Notes on Politics and Taxpayer Special Education Funds
When Congress first passed IDEA in 1975, it pledged that the federal government would pay up to 40% of the additional costs of educating students with disabilities. The federal share has never reached that level, according to the National Council on Disability.
The Madison school district is facing a roughly $65 million gap between the federal government’s promised IDEA funding and what it currently provides, Superintendent Joe Gothard said.
IDEA requires public schools to provide a “free appropriate public education” to students with disabilities, meaning local school districts cannot legally reduce services because federal funding falls short. Instead, the district must make up the difference with state and local dollars.
“We’ve got to find a way to balance this out,” Gothard said. “To fully fund special education is the number one priority, and we’ve heard that at the state level.”
Between 2019 and 2024, Madison school district special education spending increased faster than general education spending, according to the Wisconsin Policy Forum. About one-sixth of the district’s more than 25,000 students receivespecial education services.
