Panel Decries Special Education Fund Levels

Echoing the pleas of public school superintendents across the state, the civil grand jury reported Wednesday that the federal government’s funding shortfall for required special education programs is hindering the mission of the county’s 27 school districts.

In a 10-page report, the panel recommended that each of the county’s districts develop a plan to inform the public of the federal government’s history of under-funding special education and to urge citizen involvement.

Since 1975, when the first of two federal laws was passed that lays out special education requirements for schools, the federal government has pledged to pay 40% of the costs.

“This is a promise that has been broken every year for the past 25 years, even though our local school districts have consistently and faithfully been meeting their responsibilities to provide for our most needy students,” the grand jury report states.

Until very recently, the federal government has paid only 8% of the costs of educating children with special needs. In November 1999, Congress increased funding for special education by $702 million, raising the federal government’s share for this year to about 13% of special education costs.

The funding shortfall is now nearly $71 million a year in Orange County, according to the report.