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By Congressman Charles Bass February 9, 1999 As I travel throughout New Hampshire's Second Congressional District meeting with constituents, I often hear complaints about the high cost of special education and the burden it places on local property taxpayers. In 1975, when Congress passed the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) mandating special education in public schools, the federal government promised to fund 40% of the costs of the program. The federal government, however, currently pays only about 12% of the cost of educating children with special needs. This year, the federal government will provide the State of New Hampshire with just $19 million in funding for IDEA. If the federal government were to fully fund its obligation under IDEA, however, the state would receive a total of $64 million annually. That is an additional $45 million that, if evenly distributed among the state's 69 School Administrative Units (SAU's), would provide each SAU with an additional $652,000 in funding. Unfortunately, the Clinton Administration's Fiscal Year 2000 (FY'00) budget calls for a dismal 0.1% increase in funding for special education. With the President's proposed 0.1% increase, the entire state would receive only an additional $19,000 or just an additional $275 per SAU. This paltry 0.1% increase would provide only an average of $41.50 per school in New Hampshire. Most schools in the Granite State spend more on chalk than they would receive in additional special education funding under the President's proposed budget. In my opinion, there is no issue that is more important to school districts, to school administrators, to school boards, to parents and perhaps most importantly, to taxpayers than the chronic under funding of special education. Every community in New Hampshire would benefit if the President honored the federal government's funding obligation under IDEA. Instead of fullfilling the federal government's obligations under IDEA, President Clinton has proposed billions of dollars for new Washington-based education programs that his pollsters have deemed to be popular. Last year, I authored a resolution, passed by the House of Representatives, that called on the President and Congress to fulfill the federal government's funding obligations under IDEA. I believe that before Congress funds any new education programs it should increase funding for special education. Allocating all additional education resources to special education programs rather than creating new education programs would benefit more school districts, allow for more flexibility at the local level, result in less federal bureaucracy, and funnel more dollars into local classrooms. First, increasing special education funding would ease the financial burden placed on states and local schools districts by IDEA. The high cost of educating students with special needs forces many school districts to allocate a significant portion of their resources to special education programs. If the federal government were to provide more special education funding to local school districts, they would be able to free up more resources to hire new teachers, renovate schools, provide merit pay for teachers, or institute other reforms that would best address their unique problems and needs. Second, dedicating additional education funding to special education would provide more benefits to more schools than creating new, narrow categorical programs. Indeed, not every school district needs to hire new teachers or build a new school, but almost every school district struggles under the burden of IDEA and desperately needs additional funding to meet these mandates. Third, boosting special education funding would ensure that less money is wasted on new Washington-based bureaucracies. Because the structure for allocating IDEA funding to states and localities is already in place, dedicating additional education funding to special education will result in more federal dollars being spent on children in local classrooms, not on bureaucrats in Washington. Over the last three fiscal years, I have fought to secure a dramatic $2 billion increase in funding for IDEA, and since I was elected to House of Representatives, federal funding for special education has increased 85%. I can assure you that I will continue to work in the House to increase funding for special education until the federal government has met its obligations. IDEA imposes substantial costs on local school districts without providing adequate resources. Assuring a free, quality public education to all students is a noble goal, but the federal government must do more to meet its obligation to fund special education. |