Kirsten Baesler Superintendent | North Dakota Department of Public Instruction
The North Dakota Department of Public Instruction has announced the cost responsibilities for school districts for the 2025-2026 academic year. These costs determine the financial obligations of districts in educating resident students, particularly those in special education programs.
For special education students, school districts will bear the full cost as per an approved contract and will be reimbursed for expenses exceeding a set cost cap. The department will cover excess costs for general education students attending residential treatment facilities, while the district is responsible only for the state average cost.
For elementary grades (1-8), the cost cap for special education students placed by the district is set at $60,451.40, translating to a daily rate of $345.44. For secondary grades (9-12), this cap is $64,223.28 with a daily rate of $366.99.
In cases where regular and special education students are placed for non-educational reasons, based on state average costs, elementary grades have a cap of $15,112.85 or $86.36 per day, while secondary grades have a cap of $16,055.82 or $91.75 per day.
The capital outlay used for tuition purposes has increased from $1,619.63 to $1,707.48.
Adam Tescher can be contacted at (701) 328-3291 for further inquiries regarding these financial allocations.
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