SUPERINTENDENT OF

PUBLIC INSTRUCTION

The provisions of WAC 392-140-600 through 392-140-685 apply to the determination of safety net awards of state special education funds and Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) federal funds for the 2012-13 school year and thereafter. Beginning with the 2010-11 school year award cycle, the office of the superintendent of public instruction shall make award determinations for safety net funding in August of each year, except that the superintendent of public instruction shall make award determinations for state safety net funding in July of each school year for the Washington state school for the blind and for the center for childhood deafness and hearing loss. Determinations on school district eligibility for state safety net awards shall be based on analysis of actual expenditure data from the current school year.

Safety net applications shall be submitted and reviewed pursuant to the schedule of dates published by the office of the superintendent of public instruction in the annual safety net bulletin. Applications not received by the published dates and times in the bulletin will not be accepted ((and no applications for the school year will be accepted after the final application due date)).

For applicants requesting state safety net awards to meet the extraordinary costs associated with communities that draw a larger number of families with children in need of special education services, the applicant must meet the standards of WAC 392-140-605 (1)(a) through (j) and convincingly demonstrate that:

(1) Demographic, environmental, sociological or other factor(s) cause the district's or charter school's special education enrollment to be disproportional by category of disability or the overall number of students identified as eligible for special education; and

(2) The unique factor(s) identified by the applicant is not the result of district or charter school philosophy, service delivery choice, or accounting practice; and

(3) The identified factor(s) creates an adverse documentable fiscal impact upon the applicant's special education program((; and

(4) The applicant summarizes the steps the applicant has taken or plans to take in response to the factors identified in the application)).

(1) The state safety net oversight committee will review applications as deemed necessary by the office of superintendent of public instruction pursuant to WAC 392-140-608.

(2) All applications received by the state safety net oversight committee no later than the dates published in the annual Safety Net Bulletin will be reviewed for completeness by the state safety net oversight committee manager or designee. Applications must include all necessary forms, worksheets, and attachments described in the annual bulletin published by the office of superintendent of public instruction. Incomplete applications will not be considered by the committee.

(3) The state safety net oversight committee manager or designee will forward to the committee members copies of the applications for review in a timely manner.

(4) The state safety net oversight committee manager or designee will be responsible for presenting each application for consideration to the committee.

(5) State safety net oversight committee members shall review and discuss the applicant's request for safety net awards for completeness and accuracy.

(6) The state safety net oversight committee may require that an applicant provide clarifying information.

(7) State safety net oversight committee members will individually indicate their agreement, disagreement, or abstention with the action of the committee pursuant to WAC 392-140-646.

(8) A majority vote by the state safety net oversight committee members shall be sufficient to determine the committee action.

(9) The state safety net oversight committee manager will ensure that notes are taken which summarize the discussion related to each application. A decision summary for each application shall include the amount of the initial request, funding adjustments applied by the committee, the amount of any award to be made, and the reasons for the action taken by the state safety net oversight committee.

(10) Voting members of the state safety net oversight committee shall each sign the decision summary.

(11) The state safety net oversight committee manager, on behalf of the state safety net oversight committee, will notify the applicant in writing of the determination of the committee. The applicant will be provided a copy of the decision summary.

(12) All applications received by the state safety net oversight committee will be retained by the office of the superintendent of public instruction for use in the evaluation of the safety net award process and to provide the office of the superintendent of public instruction with information with which to make future decisions regarding the safety net process.

The state oversight committee shall review all safety net applications.

(1) An application reviewed during an application cycle may be:

(a) Approved;

(b) Adjusted and approved; or

(c) Disapproved.

(2) The amount approved shall not exceed the amount for which application was made or adjusted.

(3) The state oversight committee may not approve an application if there are unresolved audit issues related to special education that are material to the application. For purposes of this section, "audit" means an examination of a subrecipient to determine compliance with the state or federal laws and regulations governing the operation of a specific program and includes program audits, single audits, or any special purpose audit consistent with chapter 392-115 WAC and WAC 392-140-630. "Unresolved" means that the subrecipient has exhausted the audit resolution process described in chapter 392-115 WAC as amended.

(4) Awards approved by the state oversight committee are subject to recovery pursuant to WAC 392-140-675 through 392-140-685.

An applicant may request review and reconsideration of an action of the state oversight committee made pursuant to WAC 392-140-646.

(1) The applicant shall make the request in writing to the oversight committee manager within twenty calendar days of the date ((that)) of the state oversight committee's written determination ((is sent)) letter to the applicant pursuant to WAC 392-140-643(11). All requests for review and reconsideration not received within twenty days of the written determination letter will not be accepted.

(2) The applicant shall request reconsideration of the original submission of the state oversight ((committee's action)) committee. The request for review and reconsideration of the committee's action must be based on one or more of the following grounds:

(a) The action was outside the statutory authority of the committee;

(b) The action failed to follow prescribed procedures;

(c) The action erroneously interpreted or applied the law;

(d) The action was not supported by substantial evidence; or

(e) The action was inconsistent with the agency rules regarding safety net funding.

(3) If the office of the superintendent of public instruction finds grounds for reconsideration pursuant to subsection (2) of this section, OSPI shall request reconsideration of the action by the state oversight committee. OSPI shall state the grounds for reconsideration supported by the facts considered.