For a Local Educational Agency ("LEA") to receive Federal Special Education funds, it must meet a Maintenance of Effort ("MOE") requirement. Learn about six concepts of MOE in just 10 minutes with this MOE Primer. 

Meeting the Requirement

To meet MOE, the LEA must spend the same amount or more in the test year as it did in the comparison year. For example, if the LEA had expenditures of $126,000 in the test year, and had $120,000 in the comparison year, it met its MOE requirement (as $126,000 is greater than $120,000):

Note the Following MOE Details:

• There are two test years.
• Each test year has four tests.
• The comparison year depends on the Subsequent Years Rule.
• There are three reports. 
• The expenditures tested are for special education and related services. 
• The special education expenditures tested are charged to state and local funds, or local only funds. 
• An LEA may be able to reduce its level of effort using the following: 
  • Exempt Reductions
  • Federal Reductions
• Not meeting MOE could have penalties. 

Use the MOE links to learn about the tests, the exempt reductions, timeline, and other items.