Court Rules in Contract Disputes

Soar Like an EAGLE—NJSBA's New Grassroots Advocacy Program

Readers’ Survey: Focus on Extraordinary Special Education Costs

Scenes from Workshop 2007

44 Districts Found ‘In Need of Improvement’

15 New Jerseyans Inducted into Hall of Fame

Preview of NJSBA’s Nov. 17 Delegate Assembly

Position Available: Field Service Representative

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Full funding of extraordinary special education costs in 2008-2009 should receive high priority, according to a School Board Notes survey on selected recommendations in an NJSBA study on special education.

The electronic questionnaire asked for school officials’ responses to the NJSBA study, “Financing Special Education in New Jersey.” Posted online since late September, the survey asks SBN readers and Web site visitors to indicate the significance of four of the study’s recommendations:

• Increased state and federal funding of special education programming, with full funding of the state’s extraordinary special education costs aid in 2008-2009. More than 97 percent respondents cited this proposal as either “most important” (73.9%) or “important” (23.2%).
  
  
• Investment in programs that would enable more students, now educated in private and specialized public schools, to attend school in their home districts. Eighty-seven percent of respondents cited this recommendation as “most important” (34.8%) or “important” (52.2%).
  
  
• State-supported training for general education teachers in special education issues. Close to 87 percent of school officials responding designated this goal as “most important” (44.9%) or “important” (42%).
  
  
• A single-factor funding formula to replace the current four-tier system. (Researchers suggested a single, adequately funded per pupil stipend to cover the full costs of special education. Such a system would be easier to administer than the multiple tiers in the current system, they stated.) Approximately two-thirds of the respondents said the proposal was either “most important” (26.1%) or “important” (39.1%). However, one-third classified the suggestion as only “somewhat important” (21.7%) or “not important” (13%).

Priority Order When respondents were asked to rank the four proposals, over 70 percent indicated that funding of extraordinary special costs should receive first priority. (See chart.)

NJSBA Policy “Financing Special Education in New Jersey” provides 14 recommendations for change. While NJSBA currently supports many of the recommendations, some are not addressed by existing policy. For example, the extraordinary special education costs funding program was an NJSBA legislative goal attained in 2002. Association policy, however, addresses neither development of more in-district programs to move students out of private school placements, nor a single-factor funding formula.

Special Education Reform: Where Readers Place Priorities