Excess costs means those costs that are in excess of the average annual per student expenditure in the local educational agency (LEA) during the preceding school year for an elementary or secondary school child, as may be appropriate, that may be computed:

• After deducting amounts received under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and Title I and Title III of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA); and

• Any State or local funds spent for services under the IDEA and Title I and Title III of the ESEA, excluding any amounts spent for capital outlay for debt services.

REQUIREMENTS

The excess cost requirement prevents an LEA from using IDEA Part B funds to pay for all the costs directly attributable to the education of a child with a disability; except:

• The excess cost requirement does not prevent an LEA from using IDEA Part B funds, in compliance with the nonsupplanting and other requirements of this framework, to pay for all costs directly attributable to the education of a child with a disability in any of the ages 3, 4, 5, 18, 19, 20, or 21, if no local or State funds are available for nondisabled children of these ages.

EXCESS COSTS CALCULATION

Before the LEA may access IDEA Part B funds, the LEA must compute the minimum average amount it must spend separately for children with disabilities in its elementary schools and for children with disabilities in its secondary schools.

To calculate the minimum amount the LEA must spend (on the average) for each of its elementary school children with disabilities before it may use IDEA Part B funds, the LEA must:

• Determine the total amount of its expenditures for elementary school students from all sources--local, State, and federal (including IDEA Part B)-- in the preceding school year, excluding capital outlay and debt services.

• The LEA must subtract from the total expenditures amounts spent for:

• IDEA Part B allocation;

• Title I, Part A of the ESEA allocation;

• Title III, Parts A and B of the ESEA allocation;

• State and local funds for children with disabilities; and

• State or local funds for programs under Title I, Part A and Title III, Parts A and B of the ESEA; and

• Divide by the average number of students enrolled in the elementary schools of the LEA during the preceding year (including its children with disabilities).

IDEA Part B funds can only be used for elementary school children with disabilities for excess costs over and above the minimum obtained when the LEA multiplies the number of elementary school children with disabilities in the LEA by the average annual per student expenditure.

IDEA Part B funds can only be used for secondary school children with disabilities for excess costs over and above the minimum obtained when the LEA multiplies the number of secondary school children with disabilities in the LEA by the average annual per student expenditure.