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IDEA-B LEA Maintenance of Effort

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Part B (IDEA-B) local educational agency (LEA) maintenance of effort (MOE) requires LEAs receiving IDEA-B grant funding to budget and spend at least the same amount of local — or state and local — funds for the education of children with disabilities on a year-to-year basis. The required MOE levels for budgeting and spending are referred to, respectively, as the “eligibility standard” and the “compliance standard.” (Title 34 of the code of federal regulations (CFR) Part 300.203).


There are other fiscal requirements related to MOE that LEAs should consider before budgeting funds for services to students with disabilities. These requirements include coordinated early intervening services (CEIS), excess cost, and voluntary reduction (when available).

Technical Assistance Resources

The following links lead to new training materials that will help your organization understand and prepare for the IDEA-B LEA MOE federal requirement:

Training Opportunities

TEA’s Federal Fiscal Compliance and Reporting Division will provide an online training session via Zoom for LEAs interested in learning more about the IDEA-B LEA MOE requirement, calculation, and exceptions process.

  • The online training is scheduled on Tuesday, March 26, 2024, from 10:00 – 11:00 a.m. LEAs can register for the Zoom training by visiting this link:  Meeting Registration – Zoom

TEA’s Federal Fiscal Compliance and Reporting Division will host an “office hour” session via Zoom to provide assistance and answer questions related to the completion of the 2022-2023 IDEA-B LEA MOE Exceptions Workbook.

  • The “office hour” session is scheduled for Thursday, March 28, 2024 from 1:00 – 2:00 p.m.  LEAs can register for the Zoom training by visiting this link:  Meeting Registration – Zoom  

Budgeting Resources

The following links lead to other resources that may help your organization budget funds for services to students with disabilities:

IDEA-B LEA MOE Calculation Tool

This is an Excel workbook to help your organization test its compliance with the MOE requirement. Although TEA conducts IDEA-B LEA MOE compliance reviews each spring, LEAs are responsible for performing their own calculations to determine IDEA-B LEA MOE compliance. (Note: In the revised tools below, Instructions are included as a worksheet).

The calculation tool gives an LEA local documentation for independent auditors and other external monitors. Use of the calculation tool demonstrates that the LEA is monitoring its own MOE compliance standard requirement, as regulations require. Using the tool also enables the LEA to plan, budget, monitor, forecast, and adjust expenditures to meet the compliance standard, forecast the result of TEA's compliance review, and determine the budget amounts for the MOE eligibility standard.

IDEA-B LEA MOE Exceptions Workbook

The IDEA-B LEA MOE Exceptions Workbook is used by local educational agencies (LEAs) to report allowable federal statutory exceptions and/or adjustment to fiscal effort for consideration in the final IDEA-B LEA MOE Compliance Review.

LEAs that choose to report allowable federal statutory exceptions and/or adjustment to fiscal effort will have five business days from the date preliminary IDEA-B LEA MOE Compliance Reviews are published in GFFC Reports and Data Collections to submit all the following:

  1. IDEA-B LEA MOE Exceptions Workbook,
  2. IDEA-B LEA MOE Certification, signed by the superintendent, and
  3. Supporting documentation to justify the amounts reported in the IDEA-B LEA MOE Exceptions Workbook for each of the allowable exceptions.

Refer to the "Instructions" tab of the IDEA-B LEA MOE Exceptions Workbook for more information.

Compliance Review Process

The Four Test Methods

To ensure that LEAs are meeting the MOE requirement, and in accordance with 34CFR 300.203(b), TEA conducts an annual compliance review. The purpose of the review is for TEA to determine if the LEA met the compliance standard by passing at least one of the four following test methods:

  • The total amount the LEA expended in local funds must equal or exceed the amount it expended from that source for special education during the preceding fiscal year.
  • The total amount the LEA expended in state and local funds must equal or exceed the amount it expended from those sources for special education during the preceding fiscal year.
  • The per-capita amount the LEA expended in local funds must equal or exceed the amount it expended per-capita from that source for special education during the preceding fiscal year.
  • The per-capita amount the LEA expended in state and local funds must equal or exceed the amount it expended per-capita from those sources for special education during the preceding fiscal year.

As defined in the “subsequent years rule” (34 CFR 300.203(c)), the "preceding fiscal year" means the last fiscal year in which the LEA met MOE for that test method.

Statutory Authority

In its compliance review of IDEA-B LEA MOE, TEA applies the following federal statutory authority:

  1. 34 CFR 300.154(g)(2)
  2. 34 CFR 300.203(b)
  3. 34 CFR 300.203(c)
  4. 34 CFR 300.204
  5. 34 CFR 300.205
  6. IDEA-B Supplemental Regulations, Non Regulatory Guidance (34 CFR 300.203(b), question C-4,p. 14-15, July 2015)
  7. 2, CFR 200.303(c) Internal Controls: Evaluate and monitor the non-federal entity’s compliance with statutes, regulations, and the terms and conditions of federal awards.

Compliance Review Process

TEA uses data from PEIMS, SHARS Reimbursement Form, Summary of Finance (SOF), and special education student count to determine if the LEA met the compliance standard. The review consists of three main steps: Preliminary results: Data analysis determines a preliminary compliance result. The LEAs are notified of the preliminary result and can submit federal exceptions, voluntary MOE reduction, state reconsideration, or submit local methodology and supporting documentation for the final calculation.

TEA review and evaluation of LEA responses: Staff review the federal exceptions, voluntary MOE reduction, state reconsideration, or the ’EA's local methodology and supporting documentation for the final calculation. Final results: TEA notifies the LEAs of final compliance results, which includes the refund amount due (for noncompliant LEAs), if applicable.

The compliance review process is outlined in this flow chart.

A sample of two LEAs Preliminary and Final IDEA-B LEA MOE Compliance Reviews are provided at the following links:

Note: On Page 2 of the Final Report is the IDEA-B LEA MOE Subsequent Year Report. This report shows the comparison amounts for each test method that will be used for the subsequent year (e.g. SY 2015-2016 IDEA-B LEA MOE) calculations.

School Health and Related Services (SHARS)

Some students that receive services under IDEA-B are also eligible for Medicaid. LEAs providing services specified on a Medicaid-eligible student's Individualized Education Program (IEP) may be reimbursed for those services through Medicaid's School Health and Related Services (SHARS) program.

Refer to the School Health and Related Services (SHARS) and IDEA-B LEA MOE Guidance page for information on how SHARS reimbursements must be accounted for in MOE calculations.

SHARS Reimbursement Survey

If your LEA received IDEA-B grant funding in the 2022–2023 school year, you are required to complete and submit the SHARS Reimbursement Survey by November 3, 2023. For help completing the survey, refer to the SHARS Reimbursement Survey Instructions.

This requirement applies to all LEAs that received 2022–2023 IDEA-B funding, regardless of whether they received SHARS reimbursements.

Federal Guidance

In July 2015, USDE issued guidance on final IDEA-B LEA MOE regulations under Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act: USDE July 2015 IDEA-B LEA MOE Non-Regulatory Guidance

In April 2015, final regulations related to IDEA-B LEA MOE were published in the Federal Register. April 28, 2015 Final Rule to IDEA-B Regulations (PDF)

In April 2014, the US Department of Education (USDE) issued a letter describing the level of effort LEAs should meet the year following a noncompliance determination from TEA. April 4, 2014 Letter from the US Department of Education (PDF)

In September 2013, USDE issued proposed amendments to MOE. The purpose was to clarify existing policy and compliance and eligibility standards. The amendments also clarified the level of effort required of an LEA in the year after it fails to maintain effort, and the consequence of a failure to maintain effort. September 18, 2013 Proposed Amendments to IDEA-B Regulations (PDF)

Additional guidance will be posted on this page as it becomes available. If you would like to be notified when updates occur, please subscribe to the Grants (formerly GAFPC) email updates.

 

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Contact Information

Federal Fiscal Compliance and Reporting Division

(512) 463-9127 (phone)

compliance@tea.texas.gov (email)