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Special education (SPED) and Limited English Proficiency (LEP) 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 the 2000-01 school year the reimbursement rate is about 15%. The state, likewise, has not kept its part of the partnership. The state reimbursement, currently at about 36%, drops to 33% under the Governor's budget proposal (LEP from 18% to 17%).
The Governor's budget proposal makes two significant changes to current SPED law. Programs and services for low-incidence/high-cost SPED students are particularly difficult to pay for under state-imposed revenue limits. The Kettl Commission recommended that the state pay 100% of high-cost/low-incidence students. The Department of Public Instruction defined "high cost" as three times the state per pupil spending, or about $25,000. The Governor's proposal pays 50% of student expenses over $50,000.
The budget also recommends adopting a "census-based" SPED funding formula determined by a district's total enrollment and its number of low-income students. The proposal fails to acknowledge funding based on a student's disability, arguing that "the incentive to over-identify special education students should be reduced," by making this change, according to the "Budget in Brief." The proposal perpetuates the myth that schools have an economic incentive to over-identify students for SPED. There is, unequivocally, no financial incentive for MMSD to misidentify SPED students.
Over eight percent of MMSD's total enrollment (25,087) is LEP students (2,072). The number of LEP students with the lowest English-speaking skills increased 54% in eight months during the 1999-2000 school year. In total, 16 additional LEP staff members were required ($512,000). This unfunded mandate, like SPED, is a first draw on the district's budget.
SPED/LEP expenses are squeezing MMSD's regular education program. The district supports the necessary state resources to ensure an inflationary increase for SPED/LEP over the biennium. 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. The district opposes the census-based SPED funding change. There needs to be a full examination of the SPED identification issue and census-based funding fails to address individual student disabilities.