Idaho Schools Consistently Break Special Education Laws — And They're Not Alone

A recent ProPublica investigation found that Idaho schools consistently break disability laws, and when they're told to take corrective action, often they don't, and parents have no alternative but to file lawsuits and complaints to get their children the services they need.

And the story is likely much the same nationwide, that often Students do not get what they need and some sort of intervention is required to get them the support they need from their school.

But some facts from Idaho that are conveyed in this story really stood out to me.

One is that the funding formula for special education assumes that only five and a half or six percent of students will have disabilities.

And obviously we know the number is much higher than that.

The story goes on to say that in Idaho the actual number is 12% and that is probably an underestimate.

And of course there's a certain degree to which special education is a social construct, right?

Disabilities are a social construct and we have a little bit of leeway in how we define a disability.

But federal law is very clear about what students are entitled to as a result of their disabilities in order to receive a free and appropriate public education.

So there shouldn't really be any debate about the fact that we need to support all students.

We need to give students the educational services and support that they need, and states need to figure out a way to pay for that.

Now often districts are in a tough position because they don't have the economies of scale, they don't have the resources, they don't have the training, they don't have the programs in place to meet the needs of students.

And that's where regional service centers and agencies that serve multiple school districts often play a crucial role in being able to provide services that it would be too difficult to offer at the local level.

We can't really take that phrase too difficult.

Even if it's true that it would be too difficult to offer the services a student needs, we can't treat that as an excuse.

Students need the services that they need because they are entitled to a free and appropriate public education.

So if you know of any great solutions to these problems, let me know in the comments.

Obviously, up-to-date funding formulas and more money.

and more programs for students who need them are part of the solution.

But I think the other side of the coin here, and I think what states are trying to avoid with these artificially low numbers, like 5.5% and 6%, is they're trying to avoid something that would be bad, and I think we do need to avoid it, which is turning special education students into a cash cow.

We don't want to be in a situation where, oh, we'll just classify your child as having a disability and therefore we get more money for them.

and they don't really benefit in any way, right?

Like if you give kids special education services they don't need, if you remove them from their least restrictive environment and put them in a more expensive program just because you want the funding, like obviously that's bad.

And I think we've got to walk the middle ground here.

between funding students the right level so that they get the services they need, but not creating perverse incentives for school districts.

I don't know that we're in danger of doing that.

I think we're so far in the other direction that it would probably be safe to throw quite a bit more money at this problem and make sure that students get what they need and parents don't have to sue.

But let me know what you think.