A good column on HB 704 from the Reading Eagle‘s David Mekeel:

David Mekeel: Changes to special ed-funding needed

For two decades, public school districts have received state funding for special education the same way.

State Rep. P. Michael Sturla hopes to change that.

The Lancaster County Democrat has authored a bill that would fundamentally change special-education funding – eventually.

“The system has basically been flawed since it was changed 20 years ago,” Sturla said. “It makes the incorrect assumption that 16 percent of all students across the board have special needs.”

There’s a great column on HB 704 by Jeff Hawkes in today’s Lancaster Intelligencer Journal.

Here’s an excerpt:

State Rep. Mike Sturla calls it “outdated, unfair and … an abuse.”
He could have called it absurd, too.
The target of his scorn is special-education funding in Pennsylvania.
The state, by law, must provide special-needs children with schooling that prepares them for work (or higher education) and for full participation as citizens.
But it appears the law is a weak stick in prodding lawmakers to do the right thing for kids with disabilities that get in the way of learning.