Vermont special-education leaders urge full Act 73 implementation, warn funding change could risk federal aid

BURLINGTON, Vt. — Leaders of the Vermont Council of Special Education Administrators told a joint House Education and Ways & Means hearing on Feb. 11 that the state must complete implementation of Act 73 and that proposed changes to how special education is funded must protect districts’ federal maintenance-of-effort (MOE) obligations.

“Special education from 2020 forward has risen 12% and total education expenses have risen 37% since then,” said Mary Lundeen, executive director of the Vermont Council of Special Education Administrators. Lundeen said those figures show special education has not driven total education cost growth and urged lawmakers not to cast students with disabilities as an affordability problem.

VCSEA witnesses said the Agency of Education’s recent report did not fully answer the questions laid out in Section 29 of Act 73 because the agency lacked the data and staff capacity to compile all required information.…