Reps. Craig and Stauber Lead the Effort To Fully Fund Special Education

Today, U.S. Rep. Angie Craig (MN-02) and Pete Stauber (MN-08) announced their bipartisan support for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Full Funding Act and they will partner together to fight for its passage.

Currently, special education in Minnesota receives as little as eight percent of federal funding, when the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires an expenditure of 40% per-pupil. This leaves schools across Minnesota - and across the country - no choice but to take money out of general education funds to meet the needs of their special education students or ask taxpayers to make up the difference. As parents of children with special needs, Reps. Craig and Stauber fundamentally understand that this inadequate funding is a barrier to students learning and teachers teaching.

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Full Funding Act will put the federal government back on track to honor its commitment to our students with special needs.

"As a mother of four children, the wife of an educator and the daughter of a teacher - I know that we should never underestimate the power of a high-quality education," said Rep. Angie Craig. "I'll never stop fighting to make sure the federal government lives up to its promises to our students - making sure that every student, including those with special needs, gets the high-quality education they deserve."

"Every student, no matter their circumstance, should be afforded the opportunity to succeed. Unfortunately, the federal government is not meeting its funding obligation to students who need special education services, leaving many of Minnesota's students academically disadvantaged," said Stauber. "As the father of a child with special needs, and now as member of Congress, I am committed to ensuring Congress continues to take steps every year towards fulfilling its promise to our special needs students and their parents, so our educators are better equipped to meet the needs of every student."

"The federal government's broken promise to pay its share of the costs to educate children with special needs affects every student in Minnesota because general education budgets now subsidize special education costs. We welcome any increase in federal special education funding because it will provide the resources all our students need to succeed, regardless of the setting in which they learn," said Denise Specht, President of Education Minnesota.

"Minnesota School Boards Association (MSBA) greatly appreciates the long-term vision for creating a stable and predictable funding stream for our school districts and students through her IDEA Full Funding Act. MSBA has long supported a more dedicated funding effort from Congress for our public schools and all the students they serve. We greatly appreciate Congresswoman Craig and Congressman Stauber's commitment," Deb Pauly, Chair of the Jordan School Board and President of the Minnesota School Boards Association.

The IDEA Act would:

• Reauthorize and provide funds for a grant program assisting states in providing special education services
• Increase funding between 2019 and 2028 incrementally to reach the 40% investment

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