2005 Vermont Code - § 2974. — Special education program; fiscal review panel

§ 2974. Special education program; fiscal review panel

(a) Annually, the commissioner shall report on:

(1) special education expenditures by school districts;

(2) the rate of growth or decrease in special education costs;

(3) outcomes for special education students;

(4) the availability of special education staff;

(5) the consistency of special education program implementation statewide; and

(6) the status of the education support systems in school districts.

(b) The commissioner shall review high spending districts to determine whether:

(1) costs could be decreased while still providing needed special education services;

(2) the district made reasonable efforts to provide, purchase or contract for goods or services that are the most reasonably priced yet appropriate for its students;

(3) the district reported special education expenditures appropriately; and

(4) all expenditures identified as special education expenditures were properly attributed to eligible students and the services for which the expenditures were made were included in the students' individualized education plans.

(c) The commissioner shall review low spending districts to determine the reasons for their spending patterns and whether those districts used cost-effective strategies appropriate to replicate in other districts.

(d) For the purposes of this section, a "high spending district" is a school district that, in the previous school year, spent at least 20 percent more than the statewide average of special education eligible costs per average daily membership. Also for the purposes of this section, a "low spending district" is a school district that, in the previous school year, spent no more than 80 percent of the statewide average of special education eligible costs per average daily membership.

(e) For the purpose of advising the commissioner and providing technical assistance to school districts, the state board shall appoint a fiscal review panel of seven people who have expertise in the areas of data collection and finance, and in the fields of special education, business or health and human services. The panel, at the request of a district school board, shall work with the department of education to review spending patterns and provision of special education services in the district and provide advice to the school board and staff concerning cost control mechanisms and cost-effective practices. In addition, the panel shall make recommendations on what types of data to collect for purposes of the annual report required under subsection (a) of this section, and how the data should be analyzed. (Added 1997, No. 60, § 31, eff. June 26, 1997; amended 1997, No. 71 (Adj. Sess.), § 115, eff. March 11, 1998; 1999, No. 117 (Adj. Sess.), § 6.)