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Special‑education leaders urge statutory protections so new foundation funding does not supplant local effort
Summary
Erin McGuire of the Vermont Council of Special Education Administrators told the committee that any foundation or census model for special education must preserve federal IDEA maintenance‑of‑effort (MOE) requirements and include an inflator, or districts risk losing federal funds or being forced to move local dollars away from students.
A representative of Vermont's special‑education administrators told the Ways & Means Committee that lawmakers must protect maintenance‑of‑effort (MOE) commitments when reshaping education funding.
Erin McGuire, director of equity and inclusion and co‑director of student support services for the Essex Westford School District, explained that federal law (IDEA) requires districts to maintain local and state special‑education spending at least at the prior‑year level in order to access federal funds. "If we do not spend at least as much as we did the year prior in local and state funding, we will not be able to fully access our federal funds," she said.
McGuire urged the committee to adopt statutory language to ensure whatever special‑education funding model the legislature chooses—whether a census grant, a weighted foundation approach, or a glide path—must provide funding at the MOE level plus an inflator so districts are not forced to reallocate foundation funds away from general education or risk federal noncompliance.
She asked the committee to make clear to the Agency of Education and the study team that any recommended model must meet that MOE floor so that a study's recommendation will be implementable without creating funding cliffs for students with disabilities.
Committee members confirmed the yield bill language restored an inflator for one year and discussed how a longer‑term statutory solution could be paired with a study and a glide path. McGuire asked for continuing dialogue to ensure the final design preserves both federal compliance and district stability.
