Earlier this year, the Trump administration laid out its budgetary plans for the next fiscal year. In that outline, the administration applied a 26 percent cut to special education grants to states, bringing them down to $2.2 million from their original $3 million.

This significant cut across the board is a representation of the state-by-state crisis that special education funding is seeing throughout the country. From Wisconsin to Minnesota to Washington state, special education funding is becoming more and more vulnerable when it comes to budgetary cuts whether at state or federal levels.

Limiting Funding at the Local Level

Earlier this summer, education funding advocates in Wisconsin headed to the capitol building in Madison to express their anger over the lack of funding and reimbursement in education, especially special education. Districts around the state of Wisconsin are being forced to use money from their general funds to cover the costs of special education services that are not covered by aid from the state anymore. The major issue here, besides the fact that special education funding is frozen in Wisconsin, is that costs and needs continue to rise in the state’s special education system.

Local taxpayers are having to foot the bill for these issues, causing plenty of stress on the communities. Like other states, Wisconsin used to reimburse public schools 70 percent of their special education costs but has since decreased its reimbursement rate year over year when it comes to special education programs.

Across the country in Washington state, the legislature actually boosted funding for special education by $155 million over two years. While this is a step in the right direction, many still see it as a shortcoming for the state’s actual needs. The new $52.4 billion state budget for 2019-2021 included the increase for funding, but special education funding in Washington is still underfunded by millions of dollars as officials at the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction estimate that the cost is closer to the $300 million range.

In Minnesota, more students are enrolling in special education services with a rise in students on the autism spectrum staying in public schools. Public aid is failing to keep pace with the overall costs of providing those services, creating a gap that school districts have to cover by plugging into general education funds.

While the state automatically allocates more money toward special education costs year over year, it still can’t match the rising cost. Lawmakers are working on budgets that will prevent school districts from subsidizing more over the next couple of school years. Unfortunately, there is no long-term plan in place.

While it’s unclear whether or not the federal budget outline proposed will go through, cutting aid at the federal level, states will continue to see limited funding at a local level.

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