California Special Education

Finance ReformPresentation

By Paul Lavigne Ed.D.Executive Director

Greater Anaheim SELPA

Special Education Local Plan Area (SELPA)

•130 SELPAs

•Multi-District

•Single District

•Charter

•County

•Must meet size and scope

•Typically more than 30,000

•Preschool-age 22

•Governed by local plan

Greater Anaheim SELPA

• Approximately 6,700 students with IEPs.

• Largest in Orange County

• Anaheim Union High School District

• Centralia School District

• Cypress School District

• Los Alamitos Unfied School District

• Magnolia School District

• Savanna School District

California Education System

6,288,235 K-12 Students

1,024 School Districts

274,246Teachers

Special Education in California

754,337 students with disabilities

11% of the student population

68%

are boys

29% are English Learners

Top 3 Primary Disability Categories

38.87% Specific Learning Disability

21.21%Speech and Language Disorder

13.86%Autism

Funding Sources for Special Education

State Funding Decreases as Caseloads Increase

Students with Severe Disabilities

In the 20 years since the last major Special Education finance reform, the percentage of Special Education students requiring greater support has risen dramatically.

During the same period, the state’s dedicated fund to support low incidence students was eliminated.

Preschool

Despite the efficacy of early intervention programs, no state funding is provided to support the estimated $490 million schools report spending on Special Education preschool programs

Overview of Funding Issues

10© 2019 School Services of California, Inc.

AB 602 Base Rates

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Rates vary by Special Education Local Plan Area (SELPA) throughout the state and have not kept up with increasing Special Education costs

Funds are based on ADA, which is declining while the percentage of students with disabilities increases

Special Education Finance ReformAB 428

• Assembly members Medina, O’Donnell, Frazier, Arambula, and Reyes introduced Assembly Bill (AB) 428 to address these critical needs by:

• Establishing a funding mechanism to support Special Education preschool programs, by adding preschoolers to the AB 602 funding formula

• Addressing long-standing inequities by equalizing Special Education funding rates to the 95th percentile

• Providing a supplemental grant to support students with greater needs, including students on the autism spectrum, and students who are blind, visually impaired, and intellectually disabled.

• The bill is co-sponsored by the Coalition for Adequate Funding for Special Education, the California School Boards Association, and the California Association of School Business Officials and was supported last year by numerous education stakeholders, including State PTA

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Questions?