State Special Schools
As a result of collaboration between IEP Teams, school districts, and the State Special Schools, a student may attend a State Special School for the Blind or a State Special School for the Deaf.
California Education Code Section 59300 requires the school district of residence of the parent or guardian of any residential student attending a State Special School to pay 10 percent of the excess annual cost of education for that student. The State Controller’s Office withholds the amount due from each school district, as reported by the California Department of Education. The amount is transferred by the County Superintendent of Schools to the State Special Schools account.
The amount transferred will be shown as a separate item in the school district's general ledger, using Resource Code 0000, Unrestricted, and Expenditure Object Code 7130, State Special Schools.
Calculation of the Excess Cost
The calculation is based on the total of the school's projected or actual cost per child, less the student's LCFF derived value of ADA by grade span, divided by 176 days, multiplied by 10%, and multiplied by the number of days attended by the student:
Sum(Site Projected or Actual Cost Per Child - LCFF Derived Value of ADA)/176*0.1*Days Attended)
- The excess cost is projected for the fiscal year. This projection is transferred from one of the principal apportionment payments.
- The excess cost is then finalized after the fiscal year ends and when the actual amounts are known. The final adjustment is the difference between the projection and the actual amounts. The adjustment is transferred from one of the principal apportionment payments for the current year
County superintendents are notified of these adjustments by e-mail, addressed to the county's CDE fiscal e-mail address. The e-mail will include a link to the CDE Categorical Programs Web page where the letter and schedule of adjustments are posted. CDE requests that the e-mail be forwarded to all school districts in the county.
Example
A student who resides in the Flintstone School District attended the School for the Deaf in 2017-18. The projected excess cost for the student was $8,500. The County Superintendent of Schools transfers this cost during the school year from the District using account code 0100-00000-0-0000-9200-713000. After the 2017-18 year closes, the actual amount of the cost was calculated at $8,525. Therefore, the County Superintendent of Schools transfers $25 in the 2018-19 year from the District using the same account code.
Special Education
State Special Schools should have a minimal impact on an LEA's special education funding. AB 602 funding is based upon average daily attendance for students served by the LEA; therefore, students attending State Special Schools will not be counted in the funding.
Additionally, State Special Schools should have a minimal impact on an LEA's special education Federal expenditure reporting. The cost of the student's attendance in the State Special School is not captured in the LEA's Special Education Maintenance of Effort or Excess Cost reporting.
References
This special apportionment is available to state special schools that received funding in 2012-13 from former categorical programs specified in California Education Code (EC) Section 42238.03(e)(2)(A).
The webpage for the State Special Schools and Services Division.
