NC 1501-12.6 Maintenance of State Financial Support

Plain English summary

This regulation requires North Carolina to maintain State financial support for special education and related services at least at the level of the preceding fiscal year. Failure to maintain this level results in a reduction of federal IDEA funds by the same amount of the shortfall. Waivers may be granted for exceptional or uncontrollable circumstances such as natural disasters or unforeseen financial declines, but future funding baselines are not reduced even in waiver years.

Key requirements

• The State must not reduce the amount of State financial support for special education and related services for children with disabilities below the amount of that support for the preceding fiscal year.
• The Secretary reduces the allocation of funds under section 611 of the IDEA for any fiscal year following the fiscal year in which the State fails to comply with the requirement of paragraph (a) of this section by the same amount by which the State fails to meet the requirement.
• The Secretary may waive the requirement of paragraph (a) of this section for the State, for one fiscal year at a time, if the Secretary determines that granting a waiver would be equitable due to exceptional or uncontrollable circumstances such as a natural disaster or a precipitous and unforeseen decline in the financial resources of the State.
• The State meets the standard in NC 1501-12.7 for a waiver of the requirement to supplement, and not to supplant, funds received under Part B of the IDEA.
• If, for any fiscal year, the State fails to meet the requirement of paragraph (a) of this section, including any year for which the State is granted a waiver under paragraph (c) of this section, the financial support required of the State in future years under paragraph (a) of this section shall be the amount that would have been required in the absence of that failure and not the reduced level of the State's support.

Affected parties

• State of North Carolina
• children with disabilities
• local education agencies
• special education programs

Official source

https://www.dpi.nc.gov/documents/publications/catalog/ec144-policies-governing-services/open#page=45