New Hampshire Department of Education Announces Support for Districts to Provide Additional Services to Students with Disabilities

CONCORD- The Department of Education provided nearly $1.8 million dollars to over ninety school districts to support additional services to students with disabilities whose needs were unmet during school closures and through remote and hybrid instruction.

These funds are supporting the provision of compensatory education services for public and nonpublic school students with disabilities in the forthcoming 2021-2022 and reimbursing districts for the services provided since March 2020. Funds were distributed to school districts based on self-reported data and expenditures on compensatory education services for students with disabilities during the 2020-2021 school year.

This summer, an additional $10.5 million dollars will also be distributed to help meet the needs of students with disabilities, including through compensatory education services, through a supplemental appropriation to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).

“These funds will help districts to ensure all students with disabilities have every opportunity for progress and are able to access the services and supports they need during these unprecedented times,” said Frank Edelblut, Commissioner of Education.

“We are providing these funds to districts who submitted information regarding the compensatory education services they determined students needed and are providing,” said Rebecca Fredette, State Director of Special Education. “Supporting students with disabilities and ensuring they continue to make progress through this disruption continues to be our top priority.”

This nearly $1.8 million dollars and the forthcoming $10.5 million dollars for special education and compensatory education services are in addition to over $650 million of federal school relief funds already received to support schools. The Department urges school districts to utilize these immense resources to support recovering learning loss and to meet all students’ needs, including targeting their flexible funds to provide compensatory education services.