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Education Law Center Special Education Funding Report
By Dee Pettack | October 11, 2022
The National Education Law Center published a new study today based on the work done by the Wisconsin Policy Forum and with input from some of our public education advocates on Wisconsin’s special education reimbursement rate. Their findings are consistent with the information all of you have been sharing with us for many years, that districts are covering approximately $1.25 billion in unreimbursed special education costs. Due to this being a national study, it may draw some additional attention from the media on this very important issue.
Read the ELC’s report here, and they have a new interactive map to find the special education funding gaps in your district and region to help tell your district’s story.
Below are some quick facts regarding the state of special education funding in Wisconsin:
- The annual special education categorical aid appropriation increased from $369 million to $450 million in the 2019-21 State Budget.
- Prior to the 2019-21 increase, the appropriation had been frozen at $369 million for a decade.
- The Governor requested funding to raise the reimbursement rate from 28% to 40% by the end of the biennium in the 2021-23 budget.
- The legislature only provided a funding increase of approximately $18 million in FY22 and $68 million in FY23 bringing the base appropriation to approximately $518 million.
- The current state reimbursement rate is likely to come in short of 30 percent of aidable costs due to increased reimbursement claims.
- Wisconsin school districts collectively transfer more than $1.25 billion annually from district general funds to cover the funding gap between required special education costs and current state special education reimbursement rate.
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