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Education of Students with Disabilities

ISSUE:

State and federal law requires school districts to provide all students with disabilities age 3 through 21 with appropriate educational opportunities in the least restrictive environment. Though the financing of education of students with disabilities was intended to be a partnership between the State and local school districts with the State funding 63% of the costs, currently only 35% of the costs incurred by school districts are reimbursed by the State.

POSITION:

The Council supports increasing the reimburse-ment rate provided by the state to local school districts in order to increase the quality, availability, and accessibility of educational opportunities for students with disabilities.

LEGISLATIVE INITIATIVES:

• Increase Special Education Categorical Aids funding to reimburse local special education costs at a rate of 50%, with a long-term goal of 63%.
• Begin state reimbursement of local special education costs of children with exceptionally high special education costs (over three times the state average per pupil expenditure) at a rate of 90% of the excess costs over three times the state average in both years of the biennium. In addition, support a revenue cap exemption for the non-reimbursed school district expenses for these children.
• Expand on the Department of Public Instruction's proposal for alternative education programs by providing $5 million in the first year and $10 million in the second year.
• Expand the Integrated Services Programs (also known as wraparound programs) for children with severe emotional disabilities to all counties by providing $3.2 million for services and $800,000 for state administrative staff in each year of the biennium.
• Require that the revenue that schools receive from Medicaid is invested in the school district's special education budget.

Back to WCDD Home Page > Introduction

1. Introduction
2. Birth to Three
3. Campaign Finance Reform
4. Children's Long Term Care Redesign
5. Community Aids
6. Community Integration Program
7. Community Options Program
8. Dental Care Access
9. Direct Service Workforce Shortage
10. Education of Students with Disabilities
11. Employment
12. Family Care Program
13. Family Support Program
14. Independent Living Assistive Technology
15. Medicaid Card Services
16. Mental Health: Fairness in Insurance
17. Mental Health: Services & Supports
18. Protecting People with Disabilities from Abuse
19. Respite Care
20. Specialized Transportation
21. State Centers for the Developmentally Disabled
22. Voting Reforms
23. Welfare Reform & People with Disabilities