¶ … financially supplementing a federally funded program for special needs students? Why are these significant?
The most significant concerns when financially supplementing a federally funded program for special needs students are a) that funds are not depleting accounts designated for general students, as Baker and Ramsey (2010) have indicated; and b) that funds are evenly dispersed among schools and not concentrated only in certain areas of a state while other areas/school districts are ignored.
These two main issues are significant because they highlight potential risks that are concomitant with the issue of federal funding programs for special needs students. Because funds are allocated in a general manner and left up to the state and/or district to divvy out, the potential for abuse or for misallocation is prevalent and requires a strong risk management solution on both a state and local level in order for the concerns to be properly addressed. If they are not properly addressed, the risk of special needs students in some areas being underfunded is high and the risk of general students having funds taken out of their account for the special needs programs becomes an inherent and systemic risk. Accepting that these issues are to be going concerns for any federally funded special...
As taxpayer contributions dip, the demand for evenly and fairly dispersed funds is likely to get only greater.
2. Is it possible to integrate the management, reporting, and auditing of grants and district program evaluation when it comes to special education? Why or why not?
It is not only possible to integrate the management, reporting and auditing of grants and district program evaluations when it comes to special education, but it is also necessary. By taking a full-spectrum approach to the issue of special needs management, including funding and evaluating, special needs programs receive a much better likelihood of successful maintenance and oversight than if each of the various tasks are isolated and left to be performed by individual groups or departments without communication with one another. As Verstegen (2011) notes, public education finance systems within the U.S. require complete…
