New special education rate structure delayed
Heeding protests from parents and educators, District officials have put off implementation of a new rate structure for private schools that serve about 2,700 D.C. special education students at public expense. The rates, scheduled to take effect this fall, would have limited tuition payments to $215 per day ($38,700 for a 180-day school year). Tuition can range from $20,000 to more than $100,000 a year.
Parents and private school operators said the rate schedule was a rigid "one size fits all" approach that would create hardships for schools that had already set their budgets and hired staff for the coming year. They also said that the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE), the agency charged with monitoring the progress of privately placed students, was trying to rush the new rates onto the books over the summer. The attorney who represents students under the Petties class action suit governing tuition and transportation said earlier this month that he would seek a court injunction delaying imposition of the revised rates.
Tameria Lewis, assistant state superintendent for special education, said Tuesday that OSSE would extend final rule-making into November and that new rates would not be effective until July 2011. The new