Ed. Dept. Slashes S.C. Special Education Budget, Permanently

The U.S. Department of Education withheld $36 million in special education funds from South Carolina earlier this month, carrying out a penalty imposed on the state for cutting its own spending on special needs students three years ago.

In what may be a first-of-its-kind penalty, the feds used a provision in federal law that allows cutting a state's special education grant, permanently, if the state slashes its special education budget without the right justification. UPDATE: Kansas' state grant for special education was also cut this month, by about $2 million.

The $36 million cut represents about a 9 percent deduction in South Carolina's special education budget. It won't be felt this year, however.

State Superintendent Mick Zais convinced the South Carolina legislature to appropriate one-time funds in case of this scenario. So, "South Carolina students will not be harmed or denied services this school year because of the federal government's draconian cut," said Jay Ragley, South Carolina's director of the office of legislative affairs.

But the catch with the federal penalty: It goes on forever. In other words, South Carolina's budget will be cut by $36 million this year and every year going forward.

Read more of Nirvi Shah's On Special Education article HERE.

S.C. Chief Asks Lawmakers for $36 Million More for Special Education

South Carolina has been denied a second extension of a $36 million penalty in federal special education money, a penalty imposed because the state didn't spend enough money on special education during the 2009-10 school year.

In a letter earlier this month, Deputy Education Secretary Anthony Miller told South Carolina Superintendent Mick Zais the state had time to find $36 million in its state budget because it was already granted a delay of the federal penalty, which could have been imposed last July.

States that cut special education spending without getting federal permission first can be penalized: The U.S. Department of Education can cut the same amount of money from a state's federal share of special education dollars. These so-called "maintenance of effort" rules built into federal law are intended to buffer students with disabilities from dramatic changes in services educators have found they need.

States rarely have requested exceptions to keeping special education spending stable until the current recession.

The Education Department agreed that South Carolina's budget situation justified cutting some of its special education budget—the state originally faced a $111 million cut in federal special education funds—but not everything the state has cut over the last four years.

Read more of Nirvi Shah's On Special Education article HERE.

Testing, No Testing, Too Much Testing

Gretchen Herrera expected it would just be her and her son, who has Asperger syndrome and Type 1 diabetes, on the steps of the capitol building in Columbia, S.C., this Saturday, protesting standardized testing.

The reasons for her protest began building last May. She had tried several times to have Anthony, 12, exempted from South Carolina's annual tests in reading, math, and other subjects when he was in 6th grade last school year. But no reason would do—not even a doctor's note that explained Anthony's blood sugar could spike because of his Asperger-related anxiety.

And on the first day of testing, that's just what happened, Ms. Herrera said. Her son zipped through the test—his mother later learned he scored well—and his blood sugar zoomed to more than 300, the danger zone for diabetics. So Anthony stayed home during the rest of the testing dates.

"I don't want this," Ms. Herrera said. "I don't want my son exposed to this."

While some parents and advocates for students with disabilities worry that their children are being left out of testing and, in turn, their schools left unaccountable for their children's progress, Herrera predicts that her initial prediction of a lonely protest against testing Saturday will be wrong.

Read more of Nirvi Shah's On Special Education article HERE.