2016 Colorado Revised Statutes
Title 22 - Education
Compensatory Education
Article 20 - Education of Exceptional Children
Part 1 - Education of Children With Disabilities
§ 22-20-114. Funding of programs - legislative intent - definition

(1) Subject to the provisions of subsection (3) of this section, for the 2005-06 budget year and each budget year thereafter, the total amount appropriated to the department for the payment of costs incurred by administrative units for the provision of special education programs shall be distributed to each administrative unit that provides educational services for children with disabilities as follows:

(1) Subject to the provisions of subsections (3), (8), (9), and (10) of this section, for the 2005-06 budget year and each budget year thereafter, the total amount appropriated to the department for the payment of costs incurred by administrative units for the provision of special education programs shall be distributed to each administrative unit that provides educational services for children with disabilities as follows:

(a) (I) Five hundred thousand dollars to administrative units that enroll children with disabilities:

(A) For whom tuition is paid by the administrative units for the children to receive educational services at approved facility schools; and

(B) For whom parental rights have been relinquished by the parents or terminated by a court, the parents of whom are incarcerated, the parents of whom cannot be located, the parents of whom reside out of the state but the department of human services has placed the children within the administrative unit, or children with disabilities who are legally emancipated.

(II) The moneys appropriated pursuant to subparagraph (I) of this paragraph (a) shall be distributed in each budget year to administrative units based upon each administrative unit's share of the aggregate number of children with disabilities who are specified in subparagraph (I) of this paragraph (a); except that an administrative unit shall not receive an amount that exceeds the aggregate amount of tuition paid by that administrative unit for the specified children with disabilities to receive educational services at approved facility schools during the immediately preceding budget year. For purposes of this paragraph (a), the number of children with disabilities that are specified in subparagraph (I) of this paragraph (a) shall be based upon the count taken in December of the immediately preceding budget year.

(a.5) (I) For the 2007-08 budget year, two million two hundred thousand dollars to offset the costs incurred by administrative units in conducting child find activities pursuant to section 22-20-118 for children who are less than three years of age but not for children who are less than three years of age who are being reevaluated for services under part B of IDEA. The department shall allocate said moneys among administrative units based on the number of children less than three years of age who were evaluated in each administrative unit during the 2005-06 budget year and who are or may be eligible for early intervention services under part C of IDEA.

(II) (A) For the 2008-09 budget year and for each budget year thereafter, a portion calculated pursuant to sub-subparagraph (B) or (C) of this subparagraph (II) of the total amount of state funds appropriated for the payment of costs incurred by administrative units for the provision of special education programs, to offset the costs incurred by administrative units in conducting child find activities under part C of IDEA pursuant to section 22-20-118 for children who are less than three years of age. For the 2008-09 budget year, the department shall allocate said moneys among administrative units based on the number of children less than three years of age who were evaluated in each administrative unit during the 2005-06 budget year and who are or may be eligible for early intervention services under part C of IDEA. For the 2009-10 budget year and for each budget year thereafter, the department shall allocate said moneys among administrative units based on the number of children less than three years of age who were evaluated in each administrative unit during the preceding budget year and who are or may be eligible for early intervention services under part C of IDEA.

(B) For the 2008-09 budget year, the portion of the appropriation allocated pursuant to sub-subparagraph (A) of this subparagraph (II) shall be calculated as follows:

(The dollar amount allocated per child less than three years of age who was evaluated in the 2005-06 budget year) x (the lesser of the rate of inflation, as defined in section 22-55-102 (7), or the percentage change in the total state funds appropriated for the provision of special education services over the preceding budget year) x (the total number of children less than three years of age who were evaluated under part C of IDEA by administrative units in the 2005-06 budget year).

(C) For the 2009-10 budget year and for each budget year thereafter, the portion of the appropriation allocated pursuant to sub-subparagraph (A) of this subparagraph (II) shall be calculated as follows:

(The dollar amount allocated per child less than three years of age who was evaluated under part C of IDEA in the preceding budget year) x (the lesser of the rate of inflation, as defined in section 22-55-102 (7), or the percentage change in the total state funds appropriated for the provision of special education services over the preceding budget year) x (the total number of children less than three years of age who were evaluated under part C of IDEA by administrative units in the preceding budget year).

(b) An amount equal to one thousand two hundred fifty dollars for each child with disabilities receiving special education services from the administrative unit; and

(c) (I) If any amount of the total annual appropriation remains after the distributions specified in paragraphs (a), (a.5), and (b) of this subsection (1) have been made, and after the distribution of the portion of the total annual appropriation designated for high cost grants pursuant to subsection (2) of this section has been made, six thousand dollars per child with one or more disabilities, as described in subparagraph (II) of this paragraph (c), for a percentage of such children receiving special education services from the administrative unit. The department shall annually determine the percentage of such children for which an administrative unit may receive additional funding pursuant to this paragraph (c) based on the amount of the remaining appropriation, the moneys available pursuant to subparagraph (III) of this paragraph (c), and the per pupil amount of six thousand dollars.

(II) An administrative unit that provides special education services to children who have one or more of the following disabilities may receive funding pursuant to this paragraph (c):

(A) A visual impairment, including blindness, as defined by the state board;

(B) A hearing impairment, including deafness, as defined by the state board;

(C) Deaf-blindness, as defined by the state board;

(D) A serious emotional disability as defined by the state board;

(E) Autism spectrum disorders as defined by the state board;

(F) A traumatic brain injury as defined by the state board;

(G) Multiple disabilities as defined by the state board; or

(H) An intellectual disability as defined by the state board.

(III) (A) For the 2013-14 budget year and each budget year thereafter, in addition to any amount that is available pursuant to subparagraph (I) of this paragraph (c), the general assembly shall appropriate twenty million dollars from the state education fund to the department for the purposes of this paragraph (c).

(B) The general assembly hereby finds and declares that, for the purposes of section 17 of article IX of the state constitution, providing additional moneys to children with one or more disabilities, as described in subparagraph (II) of this paragraph (c), for a percentage of such children receiving special education services from an administrative unit is a program for accountable education reform and may therefore receive funding from the state education fund created in section 17 (4) of article IX of the state constitution.

(2) (a) (I) In addition to the amount appropriated for distribution pursuant to subsection (1) of this section, for the 2006-07 and 2007-08 budget years, subject to available appropriations, the general assembly shall appropriate two million dollars from the general fund or from any other source to the department to fund grants to administrative units as provided in section 22-20-114.5 for reimbursement of high costs incurred in providing special education services in the preceding budget year.

(II) (A) In addition to the amount appropriated for distribution pursuant to subsection (1) of this section, for the 2008-09 budget year and each budget year thereafter, subject to available appropriations, the general assembly shall appropriate four million dollars from the general fund or from any other source to the department to fund grants to administrative units as provided in section 22-20-114.5 for reimbursement of high costs incurred in providing special education services in the preceding budget year.

(B) The general assembly hereby finds and declares that for the purposes of section 17 of article IX of the state constitution, providing grants to administrative units for reimbursement for high costs incurred in providing special education services is a program for accountable education reform and may therefore receive funding from the state education fund created in section 17 (4) of article IX of the state constitution.

(b) Any amount received by an administrative unit as a reimbursement pursuant to this subsection (2) shall be in addition to the amount received by the administrative unit pursuant to subsection (1) of this section. The moneys appropriated by the general assembly to the department shall be distributed by the Colorado special education fiscal advisory committee in accordance with section 22-20-114.5.

(3) (a) Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (b) of this subsection (3), for the 2005-06 budget year, the department shall recalculate the distribution of funds to administrative units for providing educational services to children with disabilities as necessary to comply with the provisions of subsection (1) of this section.

(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (1) of this section, if the application of the provisions of subsection (1) of this section would result in an administrative unit receiving a lesser amount for providing educational services to children with disabilities for the 2005-06 budget year than it would have received under the provisions of this section as they existed prior to April 28, 2006, then the department shall not recalculate the distribution of funds for the administrative unit for the 2005-06 budget year.

(4) An administrative unit shall not receive the amount of funding to which it is entitled under the provisions of subsection (1) of this section unless the administrative unit has provided to the department the data collected concerning special education programs, as required by subsection (6) of this section, including the count of assessed children with disabilities.

(5) Payments made under the provisions of this part 1 shall not affect the amount of other state aid for which an administrative unit may qualify.

(6) Each administrative unit shall be required to collect the data required by the federal government concerning special education programs. Each administrative unit shall provide to the department the data collected concerning special education programs in order to receive the amount of funding to which it is entitled under the provisions of subsection (1) of this section.

(7) It is the general assembly's intent that, as a result of receiving an increase in the distribution of state moneys, an administrative unit, in complying with the maintenance of effort requirement specified in the federal "No Child Left Behind Act of 2001", 20 U.S.C. sec. 6381 et seq., shall not reduce the level of state and local expenditures below the level of state and local expenditures for the preceding budget year. Any additional appropriation of moneys for distribution pursuant to this section is intended to alter the ratio between state and local expenditures, but the overall level of expenditures may remain the same, thereby satisfying the federal maintenance of effort requirements.

(8) (a) For the 2015-16 budget year and budget years thereafter, in a budget year for which the state receives growth tax revenues, if there is a portion of the growth tax revenues remaining after fully funding the state share of total program for all districts and total program for all institute charter schools, as calculated pursuant to article 54.5 of this title, the general assembly shall increase the amount appropriated for distribution pursuant to this section by the remaining amount of growth tax revenues, up to the amount required to increase the per pupil allocation pursuant to paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of this section to two thousand five hundred dollars for each child with disabilities receiving special education services from an administrative unit.

(b) As used in this subsection (8), "growth tax revenues" means the amount of state revenues generated in the applicable income tax year as a result of a citizen-initiated statewide ballot question that increases state tax revenues for the purpose of funding preschool through twelfth grade public education, which amount of state revenues exceeds the amount specified in the statewide ballot question.

(9) (a) For the 2015-16 budget year and budget years thereafter, in addition to any amount of the total annual appropriation moneys that are distributed pursuant to paragraph (c) of subsection (1) of this section, the general assembly shall appropriate at least eighty million dollars to increase the percentage of children for which an administrative unit may receive additional funding pursuant to paragraph (c) of subsection (1) of this section.

(b) The general assembly shall appropriate the amount described in paragraph (a) of this subsection (9) from the increase in state tax revenues received as the result of passage of a statewide ballot measure to increase state tax revenues for the purpose of funding public education.

(10) It is the intent of the general assembly that, beginning in the 2015-16 budget year and for budget years thereafter, in addition to any other appropriations for purposes of this section, the general assembly shall appropriate for distribution pursuant to paragraph (c) of subsection (1) of this section an amount equal to the amounts appropriated in budget years before the 2015-16 budget year to fund English language development programs pursuant to section 22-24-104 and the services for expelled and at-risk students grant program pursuant to section 22-33-205.

(11) It is further the general assembly's intent that, as a result of receiving an increase in the distribution of state moneys pursuant to subsection (8), (9), or (10) of this section, an administrative unit, in complying with the maintenance of effort requirement specified in the federal "No Child Left Behind Act of 2001", 20 U.S.C. sec. 6381 et seq., shall not reduce the level of state and local expenditures below the level of state and local expenditures for the preceding budget year. Any additional appropriation of moneys for distribution pursuant to this section is intended to alter the ratio between state and local expenditures, but the overall level of expenditures may remain the same, thereby satisfying the federal maintenance of effort requirements.