Special Education Funding Hearing

On October 19th Representative Sandy Pihos along with Representatives Patty Bellock, Roger Jenisch, Jim Meyer, Randy Hultgren and Bob Biggins hosted a forum to gather information on the state of funding for special education services in Illinois. This forum was held at Glenbard South High School and was attended by school leaders, special education directors, teachers and parents. Representatives from CASE, SASED and NDSEC cooperatives along with Regional Superintendent Dr. Ruscitti gave an overview of funding statistics for DuPage County. Special education costs are rising exponentially and funding has been stagnant with most reimbursement formulas used in Illinois being at least 20 years old and some as old as 40 years. Costs have risen so high that the cost of providing services to children with special needs is impacting funds available for regular education programs. Federal support is stagnant and has never risen to the 40% level promised by IDEA back in the 1970’s and currently accounts for about 17% of costs, although federal regulations generally govern the required services that must be provided to special education students. A wonderful and informative power point presentation was used to highlight the historical aspects of special education funding in Illinois. This presentation is available on line at www.lend-dupage.org under the category of meetings.