Wisconsin's Special Education Funding Crunch: How State Underfunding Disproportionately Harms Students in High-Poverty Districts

Overview & Synopsis

A recent analysis by the Wisconsin Policy Forum highlighted the State Legislature's failure to adequately fund the cost of programs and services for students with disabilities. Wisconsin currently reimburses school districts for less than a third of special education costs. Because special education programs and services are mandated by the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), the state's low reimbursement rate forces school districts to divert funds slated for the education of all students to cover the shortfall in special education funding. This report builds on the Wisconsin Policy Forum's research by providing a more detailed examination of how the lack of state support for special education impacts the funding available to educate children in Wisconsin districts with high enrollments of low-income students.