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Special education (SPED) programs and services are mandated by both the state and federal governments. Unfortunately, resources to provide the programs and services have not followed the mandate. Congress authorized reimbursing states for 40% of expenses, but for 2002-03, federal aid accounts for less than 5% of the district's SPED expenses.
The state, likewise, has not kept its part of the partnership. The state reimbursement - at about 33% for the 2000-01 school year - is projected by the Department of Public Instruction to drop to 31.5% for 2001-02 (reimbursements to school districts are based on prior year costs). To cover this shortfall, the only option for school districts is to cut regular education programs - though some legislators have suggested going to referendum to ask local taxpayers to fund the state and federal SPED mandate.
For several years legislators have talked about the need to better fund the low-incidence/high-cost SPED students - where there is no question of misidentification of the disability. Unfortunately, there has been no progress in this area. The Kettl Commission recommended that the state pay 100% of low-incidence/high-cost students. The Department of Public Instruction defines "high cost" as three times the state per pupil spending, or about $25,000. The following chart details MMSD's low-incidence/high cost experience.
| Costs | # of students | Average cost | Total cost | Range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Costs Exceeding $50,000 | 44 | $57,195 | $2,516,597 | $75,749-50,266 |
| Costs between $50,000-40,000 | 38 | $46,362 | $1,761,763 | $49,927-40,578 |
| Costs between $40,000-25,000 | 47 | $30,714 | $1,443,559 | $39,482-25,006 |
| TOTALS | 129 | $44,757 | $5,721,919 |
Last year in order to comply with revenue limits, the District cut nearly $7.2 million from its budget; while increasing the SPED budget by over $1.5 million. Exacerbating the District's fiscal problems is the fact that special education enrollments continue to increase.
It is estimated that students with autism - oftentimes staff intensive, with high demands for programs and services - will increase by another 27 students (224 total, 12% increase) for the 2002-03 school year. Overall, the District's special education enrollment is projected to increase by 250 students (4,840, 5% increase) for 2002-03.
SPED expenses are squeezing MMSD's regular education program. The district supports the necessary state resources to ensure an inflationary increase for SPED. MMSD supports the Kettl Commission recommendation for the state to pay 100% of low-incidence/high-cost SPED students, but not off the top of the current SPED allocation.