Nussle says changes could be in store for special ed programs

House Budget Committee Chairman Jim Nussle of Iowa says Congress is considering dramatic changes in the nation’s special education programs. Nussle says it’s time to redraw the rules for special ed programs, providing incentives and flexibility for schools. Nussle says school administrators and teachers say they’re hamstrung by current regulations. Nussle says it’s a one-size-fits-all system, and he says it’s time to trust educators to make decisions about kids. The feds will spend nearly 10-billion dollars on special education this budgeting year, a nearly billion dollar increase from last year. The federal government is supposed to pay 40 percent of the costs of special ed programs, but has paid no more than 13 percent of the bills associated with running special ed programs. Nussle is proposing a 12 percent increase in special ed funding in each of the next few years until the feds reach that committment.