BACKGROUND
HB 704 and SB 940 will fix the state funding and accountability systems for special education.  The state formula has completely broken down.  Many school districts do not receive a fair share of state funding and are not held fully accountable for effectively investing special education resources.

Here is the overall update about what happened last week:

On Wednesday, July 1, the House Education Committee voted to approve House Bill 704, reforming the special education funding and accountability system in Pennsylvania.

The vote — with bipartisan support — was 22 to 3 in favor of the bill. Click here to see how the Committee members voted. Representatives Clymer, Rapp, and Tallman voted against the bill. The bill has 65 co-sponsors.

The Senate companion bill, Senate Bill 940, is now up to 14 co-sponsors. Senators Kasunic, Logan, and Pippy are considering joining the bill as co-sponsors, and they need to hear from you if you live in their districts.

The legislators leading this effort are expected to negotiate this week with Governor Rendell to seek an agreement about including these special education reforms as part of the annual School Code Bill, which is adopted along with the state budget. Governor Rendell is focusing on other priorities and needs some encouragement to also pay attention to our issues.

WE NEED YOUR HELP TO CONTACT GOVERNOR RENDELL’S OFFICE THIS WEEK. ASK HIM TO SUPPORT HOUSE BILL 704 AND SENATE BILL 940 AS PART OF THE 2009-10 BUDGET AND SCHOOL CODE BILL.

This is it. Big push this week. The House Education Committee will vote on House Bill 704 on Wednesday, July 1 in the morning.

Please contact your committee members and talk with them about voting for HB 704.

With a little more effort, we will be successful in reforming the special education funding and accountability system in Pennsylvania.  Wednesday next week is the one and only vote needed for Representative Sturla’s House Bill 704 to be adopted in to law with the budget this year.

If the House Education Committee votes in favor of the bill, the leaders of the General Assembly will start to negotiate about including the bill in the final School Code Bill and Budget for 2009-10.

In addition, Senator Dinniman and 13 co-sponsors recently introduced Senate Bill 940, which is almost identical to House Bill 704.  No action is expected on S.B. 940; the House Bill will take the lead.

The House Education Committee members are listed below.  Click on the links to find the contact information for each member.

The PA House Education Committee hearing on Wednesday, May 6 is a critical moment for the campaign to reform Pennsylvania’s special education funding and accountability system.

UPDATE: In the past the week the campaign has made great strides, getting HB 704 introduced with nearly 60 co-sponsors and receiving press coverage on the bill in newspapers throughout the state. The hearing on May 6, however, is crucial for the future of the bill.  Members of the Arc of Pennsylvania, the Disabilities Rights Network, the Education Law Center, and Good Schools Pennsylvania will testify, along with bill sponsor Mike Sturla (D-Lancaster) and education officials, on the importance of a new special education funding and accountability formula.

MAY 6 HEARING: A strong showing of support by families, advocates,  and organizations is important at this stage of the campaign. Please notify your contacts. The hearing is scheduled for 9 a.m. in Room 50 (ground floor) of the Irvis Office Building (attached to the rear east corner of the Capitol). If you are able to attend and need more information please contact the Education Law Center’s Baruch Kintisch at bkintisch@elc-pa.org, (215) 238-6970 ext. 320 or Sandy Zelno at szelno@elc-pa.org, (412) 255-6414. Following the hearing there will be a strategy session on the next steps for our work.

CO-SPONSORS STILL NEEDED: In addition to a strong showing at the hearing, we need to push the number of bill co-sponsors as close to 100 as possible, so please check the current list of sponsors — here — and if you’re local representative has not signed on yet, urge them to do so immediately.

STORIES NEEDED: Finally, as part of our ongoing media outreach we’re looking for parents, educators, even students to tell their stories of how underfunding special education has affected them and how a new funding and accountability formula can help.  If you, or someone you know, would like to share your experience, please contact the Education Law Center’s Brett Schaeffer at bschaeffer@elc-pa.org or (215) 238-6970 ext. 334

CONFERENCE CALLS: We will hold two optional conference calls if you would like a chance to talk by phone, get updates, and prepare for this advocacy work — 4 p.m., Monday, May 4 and 10 a.m., Tuesday, May 5.  The dial-in number is (866) 244-1716 and the code is 5555-604-083 followed by #.
* Continue to check this site for updates and materials on the campaign. You can also subscribe to the site’s RSS feed: http://reformspecialedfunding.org/feed/

UPDATE: Hearing date changed. Wednesday, May 6 is the new date.

Please make plans to attend a legislative hearing on our special education funding reform bill.  Send out the word to your entire network.  We need huge attendance!  This is the turning point we have been waiting for.

The hearing is being held by the House Education Committee.  It will take place in Harrisburg at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, May 6, 2009 in Room 50 (ground floor) of the Irvis Office Building (attached to the rear east corner of the Capitol).

The bill is sponsored by Representatives Sturla, McCall, McIlvaine-Smith, Roebuck, and more than 50 others.  It will be officially introduced on April 29.  PLEASE KEEP UP YOUR CALLS AND E-MAILS TO REPRESENTATIVES, ASKING THEM TO CO-SPONSOR THE BILL.  We need more co-sponsors to ensure passage of the bill.

Witnesses at the May 6 hearing will include the Education Law Center, the Disability Rights Network of PA, the Arc of PA, and others.

We will also hold a rally and an action strategy meeting immediately following the Committee hearing on May 6 in Harrisburg.  Please plan on staying for these events.  Details to follow soon.

Monday’s House Appropriations Hearing on Public Education with Department of Education Secretary Dr. Gerald Zahorchak has been rescheduled to Wednesday.

The Senate Hearing with Dr. Zahorchak is still scheduled for 10 a.m. Tuesday.

Dr. Gerald Zahorchak

Attend the following hearings in Harrisburg, where Department of Education Secretary Dr. Gerald Zahorchak will testify:

March 2 – House Appropriations Hearing on Public Education.
March 3 – Senate Appropriations Hearing on Public Education.