Local educators, parents still waiting on IDEA funds

The average cost of educating disabled students ($12,600 per disabled child)is double that of average students.

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which covers students with mental and physical disabilities, would increase funding from 12 percent to 40 percent of the additional money needed to educate students with disabilities.

If funding for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act was fully funded under IDEA, San Mateo county school districts would receive $25 million, instead of their current $6 million.

The state is trying to eliminate the deficit in place for special education, which was at 4 percent last year, in order to fund school districts at the fully promised level.

State and federal funding will be determined in the upcoming weeks.

Local school districts say that the extra funds are greatly needed. Since the late 1970's when IDEA was passed, and guaranteed public education to disabled students, the districts have had to use substantial amounts of money from their general funds to provide the services mandated by the federal government for disabled students.

That means that less money has been available for filling the other needs of the school. The districts say they believe in fully funding students with disabilities, but the state and federal governments should help out more.

"We fully believe that the [disabled] students' needs should be served," said Bob Arnold, associate superintendent of business services for the San Mateo Union High School District. "But we believe that the government should more fully step up to the plate for this and pay for a larger share because one of the reasons we serve these students is because of state and federal mandates."

Under federal law, districts are required to provide disabled students everything they need based on their disability.

Of the San Mateo Union High School District's $5.6 million classroom costs for an estimated 900 disabled children, the state and federal governments paid $1.9 million, leaving $3.7 million paid from the district's general funds. The district has an estimated 900 students with disabilities that range from mental retardation to speech impairments.

The San Mateo-Foster City School District has similar funding issues. Of the $9.1 million in costs for the district's 1400 students with disabilities, the state and federal governments funded $5.2 million, leaving a $3.9 million bill for the district. "We want to be able to fund the programs that special education kids need, but at the same time not detract from other services," said Tish Busselle, assistant superintendent for the district.

School districts have not received much of an increase in special education funding since IDEA's inception in the late 1970's, according to Busselle. At the same time, the costs of educating students with disabilities has increased.

These children often require small classrooms, aides and attendants, and special facilities and resources, according to Dr. Linda Waddell, director of student services for the district.

And for services that the district does not provide, usually because there are not enough students with that type of disability, the districts are required to send them to non-public schools that serve the special need. According to Arnold, the high school district has a number of students attending such schools which run between $25,000 and $50,000 annually per student. Much of that money comes straight out of the district's general funds.