Revision of funding hinges on special education issues Wednesday, September 13, 2006 • BY JOHN MOONEY • Star-Ledger Staff Special education is a $3 billion enterprise in New Jersey, involving 250,000 students and their families, virtually every district and school, and another 175 private schools that contract for their services. So when the Legislature comes back this fall with a plan for fixing how the state pays for its public schools, lawmakers said yesterday special education will have to be a key part of their proposed solution. As a joint committee charged with revising the state's school funding system held its latest hear ing yesterday, there was little disagreement over the biggest chal lenges facing special education. Legislators spoke of the expensive litigation that often roils districts, as well as the state's high rates of classifying children and then sending them to separate schools. More than 10.9 percent of New Jersey students are classified with disabilities, the third highest rate in the nation. Of those, 8.9 percent are in separate private or public schools, by far the nation's highest proportion. "I don't think we have time to wait," said state Sen. John Adler (D-Camden), co-chair of the special committee. "I think there will be legislation coming out of this committee that will deal with private (school) placements and the level we are identifying kids. "We want to take real action on this in the next couple of months," he said. The hard part will be in determining viable solutions in a field rife with complex rules and strained emotions. Testifying before the commit tee, acting Assistant Commis sioner Barbara Gantwerk warned they are tough issues to legislate, as much of special education is driven by federal law that re quires every child's program be set by his or her own individual needs. For instance, she said the state can more closely review the spending of private schools that serve special education children at public expense, but it can't step in on the placements. "You have to be very careful," she said. At another point, state Sen. Gerald Cardinale (R-Bergen) pressed Gantwerk on how the state can help districts when parents contest their programs and seek mediation, and sometimes litigation. "I hear from districts that if parents are on one side and schools are on the other, the schools will lose," Cardinale said. "They don't believe it is a level playing field." Gantwerk said although a vast majority are settled beforehand, districts actually win most cases that are decided by the courts. "I can guarantee you parents feel at a disadvantage, too," she said. "Litigation is unpleasant for everybody." Special education was one of several broad topics discussed at yesterday's hearing dedicated to state and federal mandates on schools. The committee also heard from Mary Fulton, an analyst with the Education Commission of the States in Denver, on the impact of the federal No Child Left Behind Act, the 2002 law that demands additional testing and other accountability measures in schools. Fulton said New Jersey fares well in meeting the law against comparable states. But some legislators quizzed her on whether the state could both save money and create better assessments if it looked elsewhere in developing its tests. The state this year has budgeted more than $16.2 million for devising and administering tests required by No Child Left Behind. Fulton said several New England states have partnered in developing their tests, and other states have used cheaper commercial tests that can be tailored to their own standards. John Mooney covers education. He may be reached at jmooney@starledger.com, or (973) 392-1548. © 2006 The Star-Ledger. Used by NJ.com with permission.