Current Events
![]() ![]()
'States Need Full Funding for Special Education and More Flexibility in No Child Left Behind Reforms'
National Association of State Boards of Education ![]()
Members of state boards of education called on Congress to provide full funding for special education and requested greater flexibility in implementing the No Child Left Behind Act from the U.S. Department of Education as they convened for their annual legislative conference.Bob Lazard, NASBE President and Indiana State Board of Education member, said, "
While state policymakers appreciate the recent efforts Congress has made to provide significant funding increases for special education, the federal government still provides just 19 percent of the national average per pupil expenditure. With the enactment of new IDEA reforms, now is the perfect opportunity for Congress to make a meaningful commitment toward full funding." Brenda Welburn, NASBE Executive Director, said that given Congress' track record on this critical funding issue -- billion dollar increases in each of the past five years has brought state grants up to $10.1 billion, but is only halfway to the 40% goal -- that mandatory funding, which shifts special education spending from the discretionary side of the federal budget, where it must be ratified each year, to the mandatory side of the ledger where it would automatically be funded regardless of congressional action or inaction, is the only realistic solution left to achieve full funding in a timely fashion. "We've been on |