You asked (1) what special education services school districts must provide, (2) what laws require districts to provide the services, (3) for a summary of special education process requirements, and (4) what special education funding towns and school districts receive from the federal and state governments. This report updates information in OLR Report 2005-R-0892.

SUMMARY

Special education is mandated by both state and federal law. Though Connecticut's special education law predates the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) by seven years, the federal law currently controls. Special education laws do not consist of a series of specific mandates. Rather, they establish broad requirements that school districts identify children with disabilities that affect their educational performance and provide them with a “free and appropriate public education” tailored to their individual needs. Federal and state laws and regulations also impose procedural requirements for implementing the overarching mandate.

State and federal laws give children the right to special education. Schools must take certain procedural steps to protect this right, and must give parents a copy of the steps when (1) a child is first referred for evaluation or testing, (2) a parent is invited to a planning and placement team meeting to talk about the child's individualized education plan, (3) a child is to be reevaluated, (4) a hearing is requested, or (5) a change is being made to the child's program because a school rule was broken.

School districts receive funding for special education from both the federal government and the state, although school district expenditures for special education commonly exceed federal and state aid amounts. The major federal special education grant, known as IDEA Part B, is distributed annually to local school districts through the State Department of Education (SDE). A federal formula determines the grant distribution. The state funds special education through a categorical grant that reimburses school districts based on actual special education expenditures for both local students and for students in the district placed by a state agency for whom no home district liable for special education costs can be identified.

STATE AND FEDERAL SPECIAL EDUCATION LAWS

Special education mandates on local school districts are required by both state and federal law. Connecticut's special education law (CGS § 10-76a, et seq.) predates the federal law, having been first passed in 1967 while the federal law was passed in 1974. The federal law essentially supersedes the state law and the state law has been frequently amended to remain in conformity with the federal one.

Both laws require school districts to identify children requiring special education, prescribe suitable educational programs for eligible children, and provide special education for any eligible child. Since each eligible child must receive an individualized educational program appropriate for his needs, the services school districts must provide vary from student to student.

Children are eligible for special education if they have one or more of the following conditions, listed in federal regulations and incorporated by reference into state law, that affect their educational performance: mental retardation; hearing impairment including deafness; speech or language impairment; visual impairment including blindness; serious emotional disturbance; orthopedic impairment; autism; traumatic brain injury; other health impairment; specific learning disability; deaf-blindness; or multiple disabilities. Federal law also allows states to include as eligible children aged three through nine who are experiencing a “developmental delay.” Connecticut law makes such children eligible.

Both laws define “special education” as specially designed instruction, developed in accordance with federal and state regulations, to meet the needs of each exceptional child, including related services recommended by the child's planning and placement team. It must be provided for children who require it from age three until they either graduate from high school or turn 21 years of age.

School districts must also comply with special education hearing procedures, if a parent or other person responsible for a special education child requests one, to review the child's diagnosis, special programs, exemption from school privileges, or any other matter concerning his right to a special education.

Another federal law, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, guarantees access to, and prohibits discrimination against, individuals with disabilities in any program or activity that receives or benefits from federal assistance. This law also covers public schools. It applies to any physical or mental disability that limits a major life function, such as learning. Thus, a student who does not meet the disability definitions required for special education but whose disability is covered by Section 504 must be afforded a “reasonable accommodation” for his disability to allow him to benefit from his education.

SPECIAL EDUCATION PROCESS

Children with eligible disabilities have a right to special education and related services if (1) the disability adversely affects educational performance and (2) the student needs a specially designed instructional program to address his unique educational needs. The first step in determining whether this is the case is for a parent, school personnel, or other appropriate person (such as a physician or social worker) to refer the child for special education. A referral is a written request that the school district where the child attends school evaluate whether he is eligible for and needs special education.

When it receives the referral, the district must convene a planning and placement team (PPT) to review the referral and determine whether the child requires special education or needs to be evaluated further. Parents have a right to notice of PPT meetings and a right to participate in them. The PPT's evaluation of the child must be comprehensive enough to determine all his special education and related service needs. The school system must pay for any evaluation requested by the PPT.

A parent who disagrees with the results of the PPT's evaluation can ask for an independent educational evaluation (IEE) of their child by someone who does not work for the school district. The school system must either pay for the IEE or prove, on appeal, to a state special education due process hearing officer that its own evaluation is appropriate. A school district may not refuse to evaluate a child or pay for an IEE because of insufficient funds. A school district must give a list of qualified independent evaluators to parents who request an IEE for their child.

If the state hearing officer finds the district's evaluation is appropriate, parents may still obtain an IEE for their child at their own expense and submit the findings and recommendations to the PPT. Regardless of who pays for an IEE, the PPT is required only to consider the IEE's results. It need not implement them. A parent who objects to the PPT's decisions may appeal through the state special education hearing process and, if still dissatisfied, to the courts.

For your further information, I am enclosing a State Department of Education publication that explains parents' special education notice and appeal rights in detail (Steps to Protect a Child's Right to Special Education: Procedural Safeguards).

STATE AND FEDERAL SPECIAL EDUCATION FUNDING

Federal Grants

The federal government provides three special education grants to states under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The largest of the three is called “IDEA Part B.” This grant supports special education programs provided by states and local school districts for children in grades K-12. Two smaller grants support preschool programs (those for children aged 3 to 5 in Connecticut) and programs for infants and families (the so-called Birth-to-Three Program).

IDEA Part B grants are distributed to states according to a formula. The states in turn are required to distribute most of the funds to local education agencies directly serving children. States may retain part of the money for state-level activities, including administration and support of, and direct services to, children with disabilities. Connecticut distributed $110.86 million in IDEA Part B funds to local school districts in FY 08.

Federal FY 09 funding for IDEA Part B is currently estimated at $11.3 billion of which Connecticut share is estimated at $129.86 million. The proposed federal stimulus package announced on January 15, 2009 by the U.S. House Appropriations Committee includes an additional $13 billion for state special education grants (presumably spread over two years – FY 09 and FY 10).

Table 1 below shows Connecticut's actual federal special education funding for federal FY 07 and its current estimated funding for federal FYs 08 and 09.

TABLE 1: FEDERAL SPECIAL EDUCATION FUNDING TO CONNECTICUT

FFYS 2007-2009

Source: U.S. Department of Education

State Grant

The state provides a categorical grant for special education. Money is distributed to towns based on their costs. This grant is called the “excess cost” grant. The grant reimburses school districts for (1) a portion of the reasonable costs of special education for a student who lives in the district and (2) 100% of the cost of special education for any student placed in the district by a state agency and who has no identifiable home district in the state (CGS § 10-76g). Reimbursable costs include those for special education instructional personnel, equipment and materials, tuition, transportation, rent for space or equipment, and consultant services, all as defined in § 10-76f.

The grant does not reimburse districts for regular education costs attributable to a special education student.

The excess cost grant is calculated by adding up all the reasonable costs of special education services a district provides to a particular student and subtracting the district's “basic contribution.” The basic contribution is 4.5 times a district's average per pupil expenditure for the

preceding year, in the case of a resident student, and 100% of that expenditure in the case of a state-agency-placed child with no identifiable home school district. Any expenditure exceeding the basic contribution is reimbursable by the state.

For example, if a district has an average per pupil expenditure of $9,000, its basic contribution for a special education student who lives in the district is $40,500 ($9,000 x 4.5). If the student is a state-agency-placed child with no identifiable home district, the district's basic contribution is $9,000. If a student receives services costing a total of $45,000, therefore, the state's excess cost reimbursement for the in-district student is $4,500 and for a state-placed student, it is $36,000.

For FY 09, the state appropriated $133.89 million for these grants. If total grants payable exceed the amount appropriated, payments cannot be reduced. Districts must file their special education cost information with the State Department of Education by December 1 each year and file any updated information for additional costs or students by March 1. The state must pay 75% of the reimbursable cost in February and the balance in May.

Table 2 below provides a breakdown of each district's FY 08 (1) special education spending, including the amount spent in dollars and as a percentage of its total education spending; (2) federal IDEA Part B grant; and (3) state excess cost grants for local and state-placements. It also shows the state and federal share of districts' special education spending.

TABLE 2: SCHOOL DISTRICT SPECIAL EDUCATION SPENDING & STATE AND FEDERAL FUNDS RECEIVED, 2007-08

Table 2: -Continued-

Table 2: -Continued-

Table 2: -Continued-

Table 2: -Continued-

Table 2: -Continued-

Source: State Department of Education, unaudited data.

JL:ts