Summary: The federal government requires public schools to provide special education services but has never provided the funding it promised. That leaves Kansas school districts with a $223 million shortfall. Fully funding special education aid at the federal level would allow Kansas schools to improve services for students with disabilities and reduce transfers from other education programs, allowing better support for all students.
Since the U.S. Congress passed the first national law requiring special education in 1975, millions of American school children with disabilities and their families have benefited from special programs, giving them a better chance to learn and thrive.
For over 45 years, special education requirements, services, student and parental rights and identification have been expanded, both nationally and in Kansas. Last year, nearly 80,000 students with disabilities received special education services in Kansas. Another 10,000 students were in gifted programs, which are also funded through special education. That equals almost one in five Kansas students receiving special education services.
What the federal government has never done is provide the share of funding originally promised in federal law to help states and school districts provide these programs. Congress committed to funding 40 percent of the additional costs of special education – the costs beyond the ordinary expenses of general education. It is currently funding just 12 percent.
The American Association of School Administrators and the American Association of School Business Officers report that Kansas schools would receive $339 million in federal special education aid if the program was fully funded, compared to actual federal funding of $116 million. That shortfall of $223 million equals almost $3,000 for each student receiving services required by federal law. (Kansas requires services for gifted students; federal law does not.)
The main reason special education has higher costs is the need for more staff.
For example, some students need specialized services like speech. They require the same cost as other students for general education classes, but also see a special teacher. Other students require more individualized instruction in smaller groups, so the cost of the special staff is spread over fewer students. In other cases, students receive education in a general classroom, with the help of a paraprofessional, adding to their individual cost. Finally, some students require essentially one-to-one attention the entire time they are in school for health or other reasons.
Under Kansas law, the state is supposed to pick up 92 percent of the “excess cost” of special education not covered by federal aid. However, the state hasn't met that commitment since 2011. For the upcoming school year, state aid is expected to cover just 70.8 percent of excess special education costs and fall to 64 percent next year. According to the Kansas State Department of Education, the shortfall in state aid for 2024 is almost the same as the shortfall in federal aid – meaning that if Congress followed its own funding commitment, current levels of state aid would comply with Kansas law.
The Kansas State Board of Education is requesting that the Kansas Legislature increase funding for state special education aid to reach the 92 percent funding level over five years. That increase might not be necessary if the federal government was funding its share.
School districts must provide special education services regardless of funding levels, including services for eligible students attending private schools. Shortfalls in state and federal aid affect education in two ways. First, they limit the funding available to provide the best possible levels of staffing and services for special education students. Second, they force school districts to transfer funding from general education programs for all students to make up for underfunding in special education.
The shortfall is growing because special education costs are rising, largely because schools are identifying more students and more parents are requesting services. Since 2018, the number of students with disabilities has increased by 4,509 or 6.1 percent, while overall student enrollment has decreased.
A number of reasons are cited for the student increase. First, federal and state laws require districts to actively seek out students who might need special services. For example, the Kansas Legislature has encouraged more early screening for dyslexia and other reading disorders, so more students are identified earlier. More students are receiving earlier diagnoses in areas like autism, which has increased by 21 percent in Kansas since 2018. Other areas of growth include developmental delays among young children and learning disabilities among older students.
Second, parents have more rights under special education law to request services and keep students in those services than in other aspects of education. Almost all parental challenges involve seeking more services and placement (and costs), not fewer.
Third, educators say they are seeing increases in students who come to school with mental health issues and behavioral problems, making it harder to socialize with other students and focus on learning in the classroom. These issues have increased since the COVID pandemic.
Fully funding special education aid at the federal level would allow Kansas schools to improve services for students with disabilities and reduce transfers from other education programs, allowing better support for all students.
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