- Over 13% of students in the MURSD district receive special education services, with costs including teachers, aides, therapists, supplies, and tuition for out-of-district placements which average $66,000 per student annually. - Special education funding comes from several sources like Chapter 70 aid, IDEA and Medicaid grants, but only covers a portion of costs. The Circuit Breaker program provides additional reimbursement for high-cost special education students, though the reimbursement rate has decreased in recent years and does not fully cover tuition expenses. - While MURSD's out-of-district tuition costs have risen from $1.1 million to $2.4 million between 2007-2012, Circuit

1. School Funding Basics:
Special Education &
Circuit Breaker Funding
MURSD Regional School Committee
December 5, 2011

2. Special Education: A
Perspective by the Numbers
 Over 1 out of every 6 students (17.0%) across
the Commonwealth receives special
education services
 In the MURSD, that figure is 13.6% (349
students as of 10/1/11)
 Free and Appropriate Public Education
(FAPE) as defined in the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) guides the
level of services

3. Special Education: A
Perspective by the Numbers
 Special education expenditures involve
classroom teachers, paraprofessionals,
service providers (e.g., speech, OT, PT, etc.),
assistive technology, summer programming,
instructional supplies and materials
 A significant portion of the special education
budget is allocated for out-of-district
placement tuitions (e.g., 36% of the special
education budget in FY2010)

4. District Special Education Expenditures
Relative to the Total Budget, FY01-FY10
 710 MENDON UPTON A B C D E F G H Special -- In-
District Instruction-- - Out-of-District Tuition - Combined Total
Education Mass. Public Mass Private Special Ed School Percentage
state Fiscal Other Schools and and Out-of- Expenditures Operating of
Budget average Year Teaching Instructional Collaboratives State
Schools (A+B+C+D) Budget (E as % of F) percentage 2001 1,602,844
182,407 273,742 483,647 2,542,640 12,267,282 20.7 17.2 2002 1,776,930
335,011 391,651 503,536 3,007,128 13,931,841 21.6 17.4 2003 2,105,020
427,633 454,784 656,224 3,643,661 15,534,828 23.5 17.7 2004 2,201,488
445,526 406,339 825,724 3,879,077 17,021,260 22.8 18.6 2005 2,592,929
451,145 459,100 697,196 4,200,370 19,199,737 21.9 18.9 2006 2,746,931
482,981 498,626 751,998 4,480,536 20,705,338 21.6 19.1 2007 3,017,757
530,732 559,552 956,565 5,064,606 22,553,713 22.5 19.4 2008 3,428,542
594,132 551,048 1,147,343 5,721,065 24,984,942 22.9 19.8 2009 3,737,594
538,354 805,945 922,065 6,003,958 24,311,473 24.7 20.1 2010 3,257,764
540,167 796,636 1,302,511 5,897,078 24,927,389 23.7 20.0
Source: Department of Elementary & Secondary Education, Office of School Finance

5. Out of District Placements
 Student needs cannot be serviced in the
home public system- identified by the IEP
Team
 Student may be placed in a state-approved
private schools (Chapter 766 Schools) or a
public collaborative; day and residential
 For FY12- a range: from $32,460 to $281,917;
Average is ~$66,000/year

6. How Services are Funded
by the State & Feds
 Through 4 sources: Chapter 70, IDEA Funds,
Circuit Breaker, & MuniMed
 Chapter 70/Foundation Budget provides a base for
ALL students
 IDEA grant funds from the federal government:
Minimal relative to costs: (e.g., For FY12- $529,764 in
Special Ed Entitlement Grant & $20,404 in Early
Childhood grant)
 MuniMed reimburses for services for
students/families that are Medicaid eligible ($66,921
in FY11)

7. What is the “Circuit Breaker”
Program?
 Started in FY04 by the state to provide
additional funding for high cost special
education students
• By design , it covers only a portion- as there
is a threshold for eligibility- which is tied to
four times the state average foundation
budget per pupil

8. Circuit Breaker Funding
The original CB Formula is the following:
Net School Spending =
Required Local Contribution + Chapter 70 Aid
CB Reimbursement/student =
[Tuition – 4(Avg. Foundation Budget/pupil)] .75

9. So as an example:
For a student with a $66,000 tuition:
Net School Spending =
Required Local Contribution + Chapter 70 Aid
CB Reimbursement =
[$ 66,000 – 4($ 9507)] .75 = $ 20,979
This equates to a 32% reimbursement rate.
The local district is also responsible for
all transportation costs.

10. MURSD Circuit Breaker
Funding, FY07-FY12
Year # of
students
Prev.
Year’s
Tuition
Net Claim Reimb.
Rate
Circuit Breaker
Funding
FY07 20 $1,128,030 $495,710 75 % $371,783
FY08 32 $1,558,262 $593,174 75 % $444,881
FY09 26 $1,672,988 $807,464 72 % $581,374
FY10 29 $2,086,816 $1,006,543 42 % $426,189
FY11 36 $2,374,359 $1,019,745 44 % $611,043
FY12 29 $2,483,616 $1,380,804 65 % $897,523

11. MURSD Out of District Tuitions vs.
Circuit Breaker Funding, FY07-12
$1,558,262
$1,672,988
$2,086,816
$2,374,359
$2,483,616
$2,176,299
$371,783
$444,881
$581,374
$426,189
$611,043
$897,523
$0
$500,000
$1,000,000
$1,500,000
$2,000,000
$2,500,000
$3,000,000
FY07 FY08 FY09 FY10 FY11 FY12 Actual Exp
CB Reimb