From the Wall Street Journal:

Financially struggling school districts across the country are taking advantage of a provision in federal law that allows them to divert federal stimulus funds earmarked for special education, using the money to ease their dire budget situations.

Advocates complain that students with disabilities are being shortchanged, while school administrators say shifting the money allows them to avoid layoffs and preserve programs that benefit a wide range of students. State officials acknowledge that they are lowering standards for graduation and drop-out rates for students with disabilities in order to qualify to shift the funds under the law.

“This is a slap in the face,” said Candace Cortiella, director of the Advocacy Institute, a Washington, D.C.-area nonprofit that advises students with disabilities. “This is historic funding that could have had a huge impact with [special-education] students, and states and districts have instead chosen to minimize the amount of good.”

James Notter, superintendent of Florida’s Broward County Public Schools, called the provision “an absolute salvation” for his district. “It’s about getting to the next day,” he said.

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 7th, 2010 at 1:28 am and is filed under IDEA, NOT2BEMISSED, budget, special education. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.