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Smarty Ears Online and our apps support IEP goals, assistive technology and progress monitoring, so they often fit the budgets schools already have. This guide shows where the money can come from and gives you a ready-to-send justification letter.
The best funding path depends on who you are. Pick yours.
Smarty Ears Online and our apps support IEP goals, language and literacy instruction, and data-driven progress monitoring. Here is how that fits the most common education funding streams.
Federal special education funds can pay for assistive technology and supplementary aids that help students with disabilities reach their IEP goals, including tools for progress monitoring.
Districts may set aside up to 15% of IDEA Part B funds for Coordinated Early Intervening Services: extra support for K–12 students who are not in special education but need help to succeed.
Title I funds supplemental instruction for students in Title I schools, especially in reading, language and literacy.
Student Support and Academic Enrichment funds cover the effective use of technology to improve student outcomes, along with programs for safe and healthy students.
Special education, related services, instructional technology and curriculum budgets often cover clinical software, and they come with the fewest restrictions.
Local education foundations, PTAs and PTOs, community groups and private foundations often fund technology for students with communication needs.
Funding rules vary by state and district, and your district decides what is allowable. Use this page as a starting point and confirm with your business or federal programs office before you buy.
Smarty Ears apps are iPad and iPhone apps sold on the App Store. The funding sources above can pay for them when they support your students’ goals, and there are three easy ways to buy.
The same funding sources can pay for both. What changes is how you buy, how often you pay and what your district may ask for.
| Smarty Ears apps | Smarty Ears Online | |
|---|---|---|
| How you buy | From Apple: the App Store for one person, or Apple School Manager for a school or district | Directly from Smarty Ears, with a quote you make online |
| How you pay | Credit card, or Apple volume purchase credit bought with a purchase order | Through your district’s purchasing office, starting from a quote. Professional plans for individual clinicians are paid online. |
| Type of cost | One-time purchase for each app | Yearly subscription that renews each school year |
| Funding sources | IDEA Part B, Title I, Title IV-A, local budgets, grants, classroom and PTA funds | IDEA Part B, Title I, Title IV-A, local budgets and grants |
| What you need | iPads or iPhones for students or clinicians | Any device with a web browser, at school, in teletherapy or at home |
| Things to check | Whether your district buys apps centrally through Apple School Manager, and who assigns them to devices | That the subscription term fits the grant period you use, and whether your district needs a student data privacy agreement |
These are the points administrators look for when they approve special education technology.
Smarty Ears Online gives your department:
Fill in a few details and your letter updates as you type. Copy it, print it or email it to your director. Nothing you type is saved or sent anywhere.
Smarty Ears Online automates progress reporting, so clinicians spend more of their time with students.
Centralized, HIPAA-compliant data keeps IEP targets monitored and department records in one place.
Engaging activities lead to more practice trials in every session, which makes the most of every therapy hour.
Often, yes. IDEA Part B, Title I and Title IV, Part A can all pay for instructional software when the purchase supports the purpose of that program and the students it serves. Your district’s special education or federal programs office decides what is allowable for your purchase.
For most districts, no. ESSER pandemic relief funds had to be committed by September 30, 2024. If your district still has approved ESSER funds being spent down, check with your business office. Otherwise, look at IDEA, Title I, Title IV-A or your local budget.
Districts may use up to 15% of their IDEA Part B funds for CEIS: academic and behavioral support for K–12 students who are not in special education but need extra help to succeed in general education. Early language and literacy practice with Smarty Ears can be part of that support.
The funding sources are mostly the same: IDEA Part B, Title I, Title IV-A, local budgets and grants can pay for either one when it supports your students. The difference is the purchase. Apps are one-time purchases made through Apple, so they are easy to cover with small budgets like classroom funds or a PTA grant. Smarty Ears Online is a yearly subscription bought from Smarty Ears with a quote, so plan for renewal each year, make sure the subscription term fits the grant period you use, and check whether your district needs a student data privacy agreement.
Yes, through Apple School Manager. Districts can pay for apps with a credit card or with Apple volume purchase credit, which can be bought from Apple with a purchase order. The apps can then be assigned to iPads through your device management system.
Smarty Ears Online offers monthly and yearly professional plans for private practitioners and resource specialists. See the plans on the Smarty Ears Online page.
Yes. Apply through the University Grant Application, and see Complimentary University Access for programs that train future clinicians.
No. When your district or therapist uses Smarty Ears Online, they can give you a secure login to practice at home at no additional cost.
Use the quote page. It creates an instant, professional quote you can attach to your request. For vendor paperwork or a custom district proposal, email [email protected].
Whether you are equipping one clinician with apps or launching Smarty Ears Online across your district, start with a quote your purchasing office can use today.
Questions about funding? Email [email protected]