Rep. Gay-Dagnogo offered the following resolution:

            House Resolution No. 231.

            A resolution to urge Congress and the federal government to pay its full share of the cost of educating children with disabilities under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.  

            Whereas, A November, 2017 report by the Michigan Special Education Funding Subcommittee of the Lt. Governor's Special Education Reform Task Force found that Michigan children with disabilities are lagging behind those of other states. The report also found an overall funding shortfall in the state special education system of approximately $700 million, or about 22 percent of special education costs. Suggested strategies to improve outcomes for children with disabilities require adequate funding; and

Whereas, With the passage of the 1975 Education for All Handicapped Children Act, which later became the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Congress authorized the federal government to pay 40 percent of the "excess cost" for each state to educate children with disabilities, with local communities and states providing the balance. Full funding was to be phased in over 5 years; and

            Whereas, Congress has never lived up to its financial obligation. In 2009, the federal government paid only 33 percent, and presently, only 15 percent, of special education costs. States and local school districts have been forced to pay a higher proportion of those costs out of general funds as a result, reducing total per-pupil funding for all students; and

            Whereas, While the federal share of costs to educate children with disabilities has been decreasing, the cost of providing special education services has been on the rise. The Center for Education Performance and Information (CEPI) reports that funding for special education in Michigan decreased by almost 16 percent between the 2011-12 and 2015-16 academic years. And, according to the Citizens Research Council, the cost of special education services in Michigan rose 60 percent between 2000 and 2010; and

Whereas, The federal government fails children with disabilities and their families when enough funding to meet their educational needs is not being made available; now, therefore, be it

            Resolved by the House of Representatives, That we urge Congress and the federal government to pay its full share of the cost of educating children with disabilities under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act; and be it further

            Resolved, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, the members of the Michigan congressional delegation, the United States Secretary of Education, and the President of the United States.