The Association of Metropolitan School Districts supports increased state funding for special education to ensure that all students have the resources and opportunities necessary to achieve state and federal standards.
AMSD Believes
- Special education services provided by Minnesota’s public schools are critical to the education and quality of life of students with special needs.
- The reductions in children’s mental health services provided by the State and Counties have created a system where public schools are the frontline of children’s mental health services.
- A growing number of students are coming to school with increasingly complex special education disabilities and extraordinary mental health needs.
- State special education funding and policy must ensure a safe learning environment for both students and staff.
- Minnesota schools have been leaders in providing extracurricular opportunities to special education students outside of special education funding.
Source: Minnesota Department of Education, Feb. 2020
AMSD Position
At a minimum, the Governor and the Legislature shoud increase special education funding to a level sufficient to prevent the cross-subsidy from growing in the next biennium and develop and implement a plan to close the cross-subsidy in five years.
