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May 14, 1999
For more information, contact
Barb Brady, WEAC Press Secretary
800-362-8034, extension 239
Parents, administrators, school board members, and teachers will descend
upon the state Capitol on May 18 to urge legislators to keep their commitment
to adequately fund special education.
Teams of parents of special education children, school administrators,
school board members and teachers from school districts throughout the
state will testify at a legislative hearing and meet individually with
lawmakers to explain the importance of state funding of special education
programs. They will share personal stories of how a shortfall in state
funding is harming educational opportunities for all children.
“The state is not living up to its statutory commitment to fund 63%
of school district special education costs, forcing many districts to
use regular education funds to pay for special education programs,”
said Wisconsin Coalition for Advocacy spokesperson Jeff Spitzer-Resnick.
“This has forced parents of special needs children into facing a
choice between their children receiving an inadequate education or being
blamed for lost funds for regular education programs.”
Actual state special education reimbursements to local districts were
frozen at $275 million in the 1994-1995 school year and are now at around
31% of district special education costs.
The budget now under consideration in the Legislature would drop the reimbursement
rate even further. A recent Legislative Audit Bureau report indicated
that the combined failure of the state and federal governments to meet
their special education funding obligations has shortchanged school districts
millions of dollars.
“This spending gap is creating crisis situations in many school districts,”
Wisconsin PTA President Jane Shibilski said. “State-imposed revenue
controls make the special education shortfall even more difficult to manage.
This affects all children in Wisconsin. No matter where they live - from
Superior to Racine - every parent should take a special interest in this
issue.”
Some of the team members will testify at the Legislature’s Joint
Audit Committee hearing on the LAB report at 8:00 a.m. on May 18. They
will meet for a 10 a.m. briefing at the Madison Civic Center, and then
hold a 12:30 news conference in the first floor Rotunda of the Capitol.
Teams will then meet with legislators and urge them to restore funds.
The Special Education Coalition, representing Wisconsin education organizations,
is spearheading the event. Members include the Wisconsin PTA, the Wisconsin
Coalition for Advocacy, the School Administrators Alliance, the Wisconsin
Education Association Council, the Quality Education Coalition, and the
Wisconsin Association of School Boards.
Posted May 18, 1999