Exceptional Student Education Guaranteed Allocation

Exceptional Student Education Guaranteed Allocation

During Florida’s Special Session 2007(a), the Exceptional Student Education (ESE) Guaranteed Allocation budget line item in the draft Senate budget was proposed as discretionary. This meant that in certain emergencies this allocation could be spent in other parts of the school district’s budget.

Over 1.1 billion dollars is provided to school districts in the Exceptional Student Education Guaranteed Allocation as authorized by law to provide educational programs and services for Florida’s exceptional students. The ESE Guaranteed Allocation funds are in addition to the funds for each exceptional student in the per student Full Time Equivalent (FTE) calculation. Each district’s ESE Guaranteed Allocation for the fiscal year provides exceptional student services for students who were formerly reported in ESE Support Levels I, II, and III (IV and V still exist as a separate funding stream for children with severe disabilities and these funds will not be discretionary). The supplement represents the difference between exceptional weighted funding and basic weighted funding.

In recent years the legislature collapsed the first three funding categories for children with developmental disabilities to be used as needed for children who previously were categorized by severity of need. Removing the long standing statutory requirement that these funds be used to support exceptional students will seriously jeopardize the ability of students with disabilities to receive the supports and services necessary to be successful in school and life.

The Council’s Position:

Keep the Exceptional Student Education Guaranteed Allocation for the students who need these services to succeed in the classroom.