GOP Lawmakers Cut Evers’ Special Ed Funding Proposal
Republican state legislators reduce special education reimbursement in budget proposal.
School classroom. (Pixabay License).
The Joint Finance Committee (JFC) has scheduled a vote on the state’s K-12 education budget for Thursday, May 27, before a revenue estimate likely to come in early June that is expected to show that the state continues to be in good fiscal health.
Public school advocates and school administrators around the state have called for an increase in funding for special education in line with Gov. Tony Evers’ proposal to reimburse school districts at a rate of 50% of the cost of special ed. The special ed funding is significant because school districts are required by federal law to cover students’ special education needs, and as the reimbursement rate has declined school districts have been forced to take money from other programs.
On Friday, the Department of Public Instruction released an interactive map that allows users to hover over their school districts to see out how a 50% reimbursement would benefit the local public schools.
Under the current budget, private and voucher schools already receive a minimum reimbursement rate of 90% for special education.
Reprinted with permission of Wisconsin Examiner.
More about the 2021-2023 Wisconsin Budget
- Americans for Prosperity Launches Robust Grassroots Thank You Campaign for Legislators’ Leadership Amid Major Budget Battle - AFP Wisconsin - Jul 26th, 2021
- ‘Governor Wins’ on State Budget? - Laurel White - Jul 13th, 2021
- Evers Offers GOP a Second Chance to Fund Schools - Ruth Conniff - Jul 11th, 2021
- Evers Tinkers With Tax Cut - Erik Gunn - Jul 10th, 2021
- Bipartisan Efforts Honor AmeriCorps Members’ Service by Exempting the Segal Education Award from State Income Tax - Serve Wisconsin - Jul 9th, 2021
- AARP WI frustrated but optimistic that budget proposals helping those 50-plus will be addressed by separate legislation this fall - AARP Wisconsin - Jul 9th, 2021
- Sen. Larson Statement on Gov. Evers’ Partial Budget Veto - State Sen. Chris Larson - Jul 8th, 2021
- Republicans on JFC Reject Governor Evers’ Healthy Women, Healthy Babies Proposal in State Budget in Advance of Vote in Assembly - Planned Parenthood Advocates of Wisconsin - Jun 29th, 2021
- The State of Politics: Tax Cut Has Democrats Playing Defense - Steven Walters - Jun 28th, 2021
- School Officials, Families Blast GOP Budget - Madeline Fox - Jun 22nd, 2021
Read more about 2021-2023 Wisconsin Budget here
90% reimbursements for private and voucher schools that can exclude students at will? Sounds like this should be the other way round. Where’s John Jagler on this? Oh yea. He’s an rPub and they don’t care about anyone. But even their own.
You can be sure that the School Choice Special Needs Scholarship Program will continue to be well funded as choice schools do not have to take the special education students with high demands for services.