Special Ed Funding Update

Wonkier types may remember this story from January, in which I explained that New Mexico stands to lose up to $43 million in special education funding because the state didn’t spend enough during the lean years of the recession. Federal law requires states to maintain their special education funding levels, or risk losing federal funding. New Mexico is now in limbo, having applied for a waiver from the U.S. Department of Education. We don’t yet know whether that waiver will be granted, or whether $43 million will be subtracted from the state’s future federal funding.

When I wrote my story in January, it was looking like New Mexico might get $43 million less every year in perpetuity. But there’s good news for New Mexico, according to the folks at Education Week. Ed Week’s Alyson Klein is reporting that Congress changed the laws that govern federal special education funding so that states will only be punished for one year, not every subsequent year. So even if New Mexico doesn’t get a waiver, federal special ed funding will returned to its former levels after a year or two.

Relatedly, House Bill 628, which is on the Governor’s desk for her signature or veto, would provide a total of $36 million to help cover the special education issue if it turns out that New Mexico owes money to the feds. That’s what I know for now, but I’ll keep posting as I learn more.