1. Increased "Keeping the Promise" aid disbursed to districts

State Superintendent Elizabeth Burmaster announced distribution of aid totaling $5.4 million to 126 local educational agencies this week for services they provided to students with disabilities.

"Every child deserves a quality education. This funding will help school districts meet that promise for students with severe disabilities," Burmaster said.

This year's high-cost special education aid payments come from both state and federal resources. Burmaster established Keeping the Promise: High-Cost Special Education Aid in 2003. The initiative uses discretionary dollars from the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to compensate for the lack of both state and federal funding for costs school districts incur to provide educational programming to students with severe or multiple disabilities as required by law. She allocated $1.9 million for aid this year. Because of the need substantiated by Burmaster's Keeping the Promise initiative, the 2005-07 state budget allocated an additional $3.5 million to support schools in meeting students' high-cost educational needs.

Claims for eligible costs for services to students with severe or multiple disabilities during the 2005-06 school year totaled $7.4 million, which is still higher than the state or federal funds allocated for aid. Payments went to 123 school districts, two cooperative educational service agencies, and the Walworth County Children with Disabilities Education Board (CCDEB) for services to students in 174 school districts. Visit http://www.dpi.wi.gov/sfs/highcost.html to learn more about claiming reimbursements under this program.

More information: http://www.dpi.wi.gov/eis/pdf/dpi2007_61.pdf
DPI High-cost special education aid page, including a claim form: http://www.dpi.wi.gov/sfs/highcost.html

For more information about SEAchange, contact: Benson Gardner at (608) 266-3374.

Last updated on 7/9/2007