Coffin’s Corner for Education

Why the State of New Jersey Should Pay 100% of their Special Education Mandates

By: Stephen Coffin

Why should the State of New Jersey be required to pay for all of their special education mandates which are woefully under funded? Special education expenses represent one of the fastest growing financial challenges confronting school districts nationwide and particularly in New Jersey. School districts throughout New Jersey pay not only all of the general expense for their special education students but also the majority of the “excess cost” of special education which is defined as the per student cost of special education that exceeds the regular student cost. Declining state aid not only has increased the proportion of property taxes used to fund schools but also heightened the pressure to find necessary resources perhaps by reducing programs and services for regular education students in order to fund mandate-protected programs and services such as special education.

Special education costs are driven primarily by costly out-of-district placements, mandated preschool programs including intensive services for autistic students, and lower special education student to staff ratios as well as by parents suing school districts to obtain private school placements for their children. The legal fees for such law suits account for another escalating expense for schools. In addition, if a school district loses in a New Jersey administrative court, the district not only has to pay the judgment costs but also all of the plaintiff’s legal costs regardless of the length of the trial. It seems as if holding New Jersey school districts harmless from such law suits would be another way in which to enable school districts to allocate more of their scarce resources to instruction.

Many districts find that out-of-district placements can consume as much as 50% of the special education budget. The students placed in out-of-district schools tend to be the most expensive because they are usually the ones most in need of special education programs and services. Depending on the student’s disability, the annual cost of sending a student to an out-of-district private school can range from roughly $60,000 to over $250,000 especially for the most educationally and physically challenged students.

When the State of New Jersey forces its public schools to pay for an ever increasing proportion of special education costs through its mandates, the state is not only driving up local property taxes but also creating an environment in which districts feel pressure to find the missing funds through means that can adversely impact the regular education budget. State mandates can result in much larger class sizes as school districts are forced by these mandates to consider reducing regular education teachers. Larger class sizes often lead to lower test scores which make it more difficult for students, schools and districts to achieve adequate yearly progress (AYP) as required by the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act. As a result, school districts are likely to be subjected to many of the NCLB’s more stringent financial penalties. This will further reduce the financial resources available to support quality education. Unless the people of New Jersey wish to have not only a continued downward spiral in the quality of education but also higher property taxes, then the State of New Jersey should pay for all of the costs of its mandated programs and services particularly special education.

Stephen Coffin is an Adjunct Professor of school finance, holds the New Jersey School Business Administrator Certificate of Eligibility, and has an MBA in finance as well as a Masters in Public Administration. He welcomes your comments at coffinscorner@aol.com