Executive Budget cuts $95M for special education

District-level data available from Policy Matters

Ohio’s public school districts will lose more than $103 million in foundation formula funding over the next two years, including $95 million in cuts to special education funding, if the budget proposed by Gov. DeWine passes.

A series of factsheets from Policy Matters reveals how the Executive Budget manipulates cost estimates and property-tax data to shift responsibility for school funding onto local districts, reverting to a funding system that over-relies on local property taxes and levies, making a constitutionally guaranteed adequate education dependent on a child’s ZIP code.

“We knew that schools would suffer if officials moved forward with the distorted math they’ve been using to calculate the state’s share of funding,” said co-author Ali Smith. “When we dug into the numbers, we were surprised at how much of the cuts come from special education.”

Executive Director Hannah Halbert added, “It’s especially troubling that so much of the proposed cuts come from services for students in special education — students who can be turned away by the private schools receiving more and more public funding through tuition vouchers.”

Policy Matters has created 349 district-specific factsheets, one for every district that will lose funding under the plan proposed in the Executive Budget. “We hope public school families, students, teachers, and communities will use these resources when they contact their representatives to advocate for the full implementation of the Fair School Funding Plan. The legislature must calculate the state’s share of funding in good faith, so all kids can get a great education at their district schools,” Halbert said.