Funding Shortages: The state has failed to reimburse 92% of excess costs put towards special education services for years

The Kansas State Legislature has failed to provide funding for special education services since 2011. The state is required to fund 92% of excess costs used for special education services — every student is allocated base state aid, special education students cost more than that, and the state is required to cover 92% of the costs. 

Since the funding hasn’t met the budget, Kansas school districts, including SMSD, are forced to divert general fund dollars, cut into resources meant for all students, stretch tight local budgets and absorb costs the state is legally obligated to pay, according to the Kansas National Education Association. 

The excess costs include teacher raises, additional teachers and programs. However, the state isn't following the 92% requirement, leaving districts like the Shawnee Mission School District to fill in. Last year, the state only covered 63%.

“It's not adequate by any measure,” SMSD Superintendent Michael Schumacher said. “The legislation isn’t meeting the law that they wrote themselves. They fully recognize that, and what it means is that local taxpayers have to fit that bill to make up for the state's unwillingness to meet their statutory obligation — [a legal duty imposed on an organization or individual by a statute or law].”

Under the Individual with Disabilities Education Act, districts must give enough money to support special education students fully. Money has to be transferred from the general election fund of about $5,400 per student to special education students as the only option. This shortens the fund for all SMSD students, according to Schumacher. 

However, the state of Kansas is unable to fit the budget because the federal government hasn't given the state its share of the funding.

“When that law was in statute, the federal government was supposed to provide a lot of [the 92%] funding to the state to then pass on to the local government [and] school boards, but the federal government hasn't been doing that,” Kansas State Representative Rui Xu said.

The problem of special education in Kansas being underfunded is seen through both the state and the districts.

When Sam Brownback served as the governor of Kansas from 2011 to 2018, Kansas put significant tax cuts into place. This resulted in substantial budget shortfalls and economic challenges — a bill cutting state taxes. The Kansas Senate Substitute HB 2117, was signed in 2012 and was repealed in June 2017 by the Kansas legislature. 

“Obviously, we can always do better,” Xu said. “But I think [with] the current school funding formula, along with the Gannon Supreme Court decision that says we have to fund our schools equitably, the schools are in a pretty good place, especially compared to under the Brownback years.”

The last time the Kansas Legislature fully funded special education was the 2010-11 school year. 

The decline in funding has come from special education enrollment increasing by 20% from 2001; the number of special education teachers increasing by 25% from 1998; and the number of paraprofessionals growing by 93% from 1998, according to the Kansas State Department of Education.

Special education services must be provided, or school districts have to pay for the services that aren’t covered by federal or state aid. This results in a decrease in money available to districts to pay for regular education, according to Schumacher. 

“Special education students are getting what they need as far as their [Individual Education Program] goals,” Schumacher said. “It's every other student that's being shorted.”

When special education is underfunded, class sizes grow, programs shrink and local taxpayers feel more of the burden and students lose access to support, according to Kansas National Education Association. 

“Up until this year, we've been able to add the amount of paraeducators or special education teachers to meet the student needs,” Schumacher said. “This year we did not.” 

In SMSD, counselors in the elementary buildings have been a common request from families. The district cannot afford this because the transfer has to be made out of the general fund, according to Schumacher. 

Even if the problem cannot be felt at the day-to-day student level, the funding is vital to provide salaries and health benefits such as health insurance for the staff, according to Schumacher. 

“The federal government needs to fulfill its obligation and give the state the money that they promised us so that we can fulfill that 92%,” Xu said. “We absolutely need to at least put more money into it. I don't know that we can magically hit that 92% in one year, but at least start to fund it more. We could do more and then just keep bumping that up every year until we're able to fully fund it.”