HR1078 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR1078 LRB094 20057 RAS 57623 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The federal government has established a goal of reimbursing forty percent of the costs of special education incurred by school districts; it currently provides only eighteen percent of costs nationally and fourteen percent of costs in Illinois; and

WHEREAS, In the 2004-2005 school year, over 321,000 children with disabilities were served in special education programs across Illinois, costing school districts millions of dollars in unreimbursed costs; and

WHEREAS, Special education accounts for approximately twenty-one percent of all education spending; and

WHEREAS, Illinois has continued to prorate special education mandated categoricals at less than one hundred percent, with the FY06 budget prorating these mandated categoricals at ninety-seven percent; and

WHEREAS, Illinois school districts currently spend an estimated $1 billion from their own general education funds to meet the unreimbursed costs of special education services that are mandated by federal and State laws and administrative rules; and

WHEREAS, While school districts are required to disclose their revenues and expenditures through their annual budget, there is no particular focus given to special education costs making it difficult for the State to assess the true cost of special education in Illinois; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we strongly urge the State Board of Education to develop a process by which they can collect and evaluate, both on a district and statewide level, the costs of providing special education services beyond that which is reimbursed by the State; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be delivered to the State Board of Education.