Editorial Staff

Study: Systemic Failure in IDEA Implementation for Private School Students with Disabilities in Additional States

/in , , , , , , /by Editorial Staff
Share on Facebook
Share on Twitter
Share on
LinkedIn
+

States, school districts failing to allocate sufficient federal funding to special needs students in private schools   

BOSTON – On the heels of a $3.8 million settlement for private school students with disabilities in Massachusetts for the state’s failure to comply with provisions of the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) that require provision of equitable, publicly funded special education services to students in private schools, a Pioneer Institute study finds that two states and three school districts around the country for which data are available also appear to be out of compliance.

“Whether it be state departments of education wrongfully conflating state and federal law and giving school districts faulty or incomplete guidance, or lack of enforcement efforts, private school students are being wrongfully denied access to IDEA-funded special education services,” said Tom Olson, who co-authored “Bad IDEA: How States Block Federal Special Education Funding to Private and Religious School Students” with Kate McConnell and Nancy Kriegel.

Webinar today (Apr. 8th) at 1 pm ET: “Systemic Failure in IDEA Funding for Private School Students”

REGISTER

IDEA requires states to ensure that all public-school students aged 3-21 who have disabilities receive a “free and appropriate education.”  It also requires the provision of equitable services to students with disabilities in private schools.

The federal government appropriates IDEA funding for the states, which then appropriate the money among local school districts.  A “proportionate” share of the funds is to be spent on private school students who attend school within the school district’s geographic boundaries. Proportionate share is determined by a district’s total IDEA allocation, the total number of students within the district who are found to have disabilities, and the percentage of those students who attend private schools.

The law permits states to use their own money to offer special education services to private school students in addition to those required by IDEA.

In theory, Massachusetts is one of those states. However, the state’s anti-aid amendment prohibits state or locally funded services from being delivered at the private school site. In practice, this makes it difficult for students to access services and support. Until recently there was also confusion regarding federally funded services provided under IDEA. However, given the private school coalition’s work in partnership with Massachusetts DESE, and the recent settlement, private school students with disabilities can now access federally funded special education services on site at their schools.

To determine whether such non-compliance is common, the authors sent Freedom of Information Act requests to 12 states and 8 school districts that are geographically representative to determine how IDEA funding was allocated to students with disabilities in private schools beginning with the 2015-16 school year.  Only five – Florida, Missouri, Denver, Los Angeles and Portland, OR – more-or-less furnished the requested information.  In nearly all cases, the states and school districts didn’t provide proportionate share numbers, meaning the authors had to do their best to calculate it themselves based on the data provided.

The authors assumed that between 7 percent and 14 percent of private school students have special needs. The best results were from Denver, where during the 2015-16 school year between a quarter and half of the money that should have been made available for provide school students was allocated to them.  The poorest performer was Florida.  There only between 0.7 percent and 1.3 percent of the appropriate proportionate share was made available to private school students with special needs during the 2017-18 school year.

“Since the data are not being gathered in any meaningful way, it’s challenging if not impossible to hold agencies accountable for complying with IDEA,” said Director of Pioneer Education Jamie Gass.

Among the authors’ recommendations are that USED collect the applicable data from the states, that each state assume that at least 7 percent of private school students have special needs, and that each state appoint an IDEA ombudsman.

About the Authors

Tom Olson: Tom is currently a Principal Partner of ADAC. Tom has overseen development efforts, augmented donor commitment, and cultivated major gifts for a variety of organizations. Supporting initiatives that advance in government and civil society limited government and the principle of subsidiarity, Tom’s professional competencies include published writing and public policy research. Tom holds a bachelor’s degree from the College of the Holy Cross and graduate degrees from Saint Louis University and Boston College.

Nancy Kriegel:  Nancy is currently the Executive Director of Yad Chessed (“Hand of Loving Kindness”), a social service agency assisting individuals and families who are living at or below the federal poverty level. Prior to this, she was a Senior Director at Combined Jewish Philanthropies and one of the founders of Gateways: Access to Jewish Education. Nancy is a strong advocate for Jewish Day Schools and the wider Jewish community. Nancy holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania and a juris doctor (JD) from the Boston College School of Law.

Kate McConnell: Kate is currently serving as the Director of Inclusive Education for the Office of Catholic Schools of the Archdiocese of Chicago. Previously, she has worked as the Director of Inclusive Education at Chicago’s Our Lady of Mount Carmel Academy. Before becoming a Catholic school educator, she was a special education teacher in public schools. A certified Learning and Behavior Specialist, Kate holds a bachelor’s degree from Towson University and graduate degrees from Loyola University Chicago and DePaul University.

About Pioneer Institute

Pioneer’s mission is to develop and communicate dynamic ideas that advance prosperity and a vibrant civic life in Massachusetts and beyond.

Pioneer’s vision of success is a state and nation where our people can prosper and our society thrive because we enjoy world-class options in education, healthcare, transportation and economic opportunity, and where our government is limited, accountable and transparent.

Pioneer values an America where our citizenry is well-educated and willing to test our beliefs based on facts and the free exchange of ideas, and committed to liberty, personal responsibility, and free enterprise.

Get Updates on Our School Choice Research

Education Posts:

Andrew Campanella on National School Choice Week

This week on “The Learning Curve," co-hosts Gerard Robinson and Cara Candal talk with Andrew Campanella, the president of National School Choice Week. They discuss why 2021 was called the “Year of School Choice,” and the implications of more academic options for K-12 education reform across America.

Study Finds Massachusetts Would Benefit from Adopting Education Savings Accounts

Massachusetts provides fewer options for students to be educated outside their assigned school districts than most other states do, and educational savings accounts (ESAs) offer an effective tool for giving students additional opportunities, according to a new study published by Pioneer Institute.

AEI’s Ian Rowe on School Leadership, Civic Education, & Upward Mobility

This week on “The Learning Curve," co-hosts Gerard Robinson and Cara Candal talk with Ian Rowe, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, where he focuses on education and upward mobility, family formation, and adoption.

Stanford’s Prof. Clayborne Carson on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Civil Rights Vision & Legacy

This week on “The Learning Curve," co-hosts Gerard Robinson and Cara Candal talk with Dr. Clayborne Carson, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Centennial Professor of History Emeritus at Stanford University and the Founding Editor of The Papers of Martin Luther King, Jr. 

Virtual Learning Grows During COVID

Virtual learning in K-12 education continues to grow due to the health threat caused by coronavirus variants and the assistance this learning model can provide to at-risk students, according to two papers released today by Pioneer Institute.

Journalist Bari Weiss on Fighting Anti-Semitism & the Cancel Culture

This week on “The Learning Curve," co-hosts Gerard Robinson and Cara Candal talk with Bari Weiss, former New York Times op-ed editor and writer, and author of How to Fight Anti-Semitism. Bari shares what motivated her to write this book, its reception, and key lessons for teachers and students alike. She also explains why we’re now seeing a rise in anti-Semitism, how educators can best combat it, and the connection she observes between the current upsurge in anti-Semitism and cancel culture.

Institute for Justice’s Michael Bindas on the SCOTUS Oral Arguments

This week on “The Learning Curve," co-hosts Gerard Robinson and Cara Candal talk with Michael Bindas, a senior attorney with the Institute for Justice, who represents the lead plaintiffs in the U.S. Supreme Court case, Carson v. Makin.

Dr. Marc Seifer on Nikola Tesla, Pioneer of the Modern Electrical Age

This week on “The Learning Curve," co-hosts Gerard Robinson and Cara Candal talk with Dr. Marc Seifer, author of the acclaimed biography Wizard: The Life & Times of Nikola Tesla. He reviews what teachers and students should know about the life of Nikola Tesla, the world-renowned engineer, physicist, and inventor who is more widely known nowadays for the electric car and clean energy companies named for him.

Pioneer Institute Files Amicus Curiae Brief in U.S. Supreme Court School Choice Case

Pioneer Institute has filed an amicus curiae brief in Carson v. Makin urging the Supreme Court of the United States to strike down a provision of Maine law. The Court will hear oral arguments in Carson this morning (December 8) at 10 am. The Maine law being challenged allows districts that don’t have their own schools to contract with a school or pay for students that choose to attend public or private schools, but explicitly excludes religious schools.

Urban Institute’s Dr. Matthew Chingos on the Year of School Choice & the Student Loan Debt Crisis

This week on “The Learning Curve," co-hosts Gerard Robinson and Cara Candal talk with Dr. Matthew Chingos, who directs the Center on Education Data and Policy at the Urban Institute. They discuss the “Year of School Choice,” the welcome 2021 trend of states across America expanding or establishing private school choice programs; as well as the student debt crisis in higher education.

Author Nicholas Basbanes on Henry Wadsworth Longfellow & the Spirit of American Poetry

This week on “The Learning Curve," co-hosts Gerard Robinson and Cara Candal talk with Nicholas Basbanes, author of the 2020 literary biography, Cross of Snow: A Life of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. He shares why poetry - from the Epic of Gilgamesh and Homer to Dante, Shakespeare, Longfellow, Emily Dickinson, and Langston Hughes - may well be the most influential, enduring form of written human expression.

Rutgers Prof. Paul Israel on Thomas Edison, Inventions, & American Patents

This week on “The Learning Curve," co-hosts Gerard Robinson and Cara Candal talk with Prof. Paul Israel, Director & General Editor of the Thomas A. Edison Papers at Rutgers University, and author of Edison: A Life of Invention, the definitive biography of America’s greatest inventor. Professor Israel describes Edison’s public and private life, as well as the impact of his world-changing inventions, such as the hot-filament light bulb, the phonograph, and the motion-picture camera.