Special Education Overview of Tuition Billing Michelle Jones Division of School Finance February 23, 2016 “Leading for educational excellence and equity. Every day for every one.”

Overview of Tuition Billing Purpose of session:  Highlight purpose of system.  Highlight systems used for tuition billing.  Highlight key protocols.  Highlight key reporting issues.  Highlight reports to monitor to ensure accurate data is reported for correct billing. education.state.mn.us 2

Overview of Tuition Billing (2) In FY 2007, the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) assumed responsibility for calculating state special education aid adjustment for students with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) that are served outside their resident district. (Minnesota Statutes, section 125A.11 and Minnesota Statutes, section 127A.47). education.state.mn.us 3

Overview of Tuition Billing (3) For students with IEPs, the MDE Tuition Billing System will calculate tuition for non-resident students and invoice the resident district for the unreimbursed costs of providing special education services, special education transportation and general education revenue, if applicable. education.state.mn.us 4

Overview of Tuition Billing (4) Acknowledgements are required to be sent from the serving district to the district of residence. Minnesota Statutes, section 127A.47, Subdivision 5. A copy of the student’s IEP should be sent along with the acknowledgement. There is a sample form on the MDE website that may be used. MDE website ( > School Support > School Finance > Special Education > Tuition BillingMDE website education.state.mn.us 5

Overview of Tuition Billing (5) The resident district is responsible for the excess cost of special education and related services. Charter schools, cooperatives, intermediate districts and education districts have no resident students. All special education costs should be covered by:  State Special Education Aid and  Tuition Billing Adjustment. education.state.mn.us 6

Overview of Tuition Billing (6) Beginning in SFY 2015, tuition changed so that the resident districts are responsible for 90% of the unreimbursed costs (vs. 100%) and the serving districts are responsible for 10% of the unreimbursed costs for open-enrolled students. education.state.mn.us 7

Overview of Tuition Billing (7) The does not apply to students placed by the resident district, (at an intermediate, cooperative or neighboring district) or served at a charter school with very high special education concentration. The following charter schools are exempt  Metro Deaf Academy.  Fraser Academy.  Lionsgate Academy. education.state.mn.us 8

Overview of Tuition Billing (8) The Tuition Billing System captures:  All state and local special education expenditures.  All state special education and excess cost aid generated from these expenditures.  All hours of special education services provided to all special education students. education.state.mn.us 9

MDE Source Systems Used by Tuition Billing Minnesota Automated Reporting System (MARSS) Uniform Financial Accounting and Reporting Standards (UFARS) Electronic Data Reporting System (EDRS) Tuition billing depends on the data from all three systems for the rates to be calculated correctly and the appropriate invoices to be prepared. education.state.mn.us 10

MDE Systems Used for Tuition Billing MARSS – special education evaluation status 4, 6 or 9 Special education service hours  Midpoints by disability and federal setting. or  Entry of special education service hours. Transportation membership hours (transportation category 03). Non-resident students. Transporting district. education.state.mn.us 11

MDE Systems Used for Tuition Billing (2) UFARS  Benefit rates.  Non-reimbursable expenditures.  Percent of instruction.  Transportation expenditures (FIN 723). education.state.mn.us 12

MDE Systems Used for Tuition Billing (3) EDRS  Expenditure information for special education services.  Costs of one-to-one paraprofessional services.  Non-resident students receiving one-to-one professional services.  Excludes Funding Source Code (FSC) ‘j’ and ‘i’ – third party revenue expenditures.  Excludes federal expenditures. education.state.mn.us 13

Communication Linkages and Timelines Communication linkages need to be developed between special education case managers, MARSS coordinators and business office personnel to assure that the data will be reported consistently to MDE. Failure to provide this information will result in reduced revenue/expenditures for tuition billing. education.state.mn.us 14

Communication Linkages and Timelines (2) Three key staff reporting your district data:  Person responsible for data entered on EDRS.  Person responsible for data reported on MARSS.  Person responsible for reporting on UFARS. education.state.mn.us 15

Communication Linkages and Timelines (3) The special education case manager has the responsibility to communicate the following information to the MARSS coordinator:  Disability.  Federal instructional setting.  Special education service hours (Handicapped Kindergarten (HK), Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE) or participating in selected teaching models. Service hours need to be aligned according to the students’ MARSS enrollment records. education.state.mn.us 16

Reporting Special Education Service Hours Report special education service hours (direct and indirect time of certified and licensed personnel) for both resident and nonresident students for the following:  Early Childhood.  Handicapped Kindergarten.  Shared Time (SAC 16, 17 and 18).  Care & Treatment (SAC 27 only).  Sites with Identified Teaching Models. Multidisciplinary Inclusive Program Cooperative Teaching education.state.mn.us 17

Reporting Special Education Service Hours (2) MDE calculates special education hours for most students with an IEP using a midpoint percentage at the primary disability and federal instructional setting level (handout 1).  The midpoint is the “average” percentage of a student’s membership hours that he/she is receiving special education and related services, including indirect time. education.state.mn.us 18

Hourly Rates There are two types of rates:  Primary disability  Organization site (org-site) A combination of rates by primary disability or org-site rates are not allowed. education.state.mn.us 19

Hourly Rates (2) The org-site rate is automatically used for all intermediate districts, cooperatives, education districts and charter schools. Districts with an enrollment of fewer than 500 students will have to request to use org-site rates each year. education.state.mn.us 20

Organization Site (Org-site) Once you are approved for org-site rates, a menu option will be available on EDRS to keep your budget and expenditures up-to-date for tuition billing. Select option 18 – Estimate Tuition Billing Expenditure by Organizational Site (handout 2 – instructions). education.state.mn.us 21

Tuition Billing System calculates: The nonreimbursable hourly rate, by primary disability or organizational site, for the cost of providing special education services to all students with disabilities after all state special education and excess cost aid has been accounted for. Special education transportation hourly rate after aid has been accounted for. education.state.mn.us 22

The Tuition Billing System: Calculates an individual student invoice for students served by a nonresident district. If applicable, applies a one-to-one paraprofessional hourly rate to a student’s invoice. If applicable, applies a one-to-one professional cost to a student’s invoice. education.state.mn.us 23

One-to-One Paraprofessionals The total time a paraprofessional performs one- to-one duties must be reported on the Electronic Data Reporting System (EDRS) as a personnel type code (PTC) “53”. The hours for the student served must be reported on EDRS using service code “V”.  Charter schools, cooperatives, education districts and intermediate districts are different and the hours under PTC 53 and service code V must show zero difference. A typical district may have differences and this is acceptable. education.state.mn.us 24

One-to-One Professionals for Tuition Billing For the purpose of the MDE Tuition Billing System the one-to-one professionals are licensed personnel who are hired solely for a non-resident student. These services could be interpreters or licensed nurses that were employed or contracted.  It is NOT for the typical speech/language occupational and physical therapies provided to students. These services are built into the mid-points for the calculations of service hours. education.state.mn.us 25

One-to-One Professionals for Tuition Billing (2) These services are NOT included when calculating the special education service hours to be entered on the Minnesota Automated Reporting Student System (MARSS). One-to-one professional forms need to be completed by the serving district. These forms are posted on the MDE website. education.state.mn.us 26

Helpful Documents and Reports Special Education Tuition Billing Timelines (handout 3). Special Education One-to-One Paraprofessionals (handout 4). Special Education Tuition Billable Students from MARSS – Regular Year (handout 5). Special Education Tuition Billing Rate Calculation (handout 6). Special Education Tuition Billing District Calculation (handout 7). education.state.mn.us 27

Special Education Tuition Billing Timelines (handout 3) Data source. Data year being used. What data is used for. Integrated Department of Education Aids System (IDEAS) payment period. education.state.mn.us 28

Special Education One-to-One Paraprofessionals Hours Comparison (handout 4) Total number of hours reported on EDRS under personnel type code “53”. Total number of hours reported on EDRS under service code “V”. education.state.mn.us 29

Special Education Billable Students from MARSS (handout 5) Summary of students that are non-residents of your school district. Summation of most recent MARSS submission. Summary by:  Disability.  Federal setting.  Count of students.  Special education service hours calculated by the tuition billing system. education.state.mn.us 30

Special Education Tuition Billing Rate Calculation (handout 6) Use data from UFARS, EDRS and MARSS to calculate the rates for each disability or in some cases by site (org-site rates). Provides a summary of expenditures and aid to help you verify the numbers used in calculations. education.state.mn.us 31

Special Education Tuition Billing District Calculation (handout 7) Summarizes district tuition calculations.  Expenditures Your district students being served in other districts.  Revenues Cost of your district serving nonresident students. Listed by resident district in numerical order. Summary of totals of all invoices by category. education.state.mn.us 32

Reports Available To Review Reports are posted after each tuition run and are posted to the MDE website:  MDE website > Data Center > Data Reports and Analytics > Minnesota Funding Reports (MFR) > District Name > Category > Special Education Tuition Billing education.state.mn.us 33

School Finance Contacts Special Education Funding and Data UFARS Helpdesk MARSS State Educational Record View and Submission (SERVS) education.state.mn.us 34