The Senate Education Committee will hold a hearing at 10:00 a.m., Tuesday, September 21, 2010 on House Bill 704. The hearing will take place in Room 8, East Wing, Capitol Building. We’re encouraging people to attend and show their support.

House Bill 704 is our legislation for special education funding and accountability reforms. The bill makes important improvements to benefit the education of children with disabilities.

The Pennsylvania House of Representatives approved HB 704 in June by an overwhelming vote of 173 to 25.  The bill is now in the Senate. At the hearing, Representative Sturla (our lead sponsor) will testify and present the bill to the Committee for consideration.  It’s important we show our strength at this hearing.

For more information about attending the hearing contact the Education Law Center’s Baruch Kintisch or Sandy Zelno.

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.”

Right now, all 500 school districts are given special-education funding based on 16 percent of their student population. But while 16 percent of students in the state are in special education, Sturla said, the distribution of those students isn’t uniform from district to district. Passed by the House about two weeks ago, House Bill 704 would instead divvy up special education funds on more of a case-by-case basis.

The main change would be that districts would get funding based on the actual number of special-education students in the district, not simply a generalized 16 percent.

“The funding would reflect the actual numbers and the needs of an individual school district,” Sturla said.

The new system also would financially reward districts for successfully showing that students with moderate needs have improved enough to no longer need services.

Worried that such incentives could lead to districts playing the system, the bill calls for penalties for districts that mainstream students and can’t show that the students no longer need services, Sturla said.

While special-education funding has been a long-fought battle for Sturla – he’s been working on it for 15 years – he knows that his new bill isn’t a quick fix. To get it through the House, he said, the bill had to stipulate that the new funding formula would apply only to new money.

“It will probably take 10 years for everything to balance out,” he said.

And since special-education funding hasn’t gone up in the past few years, and likely won’t for the next year or two, it could be awhile until the bill’s impact is felt.

And, Sturla added, the state Senate doesn’t seem to be in a rush to act on the bill because no new special-education money is on the horizon. But Sturla says now is the time to act, so that when new money is available, a fair, sensible system is in place.

Originally Published: 7/9/2010

Changes to special ed funding needed

Contact David Mekeel: 610-371-5014 or dmekeel@readingeagle.com.

Special_ed_funding_change_passes_in_Pa._House

Read the full story:

Special ed funding change passes in Pa. House

ANDREW SHAW | The York Dispatch

Updated:06/28/2010 01:04:41 PM EDT

Special education funding reform is now before the state Senate after a bill that would greatly change the funding formula was passed by the House.

The House last week overwhelmingly approved a bill, 173-25, that would move Pennsylvania away from a flat funding method.

State Rep. Will Tallman, R-Reading Township, was the lone York County dissenter.

Tallman said he supports increased special education funding but believes the state is adding too much additional oversight.

School districts have been getting special education funding based on the assumption each district has 16 percent of its total enrollment in special education. That formula has been in place since 1991, according to state Rep. Mike Sturla, D-Lancaster, who developed the bill.

Under the proposed legislation, school districts would receive funding based on the number of special-education students they have, as well as on factors such as district poverty level.

A district can’t have its funding decreased as a result of the bill — there’s a measure to prevent that, even if the district has less than 16 percent of students enrolled in special education.

The General Assembly would decide in each year’s budget how much to appropriate for special education, and the new formula would be used to figure out how much districts get.

York City School District would likely be the biggest winner if the bill is passed, as its poverty and special education level — nearly twice the 16 percent rate — would greatly increase funding.

The bill is now before the Senate.

State Sen. Pat Vance, R-Cumberland, said she has many questions about how issues of “over-identification” will be dealt with.

Over-identification is the concern that districts could, in theory, identify more students as having special needs in order to get more money.

The bill includes a call for the state to conduct reviews of districts that have large increases in special-education numbers.

Sen. Jeffrey Piccola, R-Dauphin, the education committee chairman, said he has not looked at the bill in depth enough to comment.

Help provide services: The bill has a three-tier system in how districts can classify their special-education students for funding purposes, so that districts with more students with more extreme needs are eligible for additional funding.

Schools are already required to provide special-education services for any student who needs them, regardless of cost, whether that means a classroom aide or a specialized school in a different town with 24-hour care.

Some districts just don’t have the funding for that or can only offer bare essentials, and, unless a parent can successfully sue them, the child might not get the proper services, said attorney Baruch Kintisch.

Kintisch is the director of policy for the Education Law Center, a Philadelphia-based legal advocate group promoting the rights of public school children. The bill would help solve those inequities, he said, and get better funding to schools.

“They just can’t do everything they want to for the students with disabilities. It’s heartbreaking,” Kintisch said.

– Reach Andrew Shaw at 505-5431, ashaw@york dispatch.com or twitter.com/ydblogwork.

It’s about time

Sunday, June 27, 2010

By BRIAN WALLACE, Lancaster Intelligencer Journal Staff Writer

The state House has approved a new funding formula for special-education services, but the bill doesn’t include the mandated funding increases hoped for by some school officials and advocates for the disabled.

In fact, the bill’s sponsor, state Rep. Mike Sturla of Lancaster, said state special-ed subsidies are likely to be frozen at 2008-09 levels for the next two years.

What House Bill 704 would do is assure that whatever money is available for special-education services each year goes to the school districts that need it most, Sturla said.

The legislation, approved last week by a 173-25 vote, would replace a 19-year-old funding formula that assumes all school districts have the same percentage of special-education students — 16 percent.

Using that formula, the state awards an additional subsidy — this year it’s about $3,500 per pupil — for each special-education student.

For years, school officials have complained that the formula is inequitable, penalizing districts with larger percentages of special-needs pupils and rewarding those with fewer students.

HB 704 would base the subsidies on the number of special-education students with mild, moderate or severe disabilities enrolled in each district over the previous three years.

It would guarantee that districts receive at least as much funding as they received in the previous year.

And it would require schools to provide documentation each year of how they use state special-education funds.

Currently, districts must file reports only once every three years.

Missing from the legislation is any reference to how much money districts will receive.

An earlier version of the bill called for establishing a base special-education funding level and increasing that by about $32 million per year to fill a $380 million special-ed funding gap identified in a 2007 “costing-out” study.

That would have brought about $1.8 million in additional subsidies to Lancaster County schools in the first year.

But that provision was stripped from the bill, Sturla said, because of the state’s economic woes.

Pennsylvania expects to end the year with a $1.2 billion deficit, and it made no sense to mandate funding increases the state can’t deliver, he said.

Special-education funding was frozen this year at 2008-09 levels, and Sturla predicts no increases for 2010-11 and possibly  2011-12.

Prior to this year’s funding freeze, increases were below the rate of inflation, ranging from 1.3 percent to 2.7 percent.

Meanwhile, special-education costs have skyrocketed.

In Columbia Area School District, expenditures surged by 43.5 percent from 2005-06 to 2009-10, rising from $2.3 million to $3.3 million, said Laura Cowburn, assistant superintendent for business services.

Over that same period, Columbia’s state subsidy for special education grew by just $59,000, or 5.3 percent, she said.

Lawmakers are aware that special-education services are underfunded, Sturla said, and he expects more state money to be pumped into the pipeline once the economy recovers.

“We’re funding such a pitiful amount of the cost of special education that no one with a straight face could say we’re adequately funding it,” he said.

Even without the prospect of an influx of additional money in the short term, school districts like Columbia, with a special-education population ranging from 21 percent to 23 percent, stand to benefit from the bill.

So does School District of Lancaster, where just under 20 percent of students are identified as special-needs pupils.

Urban districts tend to have a higher percentage of students requiring special-education services and are required to provide the services regardless of state funding levels,  said Carole Clancy, SDL’s director of special education and health services.

“As a result, the burden falls upon our taxpayers to fill the gap in funds.”

More equitable funding “will allow us to provide more support to our teachers, which will allow us to provide more support to our students,” she said.

“It definitely provides a sense of optimism in this tight budget time.”

Sturla said he doesn’t expect the state Senate to take up the bill until after the Legislature adopts the 2010-11 budget.

The earliest the new formula could take effect would be the 2011-12 school year.

Education bill needed
GREG KNOX

Elected officials in Harrisburg are demonstrating that they certainly can act as responsible public servants. In a time of political turmoil, that’s a very good sign.

What is bringing out the best in our leaders in the state Capitol? A bill addressing the educational needs of students with disabilities — House Bill 704.

This bill shouldn’t have a chance, given the difficulties of state government in these days. But the bill is only days away from being approved by the House of Representatives and moving on to prompt consideration in the Senate.

In a time when partisan tensions are common, HB 704 has 66 cosponsors from both parties and was approved by a bipartisan vote of 22 to 3 in the House Education Committee.

In a time when the energy of our commonwealth is most often focused away from improving the day-to-day lives of vulnerable citizens, HB 704 implements practical reforms that will improve teaching and learning for children with disabilities and thus give them an opportunity for a brighter and more independent future.

In a time when the word “funding” is a dirty word in the State Capitol, HB 704 has the courage to repair the state funding system for special education affecting students with disabilities. The bill fixes the system for distributing state dollars, although it neither contains nor requires any increases in state or local dollars in 2010-2011.

In a time when state and federal policy makers are more often equating “education reform” with radical top-down mandates that dictate one-size-fits-all changes — such as the federal Race to the Top Grant Program or state reauthorization of the Education Empowerment Act — HB 704 takes the different approach of strengthening existing accountability systems by requiring increased cooperation between local and state education officials.

The reforms in HB 704 are needed because special education was left out when the General Assembly enacted Basic Education reforms in 2008. Under HB 704, state funding for special education will be distributed based on the actual needs of students and schools and will remain at 2008-09 levels until the economy recovers.

The existing special education funding and accountability system in Pennsylvania is broken. No formula has been used since 2008-09. The formula used from 1992 to 2008 mistakenly assumed that 16 percent of all students in each district need special education. Most districts have a percentage that is higher or lower than this. In addition, the Pennsylvania Department of Education collects three-year special education plans from all school districts but real accountability is lacking. HB 704 addresses these problems.

Students with disabilities are struggling in most Pennsylvania schools and need special education reforms to have a chance for success in school and in life. There are more than 270,000 students in Pennsylvania who are receiving special education services. That’s more students than the Philadelphia and Pittsburgh school districts combined. These students have a high drop-out rate and low scores on state assessments. The national unemployment rate for adults with disabilities is 71 percent. Yes, 71 percent. Our schools can do much better and HB 704 includes needed reforms.

The reforms proposed by HB 704 are needed in York County. Several school districts in the county have high numbers of students with disabilities. For example, more than 18 percent of all students in York City, Hanover Public, and West Shore school districts require special education services. Without the reforms in HB 704, these and other districts — already with high property taxes — will continue to struggle to pay for expensive special education programs and may need to cut corners.

Everyone in Pennsylvania benefits when students with disabilities receive an education preparing them for meaningful employment, higher education, and self-sufficiency. The General Assembly should move Pennsylvania one giant step closer to meeting these obligations by approving HB 704 before it adjourns for the summer.

For more information, see www.ReformSpecialEdFunding.org.

The Arc of York County is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the lives of people with intellectual and other disabilities and their families.
Greg Knox is the executive director of Arc of York County.

Education bill needed

The whole State House of Representatives continues to move closer to a vote on House Bill 704. This is our legislation for reform of the state systems for special education funding and accountability.

Prior to this historic vote, a few extra days are needed for the bill sponsors to negotiate amendments with some other House members.

We have worked to develop and support HB 704 for nearly two years. This is a monumental step for students with disabilities and their schools.

Thank you for helping our online petition to gain more than 1,400 signatures. Forward this alert to others to add more signatures and comments to the petition.

Please take the following actions ASAP:

Contact Your State Representative

• Locate your state representative and contact information here — http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/home/find.cfm.
• Call his or her Harrisburg office.
• Leave a phone message using the following talking points.
• Ask the state representative to call you back.
• Also send an e-mail using and personalizing the talking points. Call first.
• Do not call state senators or other officials.

Talking Points

1. Please vote for House Bill 704 when it comes to the House floor.  HB 704 deserves your support and a vote without amendments.
2. I am asking you to support reform of the state funding and accountability system for special education.
3. HB 704 has 66 bipartisan cosponsors. It was approved 22-3 by the House Education Committee.
4. The current funding system is broken, is unfair, and does not provide enough resources for special education in the right places. It sets the number of students eligible for state funding for special education at 16% regardless of whether the district has fewer or more students receiving special education. It also does not focus the funding on strategies that have a track record for improving student performance.
5. The school districts you represent need additional resources and support from the state.
6. I am your constituent and I have personal experience with how this broken system hurts children with disabilities and all students. (Describe your experience.)
7. Thank you for supporting this important issue and voting for HB 704 this week.

Extra Help and Follow Up

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

Send us an e-mail and let us know how your phone calls, e-mails, and letters turn out.

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.

Show your support. Sign our petition to help special education in Pennsylvania.

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.

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.