Special education makes it through tough
review
by Kim Kang
Despite a $6 billion
state deficit that was reduced to $2.7 billion at the close of
the Minnesota’s 2009 legislative session, special
education held its own for funding and even made some gains in the
policy arena, most notably with the passage of the state’s
first law concerning restraint and seclusion.
Funding
Special education regular
aid was level-funded for 2010 at $734 million and for 2011 at $781
million. For K-12 regular education, however, Gov. Tim Pawlenty has
indicated he will use a “mimic payment
shift” to balance the budget. Details of the plan were unknown
at press time, but other payment shifts have been used in the past
to delay payments to schools while still retaining the money on the
state’s books to balance the budget.
Policy Changes
The special
education task force, a legislatively mandated group created two
years ago, provided its final report to state lawmakers this session.
The task force was created
to compare the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
(IDEA) requirements with Minnesota laws and rules and to determine
which laws and rules exceed the federal ones. Composed of equal numbers
of school professionals, parents, and advocacy organizations, the
task force also made recommendations on which laws and rules could
be eliminated and which ones could be revised.
Because of the group’s recommendations, key areas
of Minnesota special education laws and rules that exceed federal
regulation were retained, including transition during ninth grade,
short-term objectives in individual education programs (IEP), conciliation,
and facilitated (IEP) individual education programs.
However, the burden of proof
in a due process hearing was changed from school districts to the “party
seeking relief,” which was
influenced by a Minnesota 8th District Court ruling in January 2008
(L.R. v. Spec. School District #1, No. 06-3572). The issue of burden
of proof came to the national forefront of special education discussion
in 2005 due to the U.S. Supreme court case, “Schaffer v. Weast.” Consequently,
it will be more important than ever for parents to keep good documentation
and records of all school communications in case they need to exercise
their due process rights.
Effective in 2011, Minnesota will have its first law for use of seclusion
and restraint procedures for children with disabilities. This law
allows use of the restrictive procedures in emergencies only, encourages
schools to establish effective positive behavior interventions, and
requires specialized training for staff. Restraint involves forced
immobilization of a child’s body while seclusion involves forced
isolation. Both are used until a negative behavior has stopped. While
there have been federal laws restricting the use of these procedures
in mental health facilities, schools have been left un-mandated to
determine appropriateness of using these procedures and establishing
standards.
One disappointment is that
the “New Minnesota Miracle” bill
championed by Rep. Mindy Greiling (DFL-Roseville) was taken out of
the final K-12 education bill. This bill would have simplified and
increased state public school funding, including special education.
Future issues
With the 2009
legislative session at an end, parents and advocates need to keep
on eye on the $205 million of federal stimulus for special education
flowing into Minnesota for the next two years. School districts are
being given the flexibility to use some of their federal funds to
reduce their spending for special education locally.
Consequently, it is important for parents and advocates to ask school
districts:
• What are the spending priorities for special education stimulus money?
• How much money will be spent in each priority area?
• How were special education spending priorities determined?
• How will you be reporting to the public on special education stimulus
spending?
Parents and advocates seeking more information about federal stimulus
special education money can visit www.ideamoneywatch.com/states/mn for
a listing of resources or contact Kim Kang, Public Policy Director,
PACER Center, at (952) 838-9000 or kim.kang@pacer.org ![end of story]()
Kim Kang is the Public Policy
and Early Childhood Director at PACER Center. For more information,
visit www.PACER.org
