Funding for Special Education

* Re “Opportunity Growing for Disabled Students,” March 7.

This article, which outlined the increasing responsibility of public school districts for special-education funding, hit one of the most significant and under-discussed issues facing our public schools today.

Over the past 15 years, court rulings expanding the rights to expensive services for children with special needs have not been matched by an equal analysis of how those services should be funded. The result has been a dramatic increase in the use of general fund money at the expense of other important school programs.

The educational community is fully supportive of the philosophy and trend of providing more services to more children. We need, however, to bring the funding issue to the table for an important public dialogue.

One question that should be asked is why the federal government has initiated plans for expanding revenues on new programs when the federal commitment to special education remains grossly underfunded.

The importance of this issue cannot be overstated, and I applaud The Times for opening the dialogue.

ROBERT FRAISSE

Superintendent

Hueneme School District

Port Hueneme