MADISON, Wis. — Republicans who control the Legislature’s budget-writing committee passed a new K-12 funding plan on Thursday that would increase state funding for special education by far less than what Democratic Gov. Tony Evers and parents of children with disabilities have pleaded for.
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Public schools are required by law to pay for the special education services their students need. Those costs have been rising, and state funding hasn’t kept up.
The state’s primary special education aid covered 32.4% of special education costs last school year, according to the Legislative Fiscal Bureau. School districts are on the hook for the rest. It’s one reason a record number of districts have gone to referendums in recent years, asking property taxpayers to cover the gap.
The plan passed by the Republican-led Joint Finance Committee on Thursday evening would bring that rate up to 35% next year and 37.5% in the second year of the budget cycle.
Watch: Republican lawmakers pass new K-12 funding plan
Evers and parents have been asking lawmakers to raise the rate to 60%.
Annette Fournier is one of those parents. Her daughter Maya has cerebral palsy and a rare chromosomal abnormality, and she requires lots of assistance at school.
“When special ed’s not funded properly, kids like Maya are in danger. She’s not safe at school,” Fournier said.
Her biggest worry is Maya’s 45-minute bus ride. Fournier says the school district couldn’t afford to train bus drivers on how to administer Maya’s seizure medication.
“So, twice a day, Maya’s at risk,” she said.
Raising the special education reimbursement rate to 60% would cost the state upward of $1.1 billion. Republicans said that’s more than the state can afford.
"It is a priority, but you have to be able to afford it, and it has to be reasonable,” said Republican Rep. Mark Born, who co-chairs the Joint Finance Committee.
The plan Republicans passed on Thursday also fully funds a much smaller program meant to reimburse the costs of special education for high-needs students at a rate of 90%.
“This is a tremendously disappointing effort,” Democratic Rep. Tip McGuire said.
The plan will go into the draft of the budget the Legislature sends to the governor’s office. Evers can remove items from that plan using his partial veto power, but he can’t add new items.
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