Opportunity Overview
The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), Office of Special Education, has opened the FY26 High Need Fund (HNF) application for reimbursement of qualifying 2025-26 special education costs. The application opened September 15, 2026 and is available to Missouri local education agencies serving students with disabilities whose educational costs meet the High Need threshold.
Funding
DESE does not publish a fixed per-applicant award cap for this reimbursement program. HNF reimbursement is based on qualifying student-specific special education costs that exceed three times the LEA’s Current Expenditure per Average Daily Attendance (ADA), subject to program rules and available funding.
Eligibility and Key Requirements
Eligible applicants are Missouri local education agencies serving K-12 students under age 21 with disabilities through an Individualized Education Program (IEP) when the student’s special education costs exceed the HNF threshold. The student must be marked as High Need in the MOSIS June Student Core File before the application is completed in ePeGS. Reported expenditures must be directly related to the student’s education and to special education or related services identified in the IEP.
A student may not be claimed on both the High Need Fund and Public Placement Fund applications. For qualifying private placements, services must be provided by a DESE-approved private agency; out-of-state residential placements require DESE pre-approval for reimbursement.
Deadline
Deadline control is currently ambiguous across DESE’s own official pages. The September 11, 2026 Office of Special Education notice says HNF applications must be submitted in ePeGS by October 15, 2026 with no extensions. DESE’s current Data Acquisition Calendar lists the High Need Fund Application for October 16, 2026, while the current Special Education Directors task calendar lists the High Need Fund Application as due September 30, 2026. None of those pages publishes a controlling clock time or time zone. Atlas therefore does not normalize the discrepancy or present a single definitive deadline until DESE reconciles it.
Atlas Analysis
Atlas Opportunity Score: 78/100. This is a meaningful statewide school funding opportunity for special education and related services, but eligibility depends on student-specific cost and MOSIS data that are not publicly discoverable. N9+ Fit: 0/100. The FY26 HNF is retrospective reimbursement for qualifying 2025-26 special education costs, not a new equipment or technology procurement opportunity. Dr. Miltie, LLC is not a direct eligible applicant.
Next Steps
Missouri LEAs with potentially qualifying high-cost special education students should confirm the June MOSIS High Need indicator, review IEP-linked expenditures, verify any private-placement approvals, and ensure the same student is not also claimed under the Public Placement Fund. Because DESE currently publishes conflicting HNF due dates, applicants should confirm the controlling deadline directly with DESE Special Education Finance before relying on any one published date.
Verified sources: DESE Office of Special Education current notice, DESE Data Acquisition Calendar, DESE Special Education Directors task calendar, and DESE Special Education Finance HNF page.