By Kelly Acevedo
The newly-adopted CPS budgeting and funding policy also affects children with disabilities and Special Education students. Nationwide, these children receive more federal funding because of their educational needs. The Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) authorizes grants to state and local education agencies. The education they receive is free, which means that their parents or legal guardians do not pay the costly fees that are required for a child's learning. However, due to the new CPS policy, the necessary per student funding has drastically decreased. For instance, Blair Early Childhood Center will see a 75% reduction, signifying that seven Special Ed teachers, one general teacher and other positions may be cut. Another school also affected is Northside Learning Center High School, which serves students with cognitive disabilities, could lose eight Special Ed instructors and fourteen teacher aids according to the Chicago's Teachers Union (Fortino 1). Children with disabilities and Special Ed are in fact more "costly," because they require more care and resources than the other students.
In addition, these children are not receiving the adequate education due to the shortage of funding which decreases the teachers available to the them. To fix this, CPS would need to either have a separate type of funding for these children. This is absolutely necessary to ensure that there is an equality of funds between the Special Ed and other children based on their needs. Another way to change this policy for these kids, is to change their "value and worth" in relevance to the per-pupil funding their schools receive. This would improve the quality of their education, by paying for the necessary teachers and resources.
Fortino, Ellyn . "Progress Illinois." CPS' Per-Student Budgets Will Exacerbate School Inequality, Education Experts Say. N.p., 14 June 2013. Web. 27 Feb. 2014. <http://www.progressillinois.com/quick-hits/content/2013/06/14/cps-student-budgets-will-exacerbate-school-inequality-education-expert>.
The newly-adopted CPS budgeting and funding policy also affects children with disabilities and Special Education students. Nationwide, these children receive more federal funding because of their educational needs. The Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) authorizes grants to state and local education agencies. The education they receive is free, which means that their parents or legal guardians do not pay the costly fees that are required for a child's learning. However, due to the new CPS policy, the necessary per student funding has drastically decreased. For instance, Blair Early Childhood Center will see a 75% reduction, signifying that seven Special Ed teachers, one general teacher and other positions may be cut. Another school also affected is Northside Learning Center High School, which serves students with cognitive disabilities, could lose eight Special Ed instructors and fourteen teacher aids according to the Chicago's Teachers Union (Fortino 1). Children with disabilities and Special Ed are in fact more "costly," because they require more care and resources than the other students.
In addition, these children are not receiving the adequate education due to the shortage of funding which decreases the teachers available to the them. To fix this, CPS would need to either have a separate type of funding for these children. This is absolutely necessary to ensure that there is an equality of funds between the Special Ed and other children based on their needs. Another way to change this policy for these kids, is to change their "value and worth" in relevance to the per-pupil funding their schools receive. This would improve the quality of their education, by paying for the necessary teachers and resources.
Fortino, Ellyn . "Progress Illinois." CPS' Per-Student Budgets Will Exacerbate School Inequality, Education Experts Say. N.p., 14 June 2013. Web. 27 Feb. 2014. <http://www.progressillinois.com/quick-hits/content/2013/06/14/cps-student-budgets-will-exacerbate-school-inequality-education-expert>.