Panels Appear to End Impasse on School Funds

Legislation approved Wednesday by two key congressional committees appears to have saved $332 million in special education funds for California’s public schoolchildren--money that had been in jeopardy because the state has refused to provide the same educational services for imprisoned felons.

The U.S. Department of Education has been threatening to withhold federal funds that help about 590,000 public school students with physical, emotional and learning disabilities. The federal officials cited a law that they interpret as requiring states to provide incarcerated people between the ages of 16 and 21 the same benefits provided to those in that age group who are in school.

The bipartisan legislation would dramatically reduce the number of inmates eligible for special education services, circumventing that threat. The full House is expected to take up the legislation Tuesday and the Senate soon after.

“This is a significant victory for California. The state is no longer under the threat of losing our $332-million special education package,” said Rep. Frank Riggs (R-Windsor), who helped broker the compromise. “This satisfies 99% of what California officials wanted and does not break a deal that will benefit learning disabled students, parents, caregivers and teachers nationwide.”

The issue arose from a federal interpretation of a 1975 law requiring schools to provide students with special needs a “free, appropriate public education” in return for federal aid. The Education Department read that to include prisoners up to age 22, even if they are behind bars for crimes such as murder and rape or are awaiting execution.

Gov. Pete Wilson has resisted the order, saying that the screening of inmates to determine who is eligible for special education services would create financial and legal havoc, not to mention security risks. State prisons house 10,000 inmates ages 16 to 21 and officials are unsure how many of those might have disabilities that qualify them for special education. Estimates have ranged as high as 25%, with the education costs projected as high as $20 million a year.

Educators protested the notion of transferring any money to prisoners because the federal government already falls far short of paying for the special education services it requires.

The compromise, included in the reauthorization of the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act, says states would not be required to provide special education services to inmates who were not classified as learning disabled before going to prison. That slices the number of eligible inmates in California from what could have been several thousand to 700.

Although Riggs says the compromise gives the state “99% of what it wants,” that might not be enough to suit the Wilson administration or some lawmakers.

Wilson remains opposed to providing any special education services to felons. In a letter to Republican Rep. William Goodling of Pennsylvania, who chairs the House committee considering the bill, Wilson said: “Any language which stops short of providing a full exemption from [special education] requirements for inmates in state [prisons] is opposed by parents whose children receive special education services in our public schools. . . . Mandating special education services for adult inmates makes no sense.”

Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), outraged that a single education dollar would be taken from a public school student to benefit a felon, introduced a bill Tuesday that would eliminate the prisoner education requirement.