Mar 29, 2019, MinnPost: ‘We can’t sustain this’: special-ed shortfalls strain Minnesota districts as lawmakers struggle to find long-term solution https://www.minnpost.com/education/2019/03/we-cant-sustain-this-special-ed-shortfalls-strain-minnesota-districts-as-lawmakers-struggle-to-find-long-term-solution/ With more Minnesota students enrolling in special education services and public aid failing to keep pace with the cost of providing those services, the shortfall that school districts have to cover by tapping into general education dollars continues to grow. Data show that shortfall — known as the cross subsidy — totals $724 million this year in Minnesota. Without any new state action, the Education Department projects that will grow to $858 million by 2023. The state automatically allocates more money toward special education costs every year, but it still can’t keep up with rising cost, said Sen. Carla Nelson, R-Rochester, who chairs the Senate E-12 Finance and Policy Committee. “It just shows the skyrocketing, escalating cost of special education,” she said. Legislators and the governor say they want to budget enough new money for special education this session to prevent school districts from subsidizing even more over the next two years. But they don’t yet have a long-term plan for chipping away at the shortfall. The governor hopes to convene an education funding task force to tackle those bigger questions. House Education Finance Committee Chair Jim Davnie, DFL-Minneapolis, said he thinks that would be a good place to dive into special-ed enrollment and funding trends. “We know there’s rising demand, there’s rising costs, and that it’s really challenging school districts across the state to be able to plan and manage their budgets responsibly,” Davnie said. “Those dynamics just demand more conversation, more attention.” Nelson said a task force could be helpful, but it would depend who was on it. Many districts are in untenable positions. Waconia Public Schools Superintendent Pat Devine said up to 20 percent of the general education funding his district gets from the state now goes to special education, affecting class sizes, support staff levels, and program offerings. Voters passed a new operating levy for the district in the fall. They also cut the budget by $1.26 million, he said. But an audit shows the cross subsidy increased more than expected and now Devine is looking at more cuts if the state doesn’t do something. “There’s a lot of districts that are hurting,” Devine said. “It’s become unmanageable. We can’t sustain this.” … Schools are seeing the largest growth in the number of students with autism spectrum disorder or developmental delays. There is also notable growth in the number of students with other health disabilities, learning disabilities, and emotional or behavioral disorders. The trend baffled some legislators at a committee meeting in January. Davnie said that lawmakers will need more information to understand the factors contributing to the rise in enrollment as they determine a long-term strategy for funding special education. … … “We are not going to win the money race,” Nelson said. “We have to do a better job of understanding what’s driving our special education costs.” …
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Childhood Lost
Children today are noticeably different from previous generations, and the proof is in the news coverage we see every day. This site shows you what’s happening in schools around the world. Children are increasingly disabled and chronically ill, and the education system has to accommodate them. Things we've long associated with autism, like sensory issues, repetitive behaviors, anxiety and lack of social skills, are now problems affecting mainstream students. Blame is predictably placed on bad parenting (otherwise known as trauma from home).
Addressing mental health needs is as important as academics for modern educators. This is an unrecognized disaster. The stories here are about children who can’t learn or behave like children have always been expected to. What childhood has become is a chilling portent for the future of mankind.
Anne Dachel, Media editor, Age of Autism
http://www.ageofautism.com/media/
(John Dachel, Tech. assist.)
What will happen in another 4 years? How can we go on like this? This is a national (and international) problem of monumental proportions. We have an entire new class of children who cannot be accommodated by the system: many are manifestly neurologically impaired. Meanwhile, the government and the medical profession sleep on regardless.
John Stone,
UK media editor, Age of Autism
The generation of American children born after 1990 are arguably the sickest generation in the history of our country.
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
It seemed to me that with rising autism prevalence, you’d also see rising autism costs to society, and it turns out, the costs are catastrophic.
They calculated that in 2015 autism cost the United States $268 billion and they projected that if autism continues at its current rate, we’re looking at one trillion dollars a year in autism costs by 2025, so within five years.
Toby Rogers, PhD, Political economist
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