Nine months after the Arizona Department of Education notified schools it had misallocated millions in funding for special education programs, the federal government has approved a plan to correct the error.

Hundreds of charter schools and traditional school districts in Arizona have been receiving more federal funding for low-income students than they were entitled to while others were left with far less for at least the past four fiscal years.

Nearly 200 schools statewide received either a D or F grade under the state’s new school rating system. Traditional K-8 schools accounted for the majority of schools on notice with 153 receiving D grades and 31 receiving Fs. Meanwhile, a dozen 9-12 schools received Ds and four others received Fs.

For years, Chris Kotterman, the Arizona School Boards Association director of governmental affairs, always got the question, “Oh, are you Penny’s son?” But recently, as he has settled in his career, that question has flipped.