The board of trustees approved the contracts during its July 18 meeting, as any budgeted purchase of goods or services over $50,000 requires board approval, per local policy.
How we got here
The board first approved applications to renew two federal grants during its June 20 board meeting: the Every Student Succeeds Act, or ESSA; and the Individuals with Disabilities Act, Part B, or IDEA-B.
Breaking it down
With the board’s approval, several initiatives will be funded by $4.1 million worth of IDEA-B funding awarded, including:
- $259.6K for specialized educational and behavioral services through the Bayes Achievement Center. This contract is an annual renewal and helps meet the needs of students who require specialized residential placements.
- $375K for deaf and hard of hearing services through the Capital Area Regional Day School Program for the Deaf in Round Rock ISD.
- $103.9K for documentation software, partly funded by the district’s General Fund, that will ensure accurate and compliant documentation of the Individualized Education Program for special education students and Section 504 plans for students with disabilities.
- $100K for specialized educational and behavioral services through the Sierra School. This contract is also partly funded by the General Fund and helps students with educational and behavioral needs that cannot be adequately addressed in a traditional school setting.
Other items over $500,000—funded by Title II or III ESSA grants, the district's 2022 bond or the General Fund—were also approved during the meeting, including various campus repairs and refurbishments, professional development services for teachers and instructional coaches, and interpreter and translation services for students and families.
