Alabama has joined Iowa, Kansas, South Carolina, and West Virginia in requesting that the U.S. Department of Education allow the state to reduce for one year the amount of money spent on special education because of an “unforeseen decline in the financial resources” of the state.
The one-page letter was submitted late last month, according to a spokeswoman for the Alabama education department. Waiver requests by Iowa, Kansas, and West Virginia have been granted; South Carolina’s and Alabama’s are under review.
States generally are not allowed to reduce the amount of money that they give to districts for special education. An exception can be allowed if the state is going through “exceptional or uncontrollable” circumstances, such as a precipitous drop in revenue. Waivers are granted for one fiscal year at a time.
