2007 Minnesota Statutes

125A.75 SPECIAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS; APPROVAL; AID PAYMENTS; TRAVEL
AID; LITIGATION COSTS.
    Subdivision 1. Travel aid. The state must pay each district one-half of the sum actually
expended by a district, based on mileage, for necessary travel of essential personnel providing
home-based or community-based services to children with a disability under age five and their
families.
    Subd. 2. Aid payment. The aids provided for children with a disability must be paid to the
district providing the special instruction and services. General education aid must be paid to the
district of the pupil's residence. The total amount of aid paid may not exceed the amount expended
for children with a disability in the year for which the aid is paid.
    Subd. 3. Full state payment. The state must pay each district the actual cost incurred in
providing instruction and services for a child whose district of residence has been determined by
section 125A.17 or 125A.51, paragraph (b), and who is temporarily placed in a state institution,
a licensed residential facility, or foster facility for care and treatment. The regular education
program at the facility must be an approved program according to section 125A.515.
Upon following the procedure specified by the commissioner, the district may bill the
state the actual cost incurred in providing the services including transportation costs and a
proportionate amount of capital expenditures and debt service, minus the amount of the basic
revenue, as defined in section 126C.10, subdivision 2, of the district for the child and the special
education aid, transportation aid, and any other aid earned on behalf of the child. The limit in
subdivision 2 applies to aid paid pursuant to this subdivision.
To the extent possible, the commissioner shall obtain reimbursement from another state for
the cost of serving any child whose parent or guardian resides in that state. The commissioner
may contract with the appropriate authorities of other states to effect reimbursement. All money
received from other states must be paid to the state treasury and placed in the general fund.
    Subd. 4. Program and aid approval. Before June 1 of each year, each district providing
special instruction and services to children with a disability, including children eligible for Part C,
as defined in section 125A.02, subdivision 1, and section 125A.27, subdivision 8, must submit
to the commissioner an application for approval of these programs and their budgets for the
next fiscal year. The application must include an enumeration of the costs proposed as eligible
for state aid pursuant to this section and of the estimated number and grade level of children
with a disability in the district who will receive special instruction and services during the next
fiscal year. The application must also include any other information deemed necessary by the
commissioner for the calculation of state aid and for the evaluation of the necessity of the
program, the necessity of the personnel to be employed in the program, for determining the
amount which the program will receive from grants from federal funds, or special grants from
other state sources, and the program's compliance with the rules and standards of the Department
of Education. The commissioner shall review each application to determine whether the program
and the personnel to be employed in the program are actually necessary and essential to meet
the district's obligation to provide special instruction and services to children with a disability
pursuant to sections 125A.03 to 125A.24, 125A.259 to 125A.48, and 125A.65. The commissioner
shall not approve aid pursuant to this section for any program or for the salary of any personnel
determined to be unnecessary or unessential on the basis of this review. The commissioner may
withhold all or any portion of the aid for programs which receive grants from federal funds, or
special grants from other state sources. By August 31 the commissioner shall approve, disapprove,
or modify each application, and notify each applying district of the action and of the estimated
amount of aid for the programs. The commissioner shall provide procedures for districts to submit
additional applications for program and budget approval during the fiscal year, for programs
needed to meet any substantial changes in the needs of children with a disability in the district.
Notwithstanding the provisions of section 127A.42, the commissioner may modify or withdraw
the program or aid approval and withhold aid pursuant to this section without proceeding
according to section 127A.42 at any time the commissioner determines that the program does not
comply with rules of the Department of Education or that any facts concerning the program or its
budget differ from the facts in the district's approved application.
    Subd. 5. Regular classroom programs. When planning programs for the education of
children with a disability in the regular classroom, school districts are encouraged to consider
the size of the regular class and to provide the support services necessary to ensure successful
mainstreaming.
    Subd. 6.[Repealed, 2007 c 146 art 3 s 25]
    Subd. 7. Allocation from cooperative centers, service cooperatives, education districts,
and intermediate districts. For purposes of this section, a special education cooperative, service
cooperative, education district, or an intermediate district must allocate its approved expenditures
for special education programs among participating districts. Special education aid for services
provided by a cooperative, service cooperative, education district, or intermediate district must
be paid to the participating school districts.
    Subd. 8.[Repealed, 1Sp2005 c 5 art 3 s 19]
    Subd. 9. Litigation costs; annual report. (a) By November 30 of each year, a school district
must annually report the district's special education litigation costs, including attorney fees and
costs of due process hearings, to the commissioner of education, consistent with the Uniform
Financial Accounting and Reporting Standards.
    (b) By January 15 of each year, the commissioner shall report school district special
education litigation costs to the house of representatives and the senate committees having
jurisdiction over kindergarten through grade 12 education finance.
History: Ex1959 c 71 art 5 s 32; 1961 c 559 s 1; 1965 c 870 s 1; 1967 c 853 s 1; 1969 c 913 s
1; 1969 c 981 s 6; 1971 c 25 s 33; 1973 c 501 s 3; 1973 c 683 s 14-16; 1975 c 162 s 41; 1975 c 432
s 48-50; 1976 c 271 s 52; 1977 c 447 art 3 s 9; 1978 c 764 s 58-62; 1979 c 334 art 3 s 6-10; 1981
c 358 art 3 s 11-17; 1Sp1981 c 2 s 10,11; 1982 c 548 art 3 s 12-21; 1983 c 314 art 1 s 22; art 3 s
9-11; 1Sp1985 c 12 art 3 s 11-17; 1Sp1986 c 1 art 9 s 14; 1Sp1986 c 3 art 1 s 17; 1987 c 384 art 2
s 33; 1987 c 398 art 3 s 18-21; 1988 c 486 s 41-45; 1989 c 329 art 3 s 7; 1991 c 265 art 3 s 7,8,38;
1993 c 224 art 3 s 13-16; 1994 c 647 art 13 s 10; 1Sp1995 c 3 art 15 s 7-9; art 16 s 13; 1998 c
397 art 2 s 98,164; art 11 s 3; 1998 c 398 art 2 s 26; art 5 s 55; 1999 c 123 s 18; 1999 c 241 art 2
s 35,36; 2003 c 130 s 12; 2004 c 294 art 5 s 13; 2006 c 263 art 3 s 10; 2007 c 146 art 3 s 8-10