Funding Special Education in Bartlesville Public Schools
In 1975, the Federal Government passed new legislation regarding Special Education.  The law now known as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) came with two promises.  First, for students and parents it promised a “free, appropriate public education” to children with disabilities, and that children with disabilities would be educated with their non-disabled peers in the “least restrictive environment” as possible. For School Districts, IDEA promised “up to 40 percent” of the national average of per-pupil expenditures. 
Of these two promises, only one of them has been kept. Students are receiving the needed changes in education, but school districts are not receiving the financial assistance to the level promised. Currently, school districts on average receive a federal subsidy of about 15 percent. According to Financial Director Tim Green, last year Bartlesville Public Schools received only 14% of the needed funding they were promised from the federal government to educate special education students.  Last year our school district spent more than $3.3 Million dollars for Special Education Services for Bartlesville students.

In years past, Medicaid reimbursed public schools for providing many special education services to students from low-income families.  However, as legislation continued to redefine the law and change eligibility requirements, the reimbursements have been greatly reduced. Critics of the system cite the many administrative and logistical barriers, confusing and inconsistent policies, a lack of federal guidance, and lack of time and resources when pursuing billing. According to the American Education Newspaper, some school advocates say states could be missing out on more than a billion dollars a year for these students. 

Just getting the 14 percent of the federal funding Bartlesville now receives is no easy feat. Bartlesville Public Schools must comply with all state and federal regulations. Data is submitted and analyzed and then compared to other schools and previous years. If something is out of line, fines could be levied against the district.  At a time when more students are entering the Special Education Program, and more school districts are dealing with tight budgets, this is a very serious concern.

Currently Bartlesville Public Schools has 727 students with an Individual Education Plan, or an IEP, involved in Special Education services. Bartlesville Public Schools offers a professional teaching staff of over fifty educators that teach these students all aspects of  Special Education required by law, and does this within the budget they have.

Each student in Special Education is required to have their own plan for personal modification to help them learn. In our next article we’ll examine this aspect of special education and explain how it protects the students and requires certain actions by the school district.
Bartlesville Public Schools, Christina Hoskin, Community Relations Supervisor