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State Representative Jeanne Poppe
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-4193
For more information contact: Sandy Connolly 651-296-8877
NEWS COLUMN
SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS ASK FOR SHARED SPECIAL ED RESPONSIBILTY
This week, over a hundred members of the Minnesota Association of School Administrators (MASA) came to the State Capitol to participate in a press conference, attend committee meetings and meet with legislators. They were here to discuss their 2007 legislative platform, and most specifically, the difficult and persistent financial difficulty their school districts face with regard to funding for special education.
Our state has a rich tradition of providing a quality education to students with disabilities. We were ahead of the federal government in passing a law mandating that school districts educate all students with disabilities. In 1975, the federal government followed suit by passing the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), making this a nation-wide mandate.
When these mandates were passed, the idea was that paying for the services would be a shared responsibility of the federal government, state government and local school districts. As time has gone by, however, both the federal and state governments have backed away from their commitment to fund special education. For example, when IDEA was first passed, the federal government pledged to provide 40% of the funding. In fact, their contribution has never exceeded 17%.
In the 1990's, the state recognized the growing cost of Special Education and implemented a growth factor into the funding formula to increase the state's share of the costs. But in 2003, this growth factor was repealed and special education funding was capped to help balance the state budget. As the result, many districts are receiving less this year than they received just three years ago for special education.
Largely because of these policy shifts, the portion of the general education budget needed to cover unfunded special education costs has nearly doubled in the past five years. In fact, according to MASA, the cost to school districts statewide to cover the unfunded mandates for special education is over $500 million, close to 10% of the entire statewide education budget. For some districts, special education costs can reach as high as 20% of the budget.
These unfunded special education mandates are creating larger and larger holes in the budgets of school districts across the state. Many districts have passed operating levies only to have every dime of the new money go to fill these holes. This leaves less money for new class offerings, staff, or enhanced learning opportunities for other students.
When the members of MASA came to the Capitol, they asked the State Legislature to fix this broken special education funding system. They proposed a logical approach, with suggestions including fund special education based on current costs, cap local costs for high expense students, provide dedicated categorical aid for early intervention, and create a stakeholders group to review all Minnesota rules and statutes pertaining to the education of students with disabilities. One of these suggestions was offered in a bill heard in committee this week, proposing to repeal the cap on the amount the state provides to school districts for special education. This bill would allow for state funding that better reflects the current costs of special education, not the cost of those services back in 2003.
Every student deserves a good education – students with disabilities are no exception. It is appropriate that their education is mandated to protect the rights of all. However, we need a return to the days of shared responsibility when it comes to paying for special education. This will be one of the budget challenges facing the State Legislature in the days and weeks to come.
Please feel free to contact me at any time - I can be reached by phone at 1-888-682-3180 or 1-651-296-4193, by mail at 487 State Office Building, 100 Martin Luther King Blvd., St. Paul, MN 55155 or via e-mail at rep.jeanne.poppe@house.mn. If you are interested in receiving my session e-newsletter, please email me and your name will be added to our list.
News Items
- POPPE SELECTED AS AGRICULTURE POLICY COMMITTEE CHAIR - (Posted: 2012-11-16 00:00:00)
- Rep. Jeanne Poppe Encourages High School Juniors to Apply for Minnesota House of Representatives Page Program - Application Deadline is November 19th - (Posted: 2012-11-12 00:00:00)
- HORMEL INSTITUTE EXPANSION SIGNED INTO LAW - 2012 legislative session adjourns sine die - (Posted: 2012-05-11 00:00:00)
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