Wyoming: States caps SPED spending; educators say it 'won't be enough to cover'

Dec 1, 2018, Casper (WY) Star Tribune: School districts warn lawmakers of looming effects of special education funding cap https://trib.com/news/state-and-regional/govt-and-politics/education/school-districts-warn-lawmakers-of-looming-effects-of-special-education/article_3dcc9336-b0b1-5117-80ab-b3015430fa7c.html A handful of school administrators warned lawmakers of the looming effects of the Legislature's special education funding cap last week, as part of a wide-ranging discussion about the state of the service in Wyoming. … The issue Vineyard and other educators raised wasn't that they wouldn't care for the students, but rather that a cap would make it fiscally impossible. Wyoming is one of the few states to provide 100 percent reimbursement for special education spending, a policy that will last only through this school year. As a result of legislation passed and signed last spring, the amount of money the state will provide for special education funding will be capped for the 2019-20 and 2020-21 school years. … Special education is a significant -- and uncontrollable -- cost for many districts. In Natrona County, officials recently told the school board that the district -- the second largest in the state -- spends more than $26 million annually on special education, more than it spends on high school instruction. … The discussion was broad and touched on efficiencies and the state's effort to bill Medicaid for special education services. Alan Demaret and Dan Mayer, who gave the report for the association, told lawmakers that Wyoming wasn't overidentifying students as being in need of special education services. In other words, teachers in the state's 48 districts weren't splashing special education cash on students who may not need it. "We get referrals; we're not recruiting," Mayer said. In the public comment period that followed, Vineyard and other educators warned that the cap would put further stress on already cash-strapped districts. They acknowledged the idea behind the cap -- getting a handle on special education spending -- was well-intended and that the discussion was needed. … "(The capped amount) won't be enough to cover," she said.