CASE Legislative Priorities: 119th Congress

About the Council of Administrators of Special Education (CASE)

The Council of Administrators of Special Education (CASE), the largest division of the Council for Exceptional Children
(CEC), is an international nonprofit professional organization providing leadership, advocacy, and professional
development to more than 6,000 administrators responsible for the implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act (IDEA). Special education administrators are frontline leaders who work on behalf of students with
disabilities and their families in local school districts and institutions of higher education. Our members have dedicated
their careers to ensuring educational services for students with disabilities in accordance with federal law.

Since its inception in 1952, CASE has focused on serving and advocating for students with disabilities, their families, and the schools that serve them. CASE members believe it is critical to children’s success to work closely with families throughout the educational process. CASE focuses its work on inclusion of and support for all students.

The Current State of Special Education

Special education is at a crossroads. Despite years of underfunding, compounded now by serious shortages of special
education professionals, special education administrators daily deliver a free appropriate public education (FAPE) to 7.5
million students with disabilities ages 3-21 (2022-23 school year; Condition of Education," U.S. Dept. of Education,
2024). The COVID-19 pandemic made educators’ jobs more challenging, as they quickly pivoted to online learning and
made their best faith efforts to provide each student with high-quality services. The impact on the mental health and
well-being of staff and students under such difficult circumstances continues to reverberate in schools across the country.
Educators are working with each student to address learning needs and move forward. Even with these challenges,
educators remain optimistic, arriving each day ready to tackle whatever situations they might face.

Students with disabilities need a comprehensive and well-integrated system of support led by educators who work in
partnership with parents and the community. Sufficient funding and staffing are critical to meet students’ needs. We are
hopeful about the work ahead and look forward to being a partner with Congress to meet these challenges.

This information is divided into two sections: Top priorities for the 119th Congress, and other topics of importance to our
members where CASE can serve as a resource to Congress.

Priorities for the 119th Congress

1. Attracting, preparing, and retaining high-quality professionals who reflect the diversity of the students served.
2. Fully funding the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
3. Providing mental health supports for students and families.

Students Served.
Every student deserves an equitable opportunity to achieve in school and be prepared to meet their postsecondary
goals – college, career, independence. Shortages of fully certified special education professionals and unfilled
positions – teachers, specialized instructional support personnel, and administrators – negatively impacts schools’ ability to move students toward these goals. CASE believes a multifaceted, long-term, systemic approach is necessary to address the issues of recruitment, preparation, and retention of special education professionals.

The pandemic added to an already difficult problem, bringing higher attrition rates, accelerated retirements,
decreased enrollment in preservice programs, and increased stress. High-need schools and communities
experienced an even greater impact. For the 2022-23 school year, the National Center for Education Statistics
reported 53 percent of public schools felt understaffed, with 65 percent reporting understaffing of special
education teachers. In June 2024, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 290,000 state and local education job
openings, but there were only 152,000 hires. In March 2023, 51 percent of public schools reported they would
need to fill special education positions before the start of the 2023-24 school year (School Pulse Panel, National
Center of Education Statistics, 2023). In the 2023-24 national child count of students with disabilities, about 56
percent were from minority backgrounds (Office of Special Education Programs, U.S. Dept. of Education), while
only 34 percent of special education teacher graduates for the same period were people of color (National Center
for Education Statistics). Significant shortages extend also to early intervention providers and specialized
instructional support personnel.

Most important, between 2009 and 2020, total enrollment in teacher preparation programs decreased by 16 percent (U.S. Dept. of Education). Similarly, 85,000 fewer teacher candidates were enrolled in teacher preparation programs in 2020-21 compared to 2012-13 (Learning Policy Institute). In addition to fewer enrollees, the number of higher education faculty in educator preparation programs declined by 13 percent in 2020-21. The pipeline problem is magnified further by the significant debt students incur to attend college and the continuing salary lag for educators in comparison to many other professions.

Congressional Actions Requested:

• Provide monetary incentives to recruit qualified individuals, such as loan forgiveness and scholarships.
• Increase investments in Title II of the Higher Education Act and IDEA, Part D, Personnel Preparation.
• Through the Higher Education Act, provide alternate pathways for re-specialization, re-licensure, or alternative routes to licensure.
• Make licensure reciprocity systems and interstate compacts allowable uses of funds under the Higher Education Act.
• Provide service scholarships and loan forgiveness programs that cover or reimburse a significant portion of tuition costs in exchange for a commitment to teach in high-need schools and subjects areas, including special education.

While children with disabilities participate in and benefit from all federally funded education programs, the IDEA
is the main vehicle for providing the specialized instruction and services they require. In 1975 when the Education
for All Handicapped Children Act – the predecessor law to the IDEA – was enacted, Congress authorized the
federal government to provide up to 40 percent of the excess costs of educating children with disabilities–known
as “full funding.” In Fiscal Year 2024, the federal contribution reached only about 11 percent, leaving states and
school districts to pay the balance and increasing the burden on local taxpayers. It is important to note that
emergency funding provided during the pandemic was very helpful to schools as they have navigated the impact
of COVID-19; however, those funds were not a substitute for increases in regular annual appropriations for the
IDEA and other education programs.

Congressional Actions Requested:

• Enact a 10-year glidepath in FY 2025 to fully fund the IDEA, enabling school districts to provide equitable evidence-based support for children and youth with disabilities and hire more fully prepared special education professionals.
• Prioritize spending on education–among the best investments the nation can make–through an overall federal investment for education of at least 5 percent of the total federal budget. In the short term, we will be able to point to greater student achievement, and in the long term, greater economic output, community engagement, and a well-informed populace prepared to engage in a global environment.

According to the School Pulse Panel (National Center for Education Statistics, 2024), 58 percent of public schools
reported an increase in students seeking school-based mental health services over the previous school year. One
in six children has a mental health condition, but only half receive any mental health services (Centers for Disease
Control & Prevention, 2023). Among children ages 9-17, approximately 5.8 million, or 9.4 percent, have been
diagnosed with anxiety (CDC, 2023).

In addition, the U.S. Surgeon General has issued a report on possible connections between social media and youth mental health (Social Media and Youth Mental Health: The U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory, 2023). That Advisory reports social media are used by up to 95 percent of teenagers and 40 percent of children aged 8-12, while it is still not clear if such use is sufficiently safe for those ages. While there may be some benefits to social media as a source of connections for marginalized youth, including youth with disabilities, more evidence is emerging that the risks of harm outweigh most positive effects.

Children and youth need strong instructional programs with caring staff to experience success in school Of equal importance is access to highly qualified mental health professionals. These individuals – school counselors, psychologists, and social workers – provide evidence-based services and interventions and help create a positive, supportive environment for learning. Students with and without disabilities may experience mental health challenges, and these services are especially critical for students where the severity of the challenges entitles them to special education services. The National Association of School Psychologists recommends a ratio of 500 students per professional, and the American School Counselor Association and the School Social Work Association of America recommend ratios of 250:1. In most schools ratios are at minimum double these ratios and in many schools far above the recommended staffing levels. Persistent shortages of school-based mental health services providers must be addressed to ensure students receive appropriate and adequate services.

Behavioral and mental health interventions are vital to addressing the impact of traumatic experiences such as violence in schools and the continued effects of the pandemic and should be part of a strong educational system – delivered in schools and working in partnership with community mental health systems. CASE supports embedding self-awareness, self-management, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making in all instructional areas, including a systemwide focus on prevention of bullying and harassment which adversely impact the entire school community.

Congressional Actions Requested:

• Increase federal investments to assist school districts in hiring more school-employed mental health professionals.
• Support the CARE for Student Mental Health Act, authorizing the two mental health grants originally funded under the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act to address the pipeline for and shortages of school-based mental health professionals.
• Adopt policies and fund programs that promote prevention and interdisciplinary partnerships among education, early childhood, juvenile justice, mental health, and community mental health providers to ensure the well-being of all children and youth.

Other Important Issues

CASE members engage on a wide range of continuing and emerging topics. CASE can assist Congress on these
and other education and disability-related issues with current information from school districts across the country.

Chronic Absenteeism 

Chronic absenteeism has reached epidemic proportions across the country. Prior to the pandemic, 8 million students were chronically absent, generally considered to mean missing 10 percent or more of school days due to absence for any reason. The most recent federal data (School Year 2020-21) indicate that number jumped during and post-pandemic to at least 14.7 million students across the country who were chronically absent. Students with disabilities are particularly vulnerable to school absence. In March 2024, the National Center for Health Statistics (Centers for Disease Control) reported 14.8 percent of children with disabilities ages 5-17 – three times their non-disabled peers (4.4%) – experienced chronic absenteeism.

Reasons for students’ absence generally are due to barriers to school attendance which often affect students with greatest need, including students with disabilities; aversion to school due to disability or undiagnosed disability or academic, behavioral or social challenges; disengagement, including lack of academic or behavioral supports; or misconceptions about attendance, such as learning is not affected by missing several days of school per month. Clearly no matter the cause, if students are not in school, they miss critical core instruction, behavioral and social skills development, and building relationships with staff that could help them progress, succeed, and ultimately graduate from high school.

Addressing Racial Disproportionality in Special Education

New rules related to how schools address disproportionality in special education are now being implemented, and school districts are working to address the issues associated with the overrepresentation of students of color in special education programs. However, the root cause of disproportionality cannot be attributed only to special education. One challenge with the implementation of the new rules has been the use of the IDEA provision on Comprehensive Coordinated Early Intervening Services (CCEIS) dollars. CASE advocates for an approach where the use of already dwindling special education dollars through set asides of CCEIS is scrutinized. While funds are appropriately allocated to the underlying issues behind disproportionality, depleting special education funding rather than allocating new general education funds for this purpose seems counterproductive.

Supporting Early Childhood Education

CASE supports universal access to and increased funding for a comprehensive, coordinated system of
identification, support, and inclusive programming for infants and toddlers and preschool children with
disabilities prior to entering the public school system. Under the IDEA, school districts are responsible for
identifying and providing services to children with disabilities from birth through age 21. High-quality early
intervention special education programs have demonstrated success in preparing children for kindergarten and
reducing the need for later academic and behavioral services.

Despite the research, funding for universal screenings, parent education, and inclusive systems of support through
Section 619 and Part C have stagnated during recent years even while more children have been identified for
services. CASE supports funding of universal Pre-Kindergarten for all children, as well as for early identification,
full inclusion, and comprehensive supports and services for young children with or at risk of disabilities.

Keeping Public Funds in Public Education

CASE opposes all publicly funded subsidies of private education – including private school vouchers, tax credits,
taxpayer savings grants/scholarships, and portability – including programs specifically targeted to students with
disabilities. Public education is the cornerstone of American democracy, providing equitable opportunities and
positive educational outcomes for all students, including students with disabilities. Subsidizing private schools
with public funds does irreparable financial harm to the needed investment in public schools.

Students with disabilities do not have equal access to private schools, and some private schools have mission-
driven admissions practices that specifically exclude these students. In addition, private schools are neither required to provide students with disabilities a free appropriate public education (FAPE), nor do these schools have to afford students and their families basic procedural safeguards and rights under the IDEA. All students must have the opportunity to attend schools where their right to FAPE is respected, and supports and services are available. Public fiscal support to private and parochial schools should be limited to the proportionate share provision already mandated under the IDEA.

CASE supports the concept and purpose of “maintenance of effort” (MOE) to ensure accountability for providing
FAPE for students with disabilities. The MOE provision is designed to protect investments in special education
and demonstrate that the level of local and state funding remains relatively constant from year to year. This
protection is important to ensure funding is maintained for students eligible for special education. However, for
the past forty years, MOE has been determined by using the same metric based on a district’s expenditure for
special education services. Specifically, CASE supports refining the procedure to allow for additional methods
beyond a simple calculation of expenditures. We recommend improvements that ensure maintaining the level of
service by using more efficient methods, with appropriate exceptions to MOE built into the statute.

Reforming IDEA Dispute Resolution Procedures

CASE supports emphasizing positive, collaborative methods of resolving concerns of parents and school districts.
Due to the high cost of litigation – financial and relational – and increasing financial stress on districts, IDEA due
process procedures should be revised to ensure disagreements are resolved at the lowest administrative level using
effective, collaborative and alternative dispute resolution techniques.

Increased Access to School-Based Medicaid

CASE supports increased public school access to Medicaid funds to offset the high costs incurred in the provision of federally-mandated specialized instructional support services required for eligible students to benefit from academic instruction. CASE also supports School-Based Medicaid reimbursements for all health-related Medicaid covered services, such as behavioral/mental health services, health screening, specialized transportation, and school nursing services. Should Medicaid changes occur that reduce reimbursement for services, districts would be forced to reduce resources, eliminate critical staff positions, and/or reallocate state and local funds to fill the void left by lost funding.

Restraint and Seclusion

CASE has consistently recommended reforms to restraint and seclusion procedures through the use of a common
framework of state-developed and federally-mandated procedures. The use of restraint and seclusion should be
rare in schools. When used, these procedures should be initiated only by staff who have been trained in the use
of an evidence-based program and only used as a last resort intervention when a student demonstrates an
immediate risk of harm to self or others.

Federal legislation should include definitions of commonly used terms, including time out, which are used in
other places in federal law. Common definitions will ensure data collected are consistent and reliable. Congress
should also establish required protections (data collection, documentation, complaint procedures, parent and
student rights) specific to restraint and seclusion.

CASE is happy to provide specific information, legislative language, and research on any of these priority issues
and other topics. For further information, please contact Myrna Mandlawitz, CASE Policy/Legislative
Consultant, [email protected], or Phyllis Wolfram, CASE Executive Director,
[email protected].