WIS: 30 school districts want "more SPED support"

Nov 23, 2018, WUWM, Milwaukee, WI NPR: Growing Number Of Wisconsin School Districts Call For More Special Education Funding http://www.wuwm.com/post/growing-number-wisconsin-school-districts-call-more-special-education-funding#stream/0 What does the 300-student Plum City School District have in common with the 20,000-student Kenosha district? Both think an increase in special education funding is overdue. They’re two of about 30 districts across the state that have written formal resolutions over the past few months asking lawmakers for more special education support. … Schools are mandated by federal law to provide services for students with disabilities. The services could include things like speech therapy or classroom aides. Costs for these services keep rising, but state funding to offset special education expenses has stayed flat for a decade. In recent years, only about a quarter of schools’ special education costs were reimbursed by the state. … School districts sometimes find the money to cover special education expenses by cutting from other areas, like regular education. In recent years, a relatively new voucher program with relatively few restrictions added salt to the wound…. This school year, the number of students using special needs scholarships skyrocketed from about 250 to about 700.