Pa.+Senate+Education+Committee+approves+bill+to+overhaul+special+education+funding+distribution+formula

=By Jan Murphy= =Published by the Patriot News= =3/6/12= = = = = = = =The Senate Education Committee approved [|legislation]that would establish a 12-member House-Senate commission to develop a distribution formula for new state special education funding.= =The bill, sponsored by Sen. Pat Browne, R-Lehigh County, would direct the commission to establish a formula that separates special education students into three cost categories based on their need for services. More funds would be allocated for students requiring higher levels of service.= =It also would move away from the current formula’s built-in assumption that all districts have the same percentage of special education students. Instead, the new formula would average the actual number of special education students in each cost category over a three-year period to determine how much money a district would receive.= =“This is an opportunity for us to change a system that I believe has been out of place for the needs of our special education students for over 20 to 30 years,” Browne said.= =The commission would have four months to complete its work. The measure will go to the Senate Appropriations Committee and then to the full Senate for consideration. A timetable for that Senate vote has not yet been determined.= =A similar bill, sponsored by Rep. Bernie O'Neill, R-Bucks, is awaiting action in the House. The new formula would apply only to new funds that the state invests in special education [|beyond the $1 billion it has appropriated for the past four years.]= = = = = = = = = = = = = =News= =home=