Report: Underfunding of Special Education in PA

Ever wonder why school property taxes in PA continue to rise?  A new report from the Education Law Center, “Still Shortchanging Students with Disabilities: State Underfunding of Special Education Continues,” provides part of the answer.

This report found that between 2008 and 2018, Pennsylvania increased state special education funding by $95 million. Yet during that time, total special education costs to local school districts increased by $1.7 billion.

The report states:

Local school districts continue to face difficult choices between raising additional revenue to meet funding gaps, spreading limited resources across a range of programs, and/or reducing needed services and supports for students with disabilities. Families continue to experience local tax increases and service cuts. These challenges are compounded because a lack of state investment in basic education funding has eroded the resources available to all students, which increases the incremental investment required to meet the needs of students with disabilities.

This report also has a nifty resource that shows how much special education costs have increased vs. how much state funding has increased in each school district in PA.

Click HERE to find the chart with district-level information.

We are grateful for the work of the Education Law Center, one of our partners in the PA Schools Work campaign.

As we look forward to advocating for the state funding our children need in the 2020-2021 state budget, this report will be an invaluable tool. It highlights the necessity of a substantial increase in state funding for special education that will both help school districts meet the needs of students with disabilities and benefit public school students and taxpayers throughout the state.