Posted 3/15/01
Sen. Dayton presses for special ed funding
Senator Mark Dayton recently co-sponsored legislation that would force the federal government to fully fund its commitment to special education, saying that Minnesota now misses out on tens of millions of dollars each year to help educate its 113,000 children with disabilities.
On March 6, Dayton backed bipartisan legislation to mandate full federal funding for special education by 2007. If enacted, the bill would ultimately mean hundreds of millions of dollars in additional education funds for Minnesota, he said, and would go a long way toward ensuring that children with disabilities have access to the same educational opportunities as other children.
ìMinnesota loses out on millions of dollars in education funds each year simply because the federal government isnít living up to its responsibility to help educate children with disabilities,î Dayton said.
ìWe owe it to the millions of children in Minnesota and across the country, and their families, to fully fund special education. I want to send a
message to the thousands of young people with disabilities that they will have the same opportunities to learn and become independent, productive citizens as everyone else.î
Dayton said that in 1975 Congress promised states that it would fund 40 percent of the average per-pupil spending for each child with a disability. To date, the federal government is contributing less than 15 percent, putting pressure on state budgets to make up the shortfall.
Next year, Minnesota is slated to receive $110 million in federal special education funding. If the bill was fully in effect, the State of Minnesota estimates that it would get an additional $169 million in federal funds, Dayton said. This year, Minnesota received $85 million from the federal government.
ìAccording to Minnesota state officials, this bill would mean an additional $1,500 per student in special education funding,î Dayton said. ìThose funds are a good investment in education and the future of millions of students in Minnesota and across the country.î
To reach full funding, the bill would increase federal special education funding for all states by $2.5 billion each year between 2002 and 2007. The bill would help the nationís five million children with disabilities get the education services they are entitled to under federal law.
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