Special education; amount provided for special education programs and services; reimbursement for out-of- district placements; district reporting requirements; billing for Medicaid authorized school based services.
Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 21-13-321
in effect(a) As used in this section:
(i) "General fund operating expenditures" means those expenditures of the district from the general fund for operation of the district as reported to the department of education under rules promulgated by the department;
(ii) "Special education programs and services" means programs and services for students with disabilities as identified under the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 20 U.S.C. § 1400 et seq.
(b) Except for expenditures for out-of-district special education placements, the amount provided to a school district for special education shall be equal to one hundred percent (100%) of the amount actually expended by the district during the previous school year for special education programs and services, which shall include the amount actually expended by the district during the previous school year for reasonable administrative costs to bill for authorized Medicaid services under subsection (h) of this section. Amounts provided under this section shall be in addition to and shall not be considered in determining the school foundation program amount under the education resource block grant model pursuant to W.S. 21-13-309. Except for expenditures for out-of-district special education placements, the department of education shall distribute the amount computed under this section to each school district in the same proportion and schedule of distributions under W.S. 21-13-313(c). Expenditures by a district for out-of-district special education placements shall be reimbursed in the year in which the costs are incurred and shall be distributed to each school district on a quarterly basis in accordance with rules adopted by the department of education.
(c) Repealed by Laws 2003, Ch. 208, § 102.
(d) The department of education shall adopt necessary rules to implement and administer this section. Districts shall report special education program expenditures for the applicable reporting period as required by department rule and regulation. District expenditures computed under subsection (b) of this section shall not include expenditures for contributions to the Wyoming retirement system specified in W.S. 21-13-339 of any member employee's salary. The department shall annually review and report to the joint education interim committee regarding services provided to special education students by school districts. In addition, the department shall when necessary, conduct audits of information submitted by districts under this section and may, in accordance with W.S. 21-13-307(b), correct the information reported by districts as necessary to fairly and accurately reflect the data type, classification and format required to administer this section in accordance with law and department rule and regulation.
(e) Repealed By Laws 2004, Chapter 74, § 1.
(f) In addition to subsection (d) of this section, the state department of education shall assess school district special education staffing levels based upon staffing guidelines established pursuant to W.S. 21-2-202(a)(xxiii), and report on the adequacy of staffing levels to the joint education interim committee. School districts shall report staffing and other necessary information to the department in accordance with department rules and regulations and shall provide written explanation to the department justifying district special education staffing levels. Based upon information collected under this subsection and following review, the department shall include within its report to the joint education interim committee as required under subsection (d) of this section, recommendations for improving appropriate special education program and service delivery within the state.
(g) Assistive technology equipment included within district expenditures for special education programs and services and reported under subsection (b) of this section, which was acquired to assist a student with a specific disability, shall to the extent practicable, transfer with that student if the student transfers to another school district within the state. Within the report required under subsection (d) of this section, districts shall separately document assistive technology equipment including an inventory of assistive technology equipment and the status of the usage levels of the equipment and shall report to the department equipment which is accordingly transferred to another school district or which is currently unused by the district. The provisions of this subsection requiring transfer of assistive technology equipment apply only if no other student within the district currently uses the equipment and the equipment is capable of transfer to another district.
(h) Beginning July 1, 2022, each school district with Medicaid eligible students receiving special education programs and services, as calculated by the department of education pursuant to subsection (j) of this section, may bill the department of health for the costs of any special education program and service covered under W.S. 42-4-103(a)(xxxiv) through (xxxvi) provided to the district's students. The department of health shall provide payment to each eligible school district that has billed the department of health as soon as reasonably practical for the costs of approved services. By September 1 of each school year, each school district shall remit to the department of education all funds received during the prior school year from the department of health for billed services. The department of education shall remit all funds received under this subsection to the state treasurer for deposit in the public school foundation program account.
(j) A school district may report the number of Medicaid eligible students receiving special education programs and services enrolled within the school district on forms and in such manner required by the department for the 2021-2022 school year. Beginning with the 2022-2023 school year and each school year thereafter, a school district shall report the number of Medicaid eligible students receiving special education programs and services enrolled within the school district on forms and in the manner required by the department. The number of Medicaid eligible students receiving special education programs and services for a school year shall be determined by the department of education using data from October 1 of the immediately preceding school year.
Source: WY Statutes (Official Site)URL: https://wyoleg.gov/statutes/compress/title21.pdfFetched: 10/4/2026