HB 704, the bill on special education funding and accountability reforms, was scheduled for a vote in the whole State House of Representatives on Wednesday, May 26.  The vote has been rescheduled for Tuesday or Wednesday, June 8 or 9.

The biggest reason for the delay is that there is disagreement within both political parties about a tax increase bill (HB 2435).  That bill, along with our special education bill, was scheduled for a vote on May 26.  Due to the lack of consensus on the tax bill, no significant bills were allowed to come up for a vote – including our special education bill.

The second reason for the delay is a set of amendments announced for HB 704.  Legislators must pre-announce their amendments, and several amendments were listed for consideration on HB 704.  Three of these intended amendments – listed below – are not related to special education in any way, but they are being used to get attention for other controversial issues.  The House leaders would prefer for these intended amendments to be withdrawn before HB 704 comes up for debate and a vote on the floor of the House.  Whether our organizations agree or disagree with the subject matter of these three amendments, we do not want them to stand in the way of the interests of students with disabilities.  HB 704 deserves a fair vote on June 8 or 9 without unrelated amendments and without further delay.

Amendment 7143.  Announced by Representative Saylor (R-York County). This amendment would stop the new high-stakes graduation tests being implemented by the state.

Amendment 7144.  Announced by Representative Clymer (R-Bucks County). This amendment would make changes to pre-kindergarten, Head Start, and other early learning programs.

Amendment 7149.  Announced by Representative Miller (R-York County). This amendment would renew and modify state rules for how school districts can ask the Department of Education for waivers from contracting mandates and other legal requirements.

There are also a few additional amendments announced for consideration when HB 704 is debated on June 8 or 9.  The following amendments are related to special education funding and accountability.  The sponsors of HB 704 are talking to the legislators offering these amendments to reach consensus on the issues or perhaps withdraw the amendments.

Amendments 7145 and 7148.  Announced by Representative O’Neill (R-Bucks County). This amendment would remove from HB 704 some of the improvements in the Contingency Fund, which provides resources for districts to help students with very expensive disabilities.  The amendment would treat all districts equally, regardless of poverty or best practices.

Amendment 7146.  Announced by Representative Rapp (R-Forrest & Warren Counties). This amendment would remove from HB 704 a performance variable that would give school districts additional funding for meeting both inclusion and achievement targets for students with disabilities. (About 110 districts would meet these targets in the first year and on average would each receive a total of about $60,000 as an incentive to continue their improved performance.  This modest factor in the new formula would not change IDEA law or the authority of IEP teams for the placement of students.)

Amendment 7147.  Announced by Representative Tallman (R-Adams & York Counties). This amendment would remove from HB 704 the entire section on accountability. (The accountability provisions are intended to ensure that state funding for special education is invested by local schools for the benefit of students with disabilities.  This part of the bill strengthens the existing three-year plans that districts are already required to file with the state.  The General Assembly adopted similar accountability rules for basic education in 2008.)

Amendment 7172.  Announced by Rep. Maher (R-Allegheny & Washington Counties). This amendment would remove from HB 704 the three-variable formula for distributing state funding for special education and replace it with a twelve-variable formula.  The amendment would give a different funding weight to each kind of disability. (The three-variable formula in HB 704 is designed to accurately distribute state funding based on student and district needs, while protecting against incentives for schools to over-identify children or manipulate the system.)

If your state representative is sponsoring one of these amendments, you may want to call him or her to express your concerns – HB 704 deserves their support and a vote without amendments.  Click here for talking points and actions that you can take to help the House vote for and pass HB 704 on June 8 or 9.

For extra help, call or e-mail Baruch Kintisch (215-238-6970 x 320) or Sandy Zelno (412-255-6414).

Additional Resources:

Summary of HB 704 (two-page summary)

Q&A on Special Education Funding Reform (4-page detailed information)

Thank you for getting involved and making good things happen for children with disabilities and all children.

The Harrisburg Patriot-News ran our new Op-Ed on Tuesday, just as hearings in the Capitol began for the proposed 2010-2011 education budget: Status_quo_won’t_work_on_PA_special_ed_funding.

Here’s the full text:

Status quo won’t work on Pennsylvania special ed funding

Children with disabilities often experience tremendous challenges when they reach adulthood. National research shows that about 70 percent of all adults with disabilities are unemployed.

That often translates to a greater reliance on public benefits and significant isolation from the world of work, taxes, elections, shopping malls and everything else that constitutes full participation in Pennsylvania community life.

Ensuring a quality education for all children in all public schools in Pennsylvania is the first step in preventing this unfortunate outcome.

Our Op-Ed on the pending special education funding and accountability legislation was published in a trio of papers during the past few days.

Centre Daily Times: Support_funding_to_educate_children_with_disabilities

Pocono Record: Disabled_kids_face_a_school_funding_imbalance

York Daily Record: All_kids_count: Fairly_fund_special_education

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.

Jeff Hawkes’ piece in today’s Lancaster Intelligencer Journal made a great case for fixing PA’s broken special education funding system.

Here’s the link:

Special education funding formula inequity in action

Here’s an excerpt:

Pennsylvania for too long has stacked the deck against taxpayers in Columbia, Lancaster and other high-poverty communities where schools are burdened by greater than average numbers of students who require special education.

There are a few key improvements to HB 704.

Here’s the formal Summary:

Current Contents of House Bill 704 (65 co-sponsors) & Senate Bill 940 (15 co-sponsors)
(as introduced, as adopted 22-3 and amended in the House Education Committee, and reflecting a negotiated agreement between Governor Rendell and the bill sponsors)
SUMMARY – The updated provisions of the legislation for state reform of the special education funding and accountability systems make the following
improvements:

• Increase the accuracy of the special education formula by using three weights;
• Establish an open oversight/regulatory process to set the final formula weights;
• Hold spending at 2008-09 levels for the next year;
• Delay the 6-year phase in to adequate funding levels, set to start in 2011-12;
• Streamline and strengthen school district accountability, applied when new funding occurs in 2011; and
• Strengthen the Contingency Fund and make it more accountable and transparent.

State funding for special education was not cut for 2009-10.

Every school district will receive the same state funding for special education as in 2008-09.  See a detailed spreadsheet here.  This is a major victory, as nearly all other education line items were cut.
In addition, every school district is receiving lots of new federal stimulus funding for special education services and programs. Your efforts over the last 14 months helped to protect special education resources.

Together, we advocated for a new state system for special education funding and accountability.  Our voices were heard and cuts were avoided, even in this historically tough budget year.  Thank you for helping to make this happen.

Nearly 400 school districts are underfunding special education

In 2008, Pennsylvania adopted a landmark funding formula for basic education, putting more dollars into the neediest schools and implementing rigorous accountability measures for school districts. However, special education students have been left out of the equation.

A coalition of groups is now sending the message that it’s time for the General Assembly to approach special education funding with the same sharp eye its members approached basic education funding in 2008.

House Bill 704 and Senate Bill 940 have strong bipartisan support and are ready to be adopted.

Go to the About page to read the campaign’s  Core Principles.

What: Briefing and Planning Sessions on State Reform for Special Education Funding and Accountability

When: Wednesday, August 19 (Pittsburgh);  Thursday, August 20 (Southeast PA); Wednesday, September 2 (Lancaster).
DETAILS BELOW.

The Arc of PA, the Disability Rights Network of PA, the Education Law Center, and Good Schools PA are hosting three regional special education funding reform briefings and planning meetings.  Please mark the dates on your calendar and plan to be part of these interactive sessions.

UPDATE.  The news is very good, thanks to your hard work and dedication.  HB 704 is Representative Sturla’s bill — “our” bill — for special education funding and accountability reforms.  The bill has made it all of the way into the annual School Code Bill (HB 11) that is usually adopted with the state budget.  The House Education Committee has now voted twice to support HB 704.  Governor Rendell also recently decided to support HB 704.  If the legislative leaders can wrap up their negotiations for the budget, HB 11 (including HB 704) should be adopted in the next few weeks.

We hope you will join us to discuss these developments and our crucial next steps on August 19, August 20, and September 2.

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.