By Maggie Robak
Staff Writer
Before leaving office, former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed $133 million in funding for Assembly Bill 3632, which for 25 years has provided mental health treatment, like psychotherapy, to special education students.
Although his veto was recently upheld by the California Court of Appeals, it has very negative consequences for these students’ education.
Schwarzenegger’s decision to veto the bill is incredibly irresponsible. By vetoing the funding, he has shifted the financial burden of AB 3632 services from the state to school districts, which already have to struggle in order to make ends meet.
The loss of $133 million of state funding for AB 3632, which handles issues beyond the scope of school-based counseling, will put nearly 20,000 California special education students’ educations in jeopardy.
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act ensures that children with disabilities are entitled to free appropriate education in the least restrictive environment.
The sudden veto of funding for AB 3632 creates a challenging situation for school administrators and board members by leaving the state’s cash-strapped school districts financially responsible.
Many school districts do not have the funds needed to provide these services, and, therefore, many students will not receive the proper treatment stipulated by IDEA.
Other districts are also unable to fund the necessary services because comprehensive mental health treatment can be lengthy and costly.
For those districts that are able to pay for special education students, the veto of AB 3236 funding is still a unethical.
Due to the veto, school districts like Manhattan Beach Unified School District will be forced to pay for mandated treatment for special education students without financial support from those who mandated it.
For example, MBUSD must factor an additional $600,000 into its budget to make up for the lost funding.
Fortunately, the state government has allocated about $76 million in federal special education funds to the state’s counties in order to provide services in the immediate future.
However, there is not enough funding to cover the entire year and no additional funding allocated to the school districts. Furthermore, there have been no plans to sustain the funding.
Admittedly, the state is $28 billion in debt and in need of a massive budget overhaul, but not at the expense of special education.
The only way for California to support education is to continue funding for AB 3236. While California is in a recession and does need to balance its budget, cutting the funding for this essential program is not a viable option.
Leave a Reply