State Aid for Special Education: The Underfunding Continues

The law came out of New Jersey’s previous school-funding formula in the 1990's, a way for the state to provide local districts with help for some of their steepest bills: so-called extraordinary special education costs.

These are the bills for students with significant special needs, often requiring expensive staffing and other services. The law at the time set the threshold at $40,000, offering up the state's help to bear some of the costs above that amount.

More than a decade later, Gov. Chris Christie has proposed raising the extraordinary aid fund to $162.7 million next year, up about 7 percent. But while welcomed by districts, it’s also not quite what it seems.

The education department this week put out the guidelines that the state used to determine the aid amounts for next year. For special-needs students in-district who cost over $40,000, the state would pay from 75 percent to 90 percent of the additional cost, depending on services. In out-of-district schools, the threshold is $55,000, after which the state would pay 75 percent, the guidelines said.

Princeton Regional Schools is expected to receive $733,862 for 2011-12. 

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