Federal IDEA funding has provided only about 15 percent of the national average per-pupil expenditure, versus the 40 percent originally promised¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · review r2 · q2
Currency · newest study 2020 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person · overdue for a recheck since 2025: baselines and conditions change

Subclaims¶

q2 i? Congress promised federal IDEA funding would equal 40 percent of the national average per-pupil expenditure but has provided only about 15 percent, placing increased pressure on state and local budgets as special education costs rise. → Krausen 2020

Evidence¶

Krausen 2020¶

Krausen, K., Caparas, R., Ripma, T., & Willis, J. (2020). Strategic resource allocation for the 21st century: How state leaders can address the silent recession. WestEd. https://www.wested.org/resources/strategic-resource-allocation/

q2 · i? · review · r2

The report's federal funding section states that when IDEA was enacted in 1975 Congress promised funding equal to 40 percent of the national average per-pupil expenditure, but "Congress has provided the equivalent of only about 15 percent of the national average per-pupil expenditure," citing the U.S. Department of Education (2018a) and Griffith (2015).

"However, since then, Congress has provided the equivalent of only about 15 percent of the national average per-pupil expenditure — just over a third of the initial promise"

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Multidistrict SELPAs without a large district received higher per pupil special education funding and had higher preK and K–12 inclusion rates than those with a large district — related
• As total enrollment shrinks, the shares of English Learners, students with disabilities, and low-income students are growing, concentrating higher-need populations in districts with less funding — related
• As of fiscal year 2017, 22 states still provided less per-pupil K–12 education funding than in 2008–09 — related
• Per-student special education costs fall with enrollment up to an ideal size, then rise as diseconomies of scale set in — related
• From 2012 to 2017, average inflation-adjusted per-pupil revenue and expenditure were greater in rural Utah districts than in non-rural districts — related
• States draw on federal, state, and local funding sources to develop and sustain statewide leadership initiatives — related
• Michigan's partial reimbursement system shifts special education costs onto districts, which divert more than $500 per pupil of general education funds on average — related
• California's statewide high-cost pools are among the lowest-funded in the nation, and SELPA directors report paperwork burdens outweigh their benefit — related