The attached forms and instructions are provided for your use in submitting your December 1, 1999, child count.
Please note that the forms include necessary information regarding age, sex, ethnic designation, primary disability category, and educational placement. Data submitted on these forms will be used for the Annual Data Report required under IDEA and other necessary information concerning children with disabilities.
In order for a district to receive federal funding for students with disabilities, a student must be:
1. identified to be in need of special education services in accordance with state and federal regulations, and
2. have an individualized education program in place and be receiving services on December 1.
Electronic Transmission of the December 1, 1999, Child Count:
As previously stated in Director's Communication ACC-00-019 of October 14, 1999, the Special Education Data System is antiquated and is not Y2K compliant. The Special Education Data System will be redesigned to run on the Arkansas Public School Computer Network (APSCN) and should be in place by April 2000. As a result, the electronic transmission of the December 1, 1999, Child Count will be run through APSCN. Please refer to the Director's Communication for the procedures to access the instructions for creating your December 1, 1999, Child Count report.
Changes in the December 1, 1999, Child Count:
Section V-a: The count of children with disabilities served in correctional facilities has been revised to include the student's gender and ethnic designation along with the disability category.
Section V-b: The count of children in private school not placed or referred by public agencies (3-21) has been revised to include the gender and ethnic designation along with the disability category.
Deadline for submitting the December 1 count is December 17, 1999. Failure to submit an official count form will result in no Part B funds for FY 2001.
NOTE: Before submitting the count to the Special Education Office, please review thoroughly to ensure that the report is accurate. Compare the 1999 count to the 1998 reported count and check for any significant changes. If errors are discovered after the report has been submitted, revised reports increasing or decreasing the count will be accepted through December 30, 1999. Thereafter, only downward revisions will be accepted.
Send completed forms to:
Grants and Data Management
Special Education
4 State Capitol Mall, Room 105-C
Little Rock, Arkansas 72201-1071