Education Hearings Tomorrow

Tomorrow, Tuesday, March 3rd, and Wednesday, March 4th, Pennsylvania's Secretary of Education, Dr. Gerald Zahorchak, will be testifying before the State House and State Senate appropriations committees about public education. One topic will be special education.

Funding of public schools, and especially special education, is a thorny subject. A group of organizations under the banner Reform Special Education Funding (http://reformspecialedfunding.org/ ) commissioned a costing-out study of special education and have posted an executive summary as well as the full report on their site.

Some key findings:

* Providing a basic, quality education for students eligible for special education requires, on average, more than twice the cost of teaching students without special needs.
* 391 school districts have inadequate funding for special education, averaging an annual shortfall of nearly $1 million per district.
* Statewide, the total gap in annual funding for special education is $380 million. The average per pupil shortfall is $1,947, based on a total of 194,862 students in districts with a funding gap.
* Raising special education resources to an adequate level for all students would greatly increase the ability of school districts to meet the basic needs of students with disabilities.
* Fundamental needs that often go under-served include: (i) adequate staffing, specialized personnel, and professional development; (ii) assistive technology devices/services; (iii) student support programs/services.
* Funding reforms will benefit families and communities by strengthening the education of all students, increasing instructional effectiveness, improving student performance, and lowering long-run societal costs.

The Best Evidence Encyclopedia has a recent, lengthy interview with Dr. Zahorchak.