Section 53a

Section 53a of the State School Aid Act provides 100 percent reimbursement of the added costs of operating special education programs for eligible pupils. Examples of pupils who may qualify for reimbursement include:

• Pupils assigned to a district through the courts or a state agency, if the pupil was a resident of another intermediate district at the time the pupil came under the jurisdiction of the court or state agency.
• Pupils who are residents of institutions operated by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.
• Pupils who are former residents of the Michigan Department of Community Health institutions for the developmentally disabled who are placed in community settings other than the pupil's home.
• Pupils enrolled in a department-approved on-grounds educational program longer than 180 days, but not longer than 233 days, at a residential child-care institution, if the child-care institution offered in 1991-92 an on-grounds educational program longer than 180 days but not longer than 233 days.
• Pupils placed in a district by a parent for the purposes of seeking a suitable home, if the parent does not reside in the same intermediate school district as the district in which the pupil is placed.

Only those costs that are clearly and directly attributable to educational programs for the pupils described above, and that would not have been incurred if the pupils were not being educated in the district or intermediate school district are reimbursable.

For complete details see the documents on this page.

Documents

Memorandum on the Validation of Section 53a Pupils for the October 2024 Pupil Count Date (PDF)

Criteria and Procedures for Determining Eligibility for Counting Pupils for Section 53a Funding (PDF)

Section 53a New Pupils for October 2024 (PDF)