Summit Academy Bluffdale Exception from FY 2022 Maintenance of Equity (U.S. Department of Education, April 2, 2024)

Summary

Letter dated April 2, 2024 from the U.S. Department of Education Office of Elementary and Secondary Education to Jacque Schmidt, Director of Special Education Designee, Summit Academy, responding to a request for an exception to local maintenance of equity requirements under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 in FY 2022. It says that, according to materials provided on March 15, 2024, Summit Academy Bluffdale experienced a decline in per-pupil funding because the LEA moved a cohort of special education students and their teachers to a different school. The Department concurs that the change in student population meets the criteria for an exception and states that Summit Academy Bluffdale is excepted from the local maintenance of equity requirements for FY 2022.

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Issuer: Congressional materials
Document type: Department Of Education Pdf Www Ed Gov 4Eea239177
Case: Department Of Education Pdf Www Ed Gov 4Eea239177

Cite this document

“Summit Academy Bluffdale Exception from FY 2022 Maintenance of Equity (U.S. Department of Education, April 2, 2024).” Original at www.ed.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/department-of-education-pdf-www-ed-gov-4eea239177/, SHA-256 0805541684c1030d66a6ffbd4d72a66641d81f6ef13b69cbe6732cee9f45c392.

Full text

                      UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
                          OFFICE OF ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION




                                          April 2, 2024

Jacque Schmidt
Director of Special Education Designee
Summit Academy
1225 East 13200 South
Draper, UT 84020


Dear Director Schmidt:

Thank you for submitting to the U.S. Department of Education (Department) Summit Academy’s
request for an exception to local maintenance of equity requirements under the American Rescue
Plan Act of 2021 (ARP Act) in FY 2022.

Section 2004(c)(2) of the ARP Act specifies that a local educational agency (LEA) may be
excepted from maintenance of equity requirements if the LEA “demonstrates an exceptional or
uncontrollable circumstance, such as unpredictable changes in student enrollment or a
precipitous decline in the financial resources of [the LEA], as determined by the Secretary.”
Examples of an “exceptional or uncontrollable circumstance” include increased one-time
expenditures in the baseline year (school year 2020-2021) due to the pandemic, a very small
school where maintenance of equity calculations do not result in meaningful information about
resource availability, or a significant change in the expenses of a school due to that school no
longer serving a student with high-cost educational and support needs. Each request for an
exception to the ARP Act requirement involves a case-by-case review by the Department.

According to the materials provided on March 15, 2024, you requested an exception to the
maintenance of equity requirement for one of your high-poverty schools: Summit Academy
Bluffdale. According to the materials you provided, Summit Academy Bluffdale experienced a
decline in per-pupil funding from the 2020-2021 school year to the 2021-2022 school year
because the LEA moved a cohort of six special education students and their teachers to a
different school within the LEA to better meet the students’ educational needs. This resulted in a
significant change in the expenses at the Bluffdale campus because it no longer served a group of
students that have educational and support needs that require particularly high-cost services.
After reviewing your request, we concur that the change in student population at Summit
Academy Bluffdale constitutes a circumstance that meets the criteria for an exception to the
maintenance of equity requirement in FY 2022. As a result, Summit Academy Bluffdale is
excepted from the local maintenance of equity requirements for FY 2022.
Thank you again for reaching out to the Department and for your ongoing commitment to
maintaining equity. If you have any questions, please contact the Utah State mailbox
at: Utah.OESE@ed.gov.

                                              Sincerely,

                                              Laura Jimenez

                                              Laura Jimenez
                                              Director, Office of State and Grantee Relations
                                              Office of Elementary and Secondary Education
                                              United States Department of Education


CC:    The Honorable Sydnee Dickson
       Superintendent of Public Instruction
       Utah State Board of Education

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Our copy: department-of-education-pdf-www-ed-gov-4eea239177.pdf
Original: www.ed.gov