22A257C3A06A9E2E872587730053F053 Hearing Summary

Director Lucinda Hundley, representing the Consortium of Directors of Special Education and Jon Paul Burden, representing the Special Education Fiscal Advisory Committee (SEFAC) introduced themselves. Director Hundley provided a background on the structure of special education funding and services in Colorado. She shared a handout that provides an overview of Possible Special Education Funding Scenarios Based on the December 2020 Pupil Count. She also shared that the Consortium is working to identify how much it will cost to adequately fund each student with disabilities. Director Hundley shared that Tier B represents students that require more funding.



Mr. Burden continued the presentation by discussing Colorado special education expenditures including federal and local shares.



The presenters responded to questions from the committee regarding Tier A and B funding, funding for the different disability categories, and which of those categories require the most funding.



The materials for this presentation have been shared with committee members and can be found, here: http://leg.colorado.gov/content/isfinance2021acommdocs

Director Hundley continued the presentation by sharing the Constotium's thoughts about adding an additional funding tier; however, she believes that the keeping the two tier system simple may be the best method to serve students with disabilities. Mr. Burden discussed the role of SEFAC and the suggestions included for special education funding in SEFAC's latest report.



The presenters responded to questions from the committee regarding funding outside of the School Finance Funding Formula, changing the formula for Tier A and B, and what funding is needed to fully fund Tier A and B.



The materials for this presentation have been shared with committee members and can be found, here: http://leg.colorado.gov/content/isfinance2021acommdocs

Committee discussion and questions ensued.