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House Education chairman wants to know more about special education needs in settings like charter schools - WV MetroNews.The chairman of the House Education Committee, Joe Statler, is making an emphasis of how the state funds special education in the public school system.This morning, Statler addressed the West Virginia Professional Charter Schools Board about special education funding.“I do believe that if we get a better handle on this, we can see one, how in depth it is in all areas of education, and I think that’s important to know,” Statler said.“And quite frankly, some people choose other forms of education because they feel they’re not getting, you know, the appropriate answer to what their issues are.” There are 8 operational charter schools in West Virginia, including six physical, “brick-and-mortar” schools and two statewide virtual academies.Charter schools in the state operate as part of the public school system, but they are typically approved and overseen by the professional charter school board.Charter schools receive financial support from the state’s public education system and are allowed greater operational latitude in exchange for the possibility of losing their right to operate if they fail.So the board that oversees charter schools in the state invited Statler to discuss special education funding.He told state charter school board members that he is seeking statewide numbers on how many special needs students are being served by private schools, the homeschool sector and charter schools.His goal is to understand how widespread the needs are across all education sectors, not just the traditional public schools.“I think this will help us somewhat look at a lot of different areas that people have about special needs, and it’s not just one area that has an issue in this,” Statler said.During informal meetings last month, a series of speakers told delegates that special education costs have ballooned, representing a difficult balance between ensuring the students receive the education they deserve versus the limited financial capacities of school systems.Several speakers highlighted a big gap between required services and available money.Uriah Cummings, the school financial operations officer for the state, said that gap amounts to $180 million.And education officials observed rising special education enrollment while overall enrollment falls.The result is a shrinking overall student base with a higher share of more expensive-to-serve students.Because special education is federally and legally mandated, many counties wind up diverting general fund dollars to cover the special education gap.That often means cutting or scaling back other general education programs and extracurriculars.Statler told charter school board members that officials need to more thoroughly examine if students are being properly identified.That includes considering how and how often are they re-tested to see if they still need the same level of services.He emphasized that the goal is not to remove services that help students, but to ensure the identification process is sound.“It’s going to take more funding in some of the areas, but we’ve got to understand first: How are the students being identified and put into these categories, and when are they retested to see if improvement has shown that they may no longer need all the services?” Statler described plans for meetings in Charleston around the first of July with people involved in special education and then again later in July on the broader school aid funding formula, including special education funding.He invited involvement by the state charter schools board.“So, my ask of this group basically is, if you guys have any areas that you can share with us or feel that you want to get involved.We’re looking, we’re trying to bring all stakeholders to the table.We, we really want to get as much in-depth information on this as we can,” he said.