SHARS Survey Due Oct 31, 2025 for IDEA-B Recipients

SHARS Survey Due Oct 31, 2025 for IDEA-B Recipients

October 3, 2025 | Grants Management

Doing a SHARS (School Health and Related Services) survey probably wasn’t on your list of Halloween fun, but don’t worry! It is quick and easy for most, and you can do it early. If you received IDEA-B funding in 2024-25, then your LEA is required to complete the SHARS survey by October 31, 2025. SHARS is a program by which districts can receive funding from Medicaid for certain SPED services. Even if you do not have a SHARS program, you must complete the survey if you received IDEA-B funding so that TEA can complete maintenance of effort (MOE) for the federal grant (IDEA-B).

Where is the survey located?

The survey is available at the following link*:

Link to SHARS Survey Due October 31, 2025

*Note: The Superintendent or Chief Operating Officer should complete the survey.

  • Option 1 – Your LEA received the IDEA-B grant but did not participate in the SHARS Medicaid program. (This is the most common scenario for charters.)
  • Option 2 – Your LEA participates in the SHARS program, but the money collected from SHARS is not spent or tracked directly to SPED expenses. (The income received from SHARS is not tracked and not coded to PIC 23. This option will not impact your MOE.)
  • Option 3 – Your LEA participates in the SHARS program, and the money collected from SHARS is spent directly on SPED and is tracked and coded to SPED. (You will have to enter a 2024-25 amount because this amount will be removed from your SPED expenditures, and it does not count toward MOE.)

Don’t understand MOE? You are not alone! No worries, the CSS federal team does understand and can advise you on IDEA, SHARS, and more!

Where can I find more information?

For the complete TEA memo regarding the SHARS survey requirement, click here:

TEA SHARS Survey Memo

It is unusual for small Charters to participate in SHARS because the number of eligible SPED students on Medicaid is not enough to warrant the complexity/time obligation of the program; however, keep in mind, many small charters DO participate in IDEA-B (the reason for today’s article).

Because SHARS funding comes from the government, you don’t get to count it as money you spent for SPED students out of your state and/or local funds. For MOE, only money spent for SPED students from fund 420 and/or fund 199 and coded to PIC 23 is used to calculate your SPED expenditures. The amount of SPED expenditures for 2024-25 must meet or exceed your last compliant year in order to pass MOE (or you can submit an exception). SHARS funding cannot “make up” or replace state and local funds to help you meet MOE. In fact, it can’t count toward MOE at all.

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