About one in five San Diego Unified School District students have special education needs.
The district said this number has been climbing quickly over the last decade while federal funding fell further behind.
“We’ve been making it work, kind of, for decades,” said superintendent Fabiola Bagula. “Something needs to change and that’s why we’re here.”
SDUSD said federal law mandates special education services but has never fully funded them, leaving districts nationwide to absorb massive budget shortfalls. San Diego Unified is underfunded by more than $300 million each year and is forced to backfill the gap with other educational dollars.
“They’re not doing their job,” said board trustee, Richard Barrera. “And what we’ve heard for decades from the federal government is it’s too expensive.”
The district said when Congress passed the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), it promised to fund 40% of the excess special education cost, but never kept that promise once in the 50 years it’s existed.
“If we received the 40% we were promised, our district wouldn’t even have a budget deficit,” Bagula said.
District 51 Congresswoman, Sara Jacobs, responded with a statement:
“Broken promises from the federal government should never stand in the way of a child reaching their full potential and succeeding in school. And yet, the government has failed every year to fully fund IDEA and keep its promise to support students with disabilities. That’s why I’m a proud supporter of the IDEA Full Funding Act and I will keep fighting to deliver the support and resources needed for every child to succeed.”
District parent, Sarah Kieffer, has a son with autism.
“All across San Diego, families like mine have carried the cost in time and stress and lost opportunities,” she said.
To solve the problem, the district plans to push for more federal funding. Starting next year, it also plans to put greater emphasis on the collaboration between general and special education teachers, so they can address the gap before it widens.
The wider issue of this $47 million budget gap is the main talking point for tomorrow night’s school board meeting.
San Diego Unified’s budget gap heading into next year is smaller than recent years.
Before this school year, the district faced a $176 million gap and $94 million the school year before that.
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