Designing and Strengthening

High Quality Special Education

Finance Systems
National Conference of State Legislatures
December 12, 2019

Jason Willis, Director, Strategy & Performance

1 Sara Menlove Doutre, Senior Program Associate
 WestEd
Public, not-for-profit,
joint powers agency

Over 50 years of service

in research, training, and
technical assistance

Work on a range of
topics: early childhood,
K-12, and higher ed

Clients have included

states, school districts,
federal agencies,
foundations, and IHEs

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 WestEd’s School Finance Practice
Works with governors, legislatures, and state education agencies (SEAs) to
assess, design, and implement state school funding formulas.

Conducts research and evaluation of timely school finance issues to

advance the knowledge base of policymakers, practitioners, and researchers
knowledge base.

Partners with SEAs and school districts to build and sustain effective
resource allocation practices that are implemented with high fidelity.

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Resource Allocation Framework

Alignment: ensuring effective use of resources

Equity: resource allocation aligned to student need

Adequacy: funding sufficient to achieve desired outcomes

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 WestEd’s Special Education Practice
Directs the National Center for Systemic Improvement (NCSI) the largest special
education technical assistance center funded by the U.S. Department of Education to
assist SEAs to improve outcomes for students with disabilities.

Directs the national Center for IDEA Fiscal Reporting, funded by the U.S. Department
of Education to assist SEAs to meet federal fiscal requirements including IDEA
maintenance of effort.

Partners with SEAs and school districts to build and sustain effective
systems of supports for students with disabilities.

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 Agenda
• State Special Education Funding Formulas

• Needs of Students with Disabilities

• Identification and Use of More Specific Outcome Measures

• Effective Use of Resources

• Implications & Walk-aways

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 Context: Maryland Study on IEP and Cost
Adequacy for Students with Disabilities
Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) contracted
WestEd to conduct the study required by the General Assembly.
• Assessment of MSDE technical assistance for local school systems and
public agencies and the Maryland IEP process.
• Description of current Maryland special education revenue, expenditure, and
staffing patterns and a review of international and national best practices.
• Recommendations on the cost to establish adequate funding for special
education.
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State Special Education Funding Formulas:
A 50-State Scan

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State Special Education Funding Formulas:
A Study of Impact on Student Outcomes

• Most states differentiate funding based on either disability or

disability category

• A study of state weights shows that differentiating resources results

in improved outcomes for students with disabilities

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State Special Education Funding Formulas:
Managing Low-Incidence, High-Cost Services
• Most states (30) have
some type of high cost fund
to help offset costs for
students with the most
expensive needs

• Many states have regional

programs to manage
economies of scale
challenges

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Needs of Students with Disabilities:
Volume and Type of Disability, K-12

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Needs of Students with Disabilities:
District Wealth is Highly Correlated with Overall Spending

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Needs of Students with Disabilities:
Impact of Resource Allocation Choices on Service Delivery

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Needs of Students with Disabilities:
Concentrations Have an Impact on Cost

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Needs of Students with Disabilities:
Distinguishing Functional and Academic Needs

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Creation of More Specific Outcome Measures:
Constructing an IEP Outcomes Measure
• Sought an outcome measure that reflected the progress that students with disabilities
make throughout the course of the academic year to supplement traditional outcome
measures less sensitive to progress (e.g., annual assessments).

• 2017 U.S. Supreme Court decision (Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District) reaffirmed
the right of a student to make progress when the court wrote that “to meet its
substantive obligation under IDEA, a school must offer an IEP reasonably calculated to
enable a child to make progress appropriate in light of the child’s circumstances.”

• Results: as the percentage of students identified as not making sufficient progress

increases, the cost associated with students with disabilities increases.

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Unpacking the Effective Use of Resources:
What strategies can be employed with additional resources?
• Think long game. Allow districts time to plan and organize for increased
revenues, including engaging stakeholders.

• Ensure existing investments align to desired student outcomes. Align

investments to student outcome goals and current state strategic priorities.

• Consider longer-term economic forecast. Attend to funding stability. Rainy

day funds and paying down pension debts are other examples of how states
have used additional funding with the goal of increasing district buying
power over time.

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Implications and Walk-aways:
Key learnings for policymakers and the field
1. Delivery of high-quality first instruction is paramount and support for
students with disabilities should provide specific supplemental services

2. Differentiating within disability category is emerging as a necessary

and meaningful difference of functional and academic need

3. Verification and support for implementation of effective practices will

strengthen the working relationship between states and districts.

4. Establish a statewide data system and norms for common collection of

essential special education data.

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 Thank you!

Jason Willis Sara Menlove Doutre

Director Senior Program Associate
510-847-5894 801-620-0932
jwillis@wested.org sdoutre@wested.org

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