Education Week - January 15, 2020 - 13

hasn't gotten as much traction as the other
candidates in the presidential race so far.
The comparisons single out candidates'
promises on relatively big programs (Title
I and special education), as well as for one
relatively small program (community
schools). Figures have been rounded
and are in the millions of dollars. While
these charts aren't comprehensive and
don't cover all the candidates' plans,
they provide a sample of the gap between
what Democrats are looking for and the
numbers right now.

Points to Consider
* Candidates don't always make it clear
whether they intend to dramatically
increase funding for a particular program
all in one go or over several years. (There
are obvious incentives for not making
it entirely clear.) Even if their plans are
phased in, however, they still differ
dramatically from current numbers.
* Several candidates have said they want
to fully fund special education under the

Individuals With Disabilities Education
Act. Warren, though, is one candidate at
least who has put a dollar figure on what
that would mean in her administration.
* A candidate who wants more money
for a certain strategy might want to create
a new program within the federal budget.
Still, the comparison may be helpful.
* There are often several line items
that together make up big-ticket federal
programs. For simplicity's sake, this
comparison sticks with the business end
of those programs. For example, it focuses
on state grants within federal special
education funding.
* Big promises go in the other direction,
too: Sanders and Warren have pledged to
halt federal aid to charter school expansion.
The federal Charter School Program, which
exists in large part to promote the growth
of charters, is getting $440 million in fiscal
2020, the same level as in fiscal 2019 despite
fierce, internecine fights over charters over
the past several years. That illustrates the
potential difficulty in significantly cutting
or eliminating those grants.

Current
$25 million
Cory Booker
525 million

Community
Schools

Student Support
and Academic
Enrichment Grants
(Title IV)

Current
1.24 billion
Pete Buttigieg
3.72 billion

Current
107 million
Bernie Sanders
1 billion

Current
1.28 billion
Bernie Sanders
5 billion

Current

Magnet Schools
Assistance

Career and
Technical Education

IDEA Special
Education Funding

13.6 billion

print ad (2/5 3 Col)
tifying and educating students in
need of special education services
and the extent of individual students'
needs, said Erin Maguire, the director of equity, diversity, and inclusion
for Vermont's Essex Westford school
district.
The 4,000-student district has
about 600 identified students with
disabilities, and the cost to educate
those students is, on average, about
$30,000 higher than general perpupil costs of about $16,000, she
said.
Additional costs include services
provided by speech, physical, and
occupational therapists, and more
intensive one-on-one support. Vermont, more than other states, relies on paraprofessionals to meet
students' special education needs,
which drives up overall expenses,
Maguire said.
More federal funding to cover those
costs would allow Essex Westford
schools to shift some general funds
toward student-support services,
early intervention, and counseling
for students who haven't been identified under IDEA, Maguire said. She
added that the district has sought to
honor its obligations to students with
disabilities while also making the division between special and general
education less defined."If we were
able to garner the full funding of
IDEA, I would be able to reinvest in
a way that would really make a difference for students," she said.

Even as they are glad for mentions
of the issue on the campaign trail,
local educators are skeptical that
pledges for increased special education funding will ever come to fruition, especially if the two chambers
of Congress remain under the control
of different political parties.
Campaign Pledges
On the campaign trail, funding
for IDEA has gotten much less attention from Democratic presidential candidates than pushes to boost
Title I funding, which is targeted toward schools with large enrollments
of students from low-income families. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders,
Booker, former South Bend, Ind.,
Mayor Pete Buttigieg, and former
Vice President Joe Biden have all
pledged to triple that funding. Warren wants to quadruple it.
School funding advocates, meanwhile, have fought hard for much
smaller increases for IDEA and other
federal programs.
"For them to go from zero to 60 in a
heartbeat, from my perspective, that
would be great," said Swanson of the
Waconia district. "But I don't believe
they'll ever do it."
If past is prologue, Congress is
more likely to boost funding for
programs like Student Support and
Academic Enrichment grants, said
Noelle Ellerson Ng, the associate
executive director for policy and

advocacy at AASA, the School Superintendent's Association.
That program is smaller, so lawmakers can boast of large percentage increases while spending fewer
additional dollars, she said. And the
grants can be used broadly, covering
everything from technology to school
safety to counselors, so they are more
likely to win bipartisan support.
Even without dramatic boosts
in IDEA funding, Congress could
make things easier for schools by
easing some of the law's mandates,
Ng said. For example, the rule that
states and districts must maintain
special education resources at the
same level year over year could be
relaxed slightly to allow schools to
realize cost savings as needs and
programs change, she said.
That process would likely draw
heavy input from parents and disability-rights groups concerned
about ensuring that students with
disabilities receive an adequate
education.
The law was last reathorized in
2004, but advocates have focused
most of their attention on additional
funding, rather than a rewrite of the
law's requirements.
"It's been underfunded since day
one," Ng said. "They are not even
halfway to their commitment. That
has a trickle-down effect that ties
the hands of states and local districts
as they are left to cover the federal
shortfall."

Rewards and Risks for K-12 Companies
In Product "Ambassador" Programs
Many education companies in
the market today have created
"ambassador programs," in which
teachers advocate for products
and help improve those products'
visibility. How can companies
stage ambassador programs
that are effective and yet held
to high ethical standards?

guests
* Monica Brady-Myerov,
founder and CEO, Listenwise
* Michelle r. davis, senior
contributing writer and social media
strategist, EdWeek Market Brief
moderator
* sean cavanagh, managing
editor, EdWeek Market Brief

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Education Week - January 15, 2020

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