#EveryKidCounts Campaign Aims to Help Struggling Schools

A new campaign named “Every Kid Counts” aims to win new public funds for extraordinary special education aid to schools across New Jersey. The initiative, started by New Jersey State Senator Vin Gopal (D-Long Branch), Assemblyman Eric Houghtaling (D-Neptune), and Assemblywoman Joann Downey (D-Freehold), is looking to obtain a larger portion of the State’s budget to help schools afford the costs of programs for students with special needs.

“Every student, whether they have special needs or not, deserves a quality education,” Gopal said. “But it's becoming clear that districts can't bear this burden alone - and that when skyrocketing special education costs force schools to do more with less, every student loses. Local taxpayers can’t afford to shoulder these costs, and educators are struggling to make do with the limited resources available. Someone else needs to step in.”

The “Every Kid Counts” campaign has established a petition with a goal of obtaining signatures from concerned parents, taxpayers, and educators from school districts across the Garden State. Interested residents can find the petition and additional information about the campaign at www.EveryKidCountsNJ.com.

The costs of extraordinary special education programs can come from a variety of sources. Common expenses include personal aides for students, custom learning resources including workbooks and other materials, and renovated classrooms to provide students a personalized learning space.

“Historically, schools with students receiving extraordinary special education aid have been critically underfunded,” said Houghtaling. “Right now, the State devotes $195 million to extraordinary special education aid, while estimates suggest that at least $380 million is necessary to fully meet our commitments. It’s time for the State to meet our obligations on these high-cost programs, freeing up millions of dollars in funds statewide for schools to spend across their entire student body.”

Schools in New Jersey receive two types of special education funding. One type, basic funding for special education programs, is received by every school in the state, and is calculated by the school funding formula to match the population of students with special needs in each district.

The second type, extraordinary special education aid, is received only by schools whose students meet a certain threshold of expenses. For a student with special needs attending a public school in-district, the school is able to receive up to 90 percent of the cost for educating that student if those costs exceed $40,000.

A public school educating a student from outside of its district is also eligible if the cost of educating that student exceeds $40,000, but can only receive up to 75 percent of the costs from the State. A private school educating a student with special needs must meet a threshold of $55,000 for educating a single student, and can only receive up to 75 percent reimbursement for the costs of doing so.

Though eligible for greater amounts of extraordinary special education aid, qualifying schools have historically only received less than approximately 50% of their costs due to underfunding. If extraordinary special education aid is more fully funded, those schools would be able to receive funds closer to their cap for reimbursement.

“If our state devotes a much heftier chunk of the budget to meeting the needs of children in extraordinary special education programs, we can give straining school districts and their students a fighting chance to succeed,” Downey said. “When every child is given the chance to excel - when every kid knows that they matter - everyone wins.”

Senator Vin Gopal, Assemblyman Eric Houghtaling and Assemblywoman Joann Downey represent New Jersey’s 11th Legislative District in the State Senate and Assembly, where they work to make the Garden State more affordable for its hard-working residents. The 11th District includes the Monmouth County municipalities of Allenhurst, Asbury Park, Colts Neck, Deal, Eatontown, Freehold Borough, Freehold Township, Interlaken, Loch Arbour, Long Branch, Neptune City, Neptune, Ocean Township, Red Bank, Shrewsbury Borough, Shrewsbury Township, Tinton Falls and West Long Branch.