Gov. Dayton proposes more money for special ed

Prior Lake American

Under a proposal by Gov. Mark Dayton, schools in the southwest metro will receive up to $253,000 more in fiscal year 2019 for special education funding.

Under the plan, Jordan schools would receive nearly $55,000 more, Prior Lake-Savage Area Schools would receive about $222,000 more and Shakopee schools would receive $253,000 more.

Currently, Jordan receives more than $2 million from the state while Prior Lake-Savage Area Schools and Shakopee receive more than $10 million and $10.8 million, respectively.

The plan is an attempt to address rising special education costs statewide, Minnesota Education Commissioner Brenda Cassellius said during a press conference call on Thursday.

“Our schools are facing immense difficulty to continue to provide for all their students because of the rising costs of special education,” Cassellius said. “The problem is costing our schools hundreds of millions of dollars every year.”

On average, $679 per student is unfunded, Cassellius said.

“This problem is growing every year and it’s limiting opportunities, not only of our students with disabilities but all students,” she said. “This would not close the gap that we have currently with all the unfunded costs but it certainly would contain the growth and provide added relief.”

In February, the Minnesota School Board Association delivered resolutions from boards across the state — including the Prior Lake-Savage Area School Board — to the state and federal governments asking them to fully fund special education services.

The resolutions noted that in 1975, the federal government passed the Individuals with Disabilities Act, which promised to fund 40 percent of the additional cost of educating children with disabilities. However, the government has never provided more than 15 percent of the additional cost, according to the resolutions.

Dayton hopes to provide $19 million in 2019 statewide for schools to fund special education services and $22 million in 2020.