The Special Mess of Special Ed

"A promise made is a promise kept - except in education..."

Once again this year our hometown newspaper actually had some good reporting last Sunday. It was on two topics near and dear to my heart - Special Education and unfunded (or underfunded) mandates.

First off, I need to make this clear - I am not against Special Education. My wife was a Special Education teacher for over 30 years and I know she helped many kids succeed who had learning issues. I have an opinion on how much kids with significant impairments can be taught in a school setting, but for the most part, I think the program is worth the time and expense. 

My BIG beef however, is how the program is funded. I have wondered many times in the past, why state Attorney Generals do not take the Federal Government to court for non-payment of funds. What do I mean? First a bit of history. The Special education services were initially mandated in 1975. The law was called the Education for all Handicapped Children Act. Some of the finer points (and the non-PC title) needed to be changed, so in 1990 it was modified and renamed to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). And this is where the problems begin.

The Federal Government provides funding under Part "B" of the IDEA. However to receive Federal funding, states MUST provide to children who need it, special education services. Here comes the punch line - Part B of this federal law, authorizes Congress to contribute federal funding of "up to 40% of the average per pupil expenditure". The states have hung on to the 40% part of the language and Congress has hung on to the "up to" part. Bottom line - not since day one, has Congress ever authorized 40% of the funding. If the states receive 18%, they are lucky.

How about the states? Minnesota has promised to pay a percentage of special education salaries, another percentage for benefits and still another percentage for supplies. Bottom line? To date, each and every one of these "promised" percentages have not been met. The costs have gone up, and the promised funding remains short.

So where does this leave us? You know, the "us" is you and I who pay property taxes to support our school districts. To some, this may come as a shock. To others, this is old news. This is frustrating to special education experts as the number of students identified as needing special education services continues to rise. It is frustrating to taxpayers as we are "stuck" with the ever growing bill due to non-payment or under-payment by both the Federal and State governments. However, the regulations continue to be promulgated which also drive up costs. Angry about this? You should be!

One more thing which will be frosting on the cake. If a parent feels his or her child is not being serviced to meet the letter of the IDEA law, that parent, many times along with a advocacy group like PACER, will take the school district to court and sue. The cost of the law suit and any remedy will be paid for by - - - you guessed it - you (the taxpayer)! To a judge or a jury, it does not matter a hill of beans these statues and regulations are promulgated by the Federal Government without adequate funding.

A liberal friend from high school told me last summer my criticism of how government works is often times shrill, or too loud. Sorry about that. The way Special Education has been funded in this country should make even the ardent liberal shout at the top of her (or his) voice. We should all agree that Special Education is indeed, in a special mess.