On May 9–11, 2023, state Part C coordinators and IDEA staff, TA providers from multiple centers, and representatives from the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) met at CIFR’s Part C IDEA Fiscal Forum in Atlanta to discuss critical IDEA fiscal issues, connect with one another, and build knowledge and capacity. The conference theme was Purpose-Driven Data: Putting the “Why” Into Fiscal Processes.

• Agenda

Part C IFF 2023 participants:

• gained knowledge to increase the fidelity of implementation of IDEA fiscal requirements to ensure appropriate use and oversight of IDEA funds,
• built their state’s capacity to collect, report, and use special education fiscal data, and
• collaborated with colleagues within and across states to support continued learning.

Welcome Video: “Meet Us in Atlanta: What to Expect from CIFR’s 2023 IDEA Part C Fiscal Forum” (2:04):

• Video transcript

Conference Theme: “Purpose-Driven Data: Putting the ‘Why’ Into Fiscal Processes” (1:48)

• Video transcript

To support fiscal monitoring, an important component of general supervision, state lead agencies should prepare written procedures for identifying and correcting noncompliance. At this webinar, TA staff from CIFR, the Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center (ECTA), and the Center for Early Childhood Data Systems (DaSy) described fiscal monitoring, presented examples of fiscal requirements that should be monitored, and reviewed the fiscal data used to identify noncompliance. Arizona’s IDEA Part C fiscal team shared its procedures for monitoring fiscal data and correcting instances of noncompliance.

To receive IDEA Part B subgrants, LEAs must submit an annual application for SEA approval. At this webinar, TA staff from CIFR and the National Center for Systemic Improvement (NCSI) Fiscal Support Team (FST) reviewed how SEAs can ensure that LEAs meet the application requirements.

• Presentation slides (PDF)

Disruptions of special education services from the COVID-19 pandemic paired with the inflow of supplemental IDEA funds have challenged LEAs to spend down funds. When LEAs do not spend all of their Part B subgrants, SEAs may reallocate the unused funds to other LEAs or add to their state set-aside.

During the webinar, CIFR staff reviewed federal regulations on IDEA reallocations and highlighted notable compliance considerations. Presenters described how SEAs can proactively develop, revise, and implement reallocation procedures to lower the risk of needing to return unused LEA subgrants to the federal government.

This session was similar to the IDEA Fiscal Forum (IFF) session “Navigating the Reallocation of Unspent LEA Subgrants.” CIFR offered this webinar for state staff who missed that session or who wanted to review the content again and discuss procedures with peers.

• Presentation slides (PDF)

The mission of the IDEA Fiscal Forum (IFF) is to provide opportunities for state directors of special education, Part C coordinators, and IDEA fiscal specialists to build knowledge and capacity by connecting and sharing with peers on critical IDEA fiscal issues.

State directors of special education, IDEA Part C coordinators, and IDEA Part B fiscal specialists met at the virtual IDEA Fiscal Forum in March 2022:

• The Part C program ran from March 14 to 17, 2022 (12–5 p.m. ET)
• The Part B program ran from March 21 to 24, 2022 (12:30–4 p.m. ET)

Goals for participants were to:

• improve their knowledge of implementation of IDEA fiscal requirements to ensure appropriate use and oversight of IDEA funds,
• increase their capacity to collect, report, and use special education fiscal data, and
• strengthen collaboration within and across states to support continued learning.

Concurrent interactive breakout sessions allowed for:

• sharing from state participants, TA providers, and/or OSEP staff,
• interactive discussion components, and
• questions and answers related to IDEA fiscal topics.

Agenda and Registration

To receive Part B IDEA grants, states complete and submit the Annual State Application under IDEA Part B to the U.S. Department of Education. At this informal session, SEA staff talked about how to complete the application, asked questions, and shared expertise with colleagues from other states.