February 28th was a hearing in the Senate E-12 Budget Division on special ed. funding went very well.  Three bills to increase funding for special ed were heard, including the bill initiated by the Coalition, SF 652.   There was a great turnout and the room was full of people wearing day glow green "special ed works" stickers, despite the threat of a major snow storm.  The testimony was excellent.  The tone of the hearing was quite a contrast to previous years.  Everyone talked about special education in very positive terms, and several witnesses specifically spoke about the need to avoid pitting kids against each other or blaming special ed students for school budget problems. 

 

The hit of the evening was the Student Council President from Minneapolis Southwest High School.  She charmed the committee and provided the committee with a live example of a special ed success story.  She received star billing in the Minnesota Public Radio story on the hearing.  Here is a link to the coverage on the MPR website:  http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2007/02/28/specialed/