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Finance

Special Education Funding Manual

Special Education Allocations to Districts

Funds are awarded to the OSDE by the United States Department of Education (USDE), Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), to "flow through" to the LEA contingent upon an LEA's application for Part B funds.

IDEA Part B funds are awarded based on non-competitive applications.

Section 611 - Flow-through funds are for children with disabilities aged three through twenty-one, and are awarded on a formula based on:

  • The number of children with disabilities aged three through 21 served on October 1, 1999;
  • The total enrollment in the LEA (in both public and private schools located in the LEA); and
  • The poverty level of the LEA (defined as the free and reduced lunch count within the LEA).

Section 619 - Preschool funds are earmarked for children with disabilities aged three through five, and are awarded on a formula based on:

  • The number of children with disabilities aged three, four, and five served on October 1, 1997;
  • The total enrollment in the LEA (in both public and private schools located in the LEA); and
  • The poverty level of the LEA (defined as the free and reduced lunch count within the LEA)
Agreement, Assurances & Applications Opening Date Closing Date
Assurances  5-May-25 30-Jun-25
LEA Agreement 26-May-25 30-Jun-25
High Need Application 1-Jul-25 25-Jul-25
Final Fiscal Year Expenditure Submission   01-Aug-25
FY2025 Closeout   01-Sep-25
Part II Budget Application   31-Oct-25
Project 615 Professional Development Application   31-Dec-25
Project 618 Transition Development   31-Dec-25
  • FY 2025 claims for federal reimbursement are due no later than Monday, June 2, 2025, to receive payment by Monday, June 30, 2025.

Tier I and Tier II High Need Memorandums and Applications

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) of 2004 granted states the flexibility to set aside a percentage of the funds reserved for state-level activities to establish a funding mechanism that would reimburse local educational agencies (LEAs) for costs of high needs students with disabilities (34 § 300.704(c)). The out-of-state residential placement is Tier I of Oklahoma’s high needs fund. Tier 2 includes funding for all other high needs students with excessive costs to the LEA.

To qualify for Tier II funding LEAs must have spent a minimum of 3x's the average per pupil expenditure in the current fiscal year (FY2024-2025) and the total cost of all high needs students in the LEA must be at least 10 percent (10%) of the LEA's 2023-2024 IDEA Flow Through allocation. The per-pupil expenditure for FY2024 is $12,138.99 with a 3x minimum totaling $36,416.97.

School-Based Services

The Oklahoma State Department of Education pursuant to the OSDE’s memorandum of understanding with the Oklahoma Health Care Authority has entered into an agreement with Oklahoma public schools to file claims on their behalf through our contracted vendor, Public Consulting Group. This will provide public schools with an Oklahoma Health Care Authority SoonerCare referral number, collect and monitor public school's special education records for all children receiving health services and assist OHCA in verifying that there is no private insurance for each SoonerCare-eligible child who is receiving services under the memorandum of understanding.

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Last Modified on Jul 02, 2025
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