided further, that funds may be expended to administer the reimbursements funded herein; provided further, that funds may be expended to reimburse districts for extraordinary increases in costs incurred during fiscal year 2017 which would be reimbursable under said section 5A of said chapter 71B; provided further, that reimbursements for current year costs shall be limited to school districts which experience increases of greater than 25 per cent from costs reimbursable under said section 5A of said chapter 71B and incurred during fiscal year 2016 to costs reimbursable under said section 5A of said chapter 71B and incurred during fiscal year 2017 or other cases of extraordinary hardship where special education costs increase in relationship to total district costs as the department may define through regulations or guidelines; provided further, that reimbursements for current year costs shall be allocated as one-time grants and shall not decrease reimbursements in the following fiscal year; provided further, that the department shall conduct audits of fiscal year 2016 claims; provided further, that if the claims are found to be inaccurate, the department shall recalculate the fiscal year 2017 reimbursement amount and adjust the third and fourth quarter payments to the districts to reflect the new reimbursement amount; provided further, that the department shall file a report with the house and senate committees on ways and means not later than January 26, 2017 on the results of the audit; provided further, that the department shall file with the house and senate committees on ways and means not later than February 15, 2017 a preliminary estimate of the costs eligible for reimbursement through this item in fiscal year 2018; provided further, that not less than $500,000 shall be expended for school districts in which special education costs exceed 25 per cent of the total district costs and in which tuition and other circuit-breaker eligible costs for placements at an approved private school located within the district exceed both $1,000,000 and 25 per cent of all tuition and other circuit-breaker eligible costs for placements at approved private schools; and provided further, that not less than $150,000 shall be expended for peer-to-peer inclusion programs for students with intellectual disabilities through Best Buddies Massachusetts
270,454,139 277,281,180

Veto Explanation:   I am reducing this item to the amount projected to be necessary.