Reform Special Education Funding
Currently viewing the tag: "HB 704"
JUNE 1 UPDATE
More than ever, we need you and your friends to contact your state representatives this week and tell them to vote for House Bill 704. With your help, we can win this vote and have some good news for a change! See the details below, including action steps and talking points.
Please enter your name on our online petition to support House Bill 704. It takes two minutes. You can even write a short comment for others to see. Everyone can place their name on the petition, including students, parents, educators, advocates, and others. FORWARD THIS ASAP TO YOUR FRIENDS AND COLLEAGUES SO THAT WE CAN GENERATE LOTS OF SIGNATURES.
Let us know what else we can do to help.
Hurry up and wait. An unfortunate but sometimes necessary part of human existence, supermarket lines, and political reality in Harrisburg.
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.
PLEASE CONTACT YOUR STATE REPRESENTATIVE ASAP. We need your help to get calls, e-mails, or letters to every state representative. 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.
Click here to see a more detailed explanation of the two-week delay and a list of amendments intended by some representatives for HB 704. 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.
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
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.
Continue reading »
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. Continue reading »
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. Continue reading »
Political blogger Above Average Jane has a thoughtful post on HB 704.
Here’s the link: Special Education Update
