Revision: Oct. 29, 2023, 2:30 p.m.
2024 SESSION
24-2329.0
02/05
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION [resolution number]
A RESOLUTION urging Congress to increase federal funding for special education services to reduce property taxes in New Hampshire.
SPONSORS: [sponsors]
COMMITTEE: [committee]
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ANALYSIS
This house concurrent resolution urges Congress to fully fund special education services for New Hampshire under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and provide property tax relief to New Hampshire tax payers.
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24-2329.0
02/05
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty Four
A RESOLUTION urging Congress to increase federal funding for special education services to reduce property taxes in New Hampshire.
Whereas, Congress passed the first iteration of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) mandating that all children with disabilities be provided a free appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment (LRE) in 1975; and
Whereas, Congress promised states the federal government would provide 40 percent of the average per pupil expenditure to help offset the cost of educating eligible students, and in the nearly 43 years since the law’s passage, Congress has never lived up to that funding promise; and
Whereas, in fiscal year 2020, the full 40 percent represented $36.35 billion nationally, however, only $12.76 billion was appropriated to the fifty states, resulting in a funding gap of $23.58 billion nationally; and
Whereas, in fiscal year 2020, the full 40 percent represented $143.8 million in New Hampshire, however, only $51.6 million was appropriated to New Hampshire, resulting in a funding gap of $92.2 million in New Hampshire; and
Whereas, with few exceptions, federal law requires schools to maintain funding levels for special education services year over year, regardless of how much Congress provides; and
Whereas, the failure to provide adequate federal funding has left local districts burdened to find the fiscal resources required to meet their IDEA obligations. This lack of federal support places considerable pressure on state and local budgets, resulting in a range of actions including schools limiting hiring of personnel and providers, restricting service hours, and reducing or eliminating other general education programs (non-special education programs); and
Whereas, more federal funding to cover the special education costs would also allow schools to shift some general funds toward student-support services, early intervention, and counseling for students who have not been identified under IDEA, and reinvest in a way that would make a positive difference for students; and
Whereas, education groups, who call this shortfall an unfulfilled promise, have long campaigned for “fully funding” IDEA, which underpins services for nearly 7 million students with disabilities. In these groups' opinion, more federal funding for IDEA would help special education programs, but it would also more broadly affect all students as schools would no longer have to pull as much from their general education budgets to meet the law’s mandates; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives, the Senate concurring:
That the New Hampshire legislature calls on our federal congressional delegation, to fully fund IDEA for New Hampshire, and make special education a priority while providing much needed relief for property tax payers; and
That the clerk of the New Hampshire house of representatives and the clerk of the New Hampshire senate are directed to prepare copies of this memorial and transmit them to the President of the United States, the President and the Secretary of the United States Senate, the Speaker and the Clerk of the United States House of Representatives, and New Hampshire's congressional delegation.