|
|
|
 |
|
|
AEP Online |
Blaschke on Federal FundingPresident’s Commission Recommends Changes--But Not Mandatory Funding--for 'IDEA'As we stated previously in AEP ONLINE, the recent report by the President's Commission on Excellence in Special Education recommends that the reauthorized Individuals with Disabilities Education Act incorporate many of the assessment and accountability provisions of No Child Left Behind. The Commission, however, would continue IDEA as a discretionary rather than a mandatory budget item, thereby requiring Congress to go through the appropriations process, with all its political sensitivities, each year. The Commission also would attempt to target funding levels not at 40 percent of the total, as authorized in 1975 (current funding covers a mere 15 percent), but at a “threshold” to be determined among the states. Any additional increases would be contingent upon each state's planning and implementing an NCLB-style accountability system for special education students. The Commission's greater emphasis on early interventions and preventive measures would require initial assessment of children, combined with alternative, research-based intervention strategies. Like the new Reading First initiative, the new IDEA would attempt to remediate early reading problems--and therefore avoid placing students in special education. The report, titled A New Era: Revitalizing Special Education for Children and Their Families, provides some interesting information about estimated spending on education for students with disabilities, which was approximately $78 billion in 1999-2000. Of this, approximately $50 billion actually was spent on special education services; an additional $27.3 billion was spent on regular education services for special education students. An additional $1 billion was spent on special needs services such as Title I, English language acquisition, and gifted and talented services. The report estimated that the total spending for the average student with a disability was $12,639--$8,080 spent on special education services, and the remainder, on regular education services. According to these numbers, special-education services account for more than 20 percent of the total $360 million spent annually on K-12 education in the U.S. The Commission also tends to support the notion, advocated by many nonpartisan groups, that IDEA should give states increased flexibility, allowing them to allocate more funds to the small percentage of special education students who have high-cost disabilities. The recommendations also would allow districts to allocate IDEA funds unspent during the year to a reserve that could be tapped to provide services or to cover litigation related to such high-cost services. Up to 10 percent of a state’s allocation under Part B also would be set aside at the state level, as a similar reserve. The recommendations, however, do not address--or even discuss--several IDEA growth areas, such as technology. For example, the only reference to education technology appears in the context of assessment: “The Commission recommends that all measures used to assess accountability and education progress be developed according to the ‘principles of universal design,’ so that modifications and accommodations are built into the test that will not invalidate the results.” This would have the effect of making technology-based assessments Section 508-compliant. Conspicuously not mentioned--not even in the recommendations related to special-education research--is the use of technology to improve or to deliver instruction. This is an especially large oversight, in light of the U.S. Education Department's longtime support for the development of such products under the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. And it's particularly ironic considering the make-up of the Commission: One of its members was Steve Bartlett, who, in the 1980s, was a leading Congressional special-education advocate. Bartlett was responsible for USED's increased funding for initial development of special-education software and adaptive devices. Also heavily involved in the development of the report, as a key consulant to assistant secretary bob pasternak, was Doug Carnine, who was one of the developers of the Core Concepts math and science videodisc program (with Ziggy Engleman) during the 1980s. Also not mentioned are issues related to school districts' process--and problems with paperwork-- in claiming reimbursements under the Medicaid and Child Health Insurance Program (CHIP) for related services. As noted in a previous report to Education TURNKEY's TechMIS subscribers, districts thus far have been reimbursed approximately $1.5 billion under CHIP; an additional $1 billion dollars is available, but for various reasons--including the complexity of the reimbursement process--districts have not applied for those funds. The Commission, appointed by President Bush, basically has taken the “party line” regarding incorporating No Child Left Behind Act provisions into the IDEA reauthorization process. For example, it emphasizes increasing expectations of special education students, to the academic proficiency levels that all students must achieve by the year 2012. On the other hand, as reported in the recent Public Agenda survey of parents of special education students, less than 10 percent of these parents feel it's important to increase academic achievement expectations for their children. More than 30 percent feel a major issue is that students be helped earlier on, in special programs.
Questions, ideas, or in need of more information? Please contact Stacey Pusey at 856-241-7772. |
For a copy of the Commission report, click here. |
|
|
©
2008 The Association of Educational
Publishers
|
|||
