Summary of Stimulus Bill & IDEA Funding

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Summary of Stimulus Bill & IDEA Funding

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February 17, 2009

ISSN: 1538-3202

Issue: 474

Subscribers: 67,228

In This Issue:

Summary of Key Points in the Stimulus Bill for Special Education

What Happened in the Final Bill? Bill Provides Major Increase in Special

Education Funding

Questions and a Plan of Action

Two Sources of Funding to School Districts

Reporting Provisions & Modernization/ ADA Compliance

How to Find the Bill

 

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What Happens Next on Special Ed Regs?

 

Contact Info

Pete and Pam

slaw & The Special Ed Advocate

P. O. Box 1008

Deltaville, VA 23043

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, W. D. and Pamela Darr . All rights

reserved. Please do NOT reprint or host on your web site without explicit

permission.

Dear Friend & Advocate

The final Stimulus Bill emerged on Friday. Overall, the bill will provide a

major increase in special education funding, including $12.2 billion for IDEA.

In this issue of the Special Ed Advocate, from the Council of

Parent Attorneys and Advocates, Inc. (COPAA) explains what happened in the final

bill and provides a summary of key points.

" Below are my initial thoughts on the bill, as I was asked to provide them. This

is not a complete analysis, even though it looks long (because its hard to

reduce this into 2 sentences and make it understandable) .

The final stimulus bill emerged on Friday. It will take time for people to read

it and determine how it works and interacts with the IDEA.  So, please do not

read this as a final analysis, or even a semi-final one. " - , COPAA

Co-Chair, Congressional Affairs.

Please don't hesitate to forward this issue to other families, friends, and

colleagues.

Sign up free today!  l Read previous issues

Summary of Key Points in the Stimulus Bill for Special Education

The Senate Stimulus bill would have allowed SEAs/LEAs to use all IDEA funds to

supplant state/local special ed funds. This would allow states and school

districts to cut overall special ed spending.  Instead of an increase in special

ed funding, as the stimulus contemplated, there would be a decrease in funding. 

This provision applied to Part B and C funds, not just the additional stimulus

funds. If this had passed, it would have changed a provision that has been a

fundamental part of the IDEA since 1975. This would mean that  school districts

could use their entire Part B and C allocations (regular allocations plus

stimulus money) to reduce the funds they have to spend on special

education. This would mean real cuts, in the sense that districts could divert

not only their stimulus funds, but could cut more funds because of the Part B

and C funds they would be receiving through the regular process.

back to the top

What Happened in the Final Bill?

The good news is that this provision was eliminated from the final bill.  Thanks

to Congressman , Congressman Obey and their staffs on the House side; to

Senator Kennedy, Senator Harkin and their staffs on the Senate side, and to the

members of the Conference Committee and Appropriations Committee who worked to

protect the needs of children with disabilities.

We also thank the Disability Policy Collaboration (ARC/UCP), Easter

Seals, National Center for Learning Disabilities, National Down Syndrome

Society, and many disability organizations and individuals who worked on these

issues during the last few weeks. We thank the many members of the Council of

Parent Attorneys and Advocates, parents, family members, friends, advocates,

attorneys, and others who rallied against the Senate provision in response to

this threat.

We received copies of many letters that were delivered to the conferees. More

calls and faxes were sent. COPAA members and other child advocates published the

alerts through listservs and , on their webpages, and on Facebook

and other social-networking pages. Thanks to everyone who promoted the alerts

and who worked on this issue!

back to the top

Bill Provides Major Increase in Special Education Funding

Overall, the bill will provide a major increase in special education funding,

including $12.2 billion for IDEA.  This includes $11.2 billion for Part B, $400

million for IDEA preschool funding, and $500 million for Part C. These funds

are in addition to the regular Part B and Part C allocations.

IDEA has long been woefully underfunded and we have all seen the effects of

this. Children are not identified for special education, or when identified,

receive inadequate services and assistance. While many school districts strive

to provide good special education programs, we must ensure that all children

with disabilities receive appropriate educations that prepare them for

independent living.

As we have seen in our communities, many families are experiencing severe

economic stress, job loss, reduced hours, and cuts in their businesses and

retirement funds.  This includes parents of children with disabilities who face

constraints in the services they can provide for their children. 

Children with disabilities are a very vulnerable population. Before this

recession, many children lived in families who facing financial

stress. Before the recession, approximately 2/3 of children with disabilities

lived in families that earned under $50,000 a year. Approximately 35% of

children lived in families earning less than $25,000 a year.

Children with disabilities need appropriate educations and services if they are

to meet the purpose of IDEA. The stimulus bill provided additional IDEA funds to

meet the needs of children with disabilities. Just as adults with disabilities

are vulnerable populations who need additional funding, children with

disabilities are vulnerable too.

For these reasons, it was essential that Congress delineated these funds to

benefit children with disabilities - not simply as additional block funding for

school districts or block funding for school district job creation/preservati

on.

I think Congress recognized that the families of children with disabilities are

facing job losses and severe economic burdens. They acted to protect those

children and their needs by providing additional IDEA funding. This funding

includes providing appropriate special education and related services,

equipment, assistive technology, training for teachers, access to nurses, etc.

back to the top

Questions and a Plan of Action

You need to begin working with other advocates in your community and state to

provide input about how these funds will be spent.  Find out the process your

state and school district will use to award and spend these funds, and how you

can have input.

While some states complained that getting money for two years of special

education is useless, we question this claim. Assistive technology, equipment,

teacher training in reading and other methodologies are important factors that

will have a long-term impact. The same is true for providing appropriate

services - districts must provide FAPE.

Watch for the impact of layoffs in special education. Look at the requirements

for providing highly qualified special education teachers. Are appropriate staff

providing services? Are these services appropriate?

Are children being shifted from 1:1 and 1:2 therapy to large group

therapies?  What will your state do to increase transparency - to make public

aware of how additional IDEA and School Stabilization funds are spent? What

accountability mechanisms are in place?

Be part of the process and have an impact!

back to the top

Two Sources of Funding to School Districts

In the stimulus bill, school districts will get two sources of funds:

additional IDEA funds for 2009-10 and

stabilization funds. 

The increase in IDEA funds is substantial. Stabilization funds can be used for a

variety of purposes, including special education and the school modernization

you heard about in the press. (Separately, there are also additional funds for

Title I and other educational purposes.

Under the Stabilization Funds part of the bill (a separate title called State

Fiscal Stabilization Funds), the Secretary of Education will get limited waiver

authority to count stabilization funds as non-federal funds when calculating

maintenance of effort.  This waiver authority is intended to be very narrow. If

a school district spends its stabilization funds on special education, the

Secretary of Education can give a waiver so the district can count those

stabilization funds as though the funds were the district's money. The district

may cut its contribution to special education by a similar amount.

This waiver authority only applies to stabilization funds and requires approval

by the Secretary of Education. The waiver does not apply to the Part B or Part C

funding the school district receives every year, or to the additional IDEA funds

in the stimulus bill. 

This is a significant improvement over the language in the Senate bill. The

Senate bill would have allowed waivers for all IDEA funding -- and would have

allowed greater cuts in school district and state spending for special

education.

But there may be an impact on maintenance of effort requirements under the

IDEA. The stimulus bill includes $11.3 million in Part B funds for FY 2009 and

2010. These funds could be awarded as lump sums to the states, which will

allocate the funds to school districts.

In 20 U.S.C. 1413 of the IDEA, if a school district's allocation of Part B funds

is greater than the past fiscal year, the district may reduce its spending by 50

percent of the increase.  The additional IDEA funds in the Stimulus Bill may be

affected by this provision.

back to the top

Reporting Provisions & Modernization/ ADA Compliance

The final law includes a list of reporting requirements in the State

Stabilization part of the bill. These requirements include how the state

stabilization funds are used, the state's progress in hiring highly-qualified

teachers, and the state's  progress toward developing valid and reliable

assessments for limited English proficient students and children with

disabilities.

Modernization/ ADA Compliance

State Stabilization funds may be used for school modernization. You need to

find out what your school district will do to ensure that school buildings are

ADA-compliant, and how to prioritize this goal. Identify schools that need

improvements to be ADA-compliant. Advocate for this with your school board. Help

the school board understand why ADA compliance is so important.

back to the top

How to Find the Bill

The formal name of the Stimulus bill is the American Recovery and Reinvestment

Act (ARRA). The final bill is posted in several places.

The bill is posted on the House Appropriations Committee website

at http://appropriatio ns.house. gov/

The provisions relating to special education (IDEA) and the Stabilization fund

are in the Document marked " Bill Text, Division A " at http://appropriatio

ns.house. gov/pdf/Recovery _Bill_Div_ A.pdf

The Education section begins on page 168 of the file. The section about State

Stabilization Funds and waivers begin on page 425 of the document. The title is

State Fiscal Stabilization Funds.

Thanks to everyone who worked to protect funding for children with disabilities

in the stimulus bill!

____________ _________ _________ _________ _________ ________

Thanks again to Jess , Co-Chair, Congressional Affairs, COPAA, for this

analysis.

Find out more about the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates (COPAA) - a

national voice for special education rights and advocacy at http://www.copaa.

org.

Interested in COPAA Membership?

We look forward to seeing you at the annual COPAA conference in Washington, DC

on March 5-8, 2009.

http://www.copaa. org/conference/ index.html

Love, Gabby. :0)

http://stemcellforautism.blogspot.com/

 

" I know of nobody who is purely Autistic or purely neurotypical. Even God had

some Autistic moments, which is why the planets all spin. " ~ Jerry Newport