The Special Education Funding Commission, created by Act 3 of 2013, released its findings after a series of seven public hearings held this summer and fall, says State Rep. Jim Cox (R-129). 
The commission recommends a new funding formula for special education based on three levels of student needs. The formula would be based on factors including small and rural school districts, income/market value and equalized millage rate. Nearly 270,000 children – one out of every seven students – receive special education services in the state’s public schools. Current state funding for special education is slightly less than $1 billion per year, and the “census formula” currently in use pays districts on calculations based on 15 percent of students having mild disabilities and 1 percent having severe disabilities. Since 2008-09, Pennsylvania has not increased special education funding, which effectively ended the use of the formula.
In a similar effort to address basic education funding inequities, the House Education Committee this week approved a bill to create a Basic Education Funding Commission. The proposed group, made up of representatives from the Department of Education, Office of the Budget and the four legislative caucuses, would be tasked with conducting hearings and reviewing the current funding formula and working to create a new model to address current challenges. The commission’s basic education funding recommendation would determine only the distribution of any increase in funding.