Funding Opportunities for Students with IEPs: A Comprehensive Guide
Pursuing higher education can present significant challenges, especially for students with learning disabilities. Fortunately, numerous financial aid options are available to ease the burden. This article explores various funding avenues, including scholarships, grants, and specialized programs designed to support students with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) in achieving their academic goals.
Understanding the Landscape of Funding for Students with IEPs
College scholarships for students with learning disabilities generally fall into two categories: those open to students with any learning disability and those targeted at students with specific conditions like dyslexia, dysgraphia, or dyscalculia. These awards function similarly to other scholarships, with funds applicable to eligible expenses as defined by the scholarship terms. Eligibility requirements can vary; some scholarships may be limited to specific college majors or students who have completed their freshman year. Many scholarships for high school students with learning disabilities also serve as ADHD scholarships. Students may also explore scholarships focused on assisting students with mental health-related diagnoses.
Scholarships for Students with Learning Disabilities
Many scholarships are set up to support students with a specific medical diagnosis. Dyslexia scholarships, for example, are aimed at students known to have dyslexia or highly similar conditions, such as dysgraphia and dyscalculia. The benefit of these targeted scholarships is that students may face less competition.
General Learning Disability Scholarships
These scholarships are open to students with a wide range of learning disabilities, offering a broad opportunity for financial assistance.
Specific Learning Disability Scholarships
Targeted scholarships cater to students with specific conditions like dyslexia, dysgraphia, or dyscalculia, potentially reducing competition and increasing the chances of receiving aid.
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Grants for Students with Learning Disabilities
While less common than scholarships, grants for students with learning disabilities do exist. For instance, the FSD Science Graduate Student Grant Fund provides financial awards to qualifying graduate students pursuing higher education.
Beyond Scholarships: Additional Financial Aid Options
Learning disability scholarships are not the only way to make college more affordable. Students can also explore military scholarships (including options for spouses and dependents), Native American scholarships, scholarships for women and girls, STEM scholarships, and visual arts scholarships.
Federal Aid Programs
After completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and calculating their student aid index (SAI), students may be eligible for government grants like the Pell Grant. Students with learning disabilities may also qualify for work-study programs.
Student Loans
Student loans can help address expenses, but students should be aware that these loans will need to be repaid.
Accommodations and Support Services in College
Students with IEPs may be eligible for accommodations in college to facilitate their education. Contacting the school’s student disability support office is crucial to determine eligibility and access these services at no additional cost. These offices may be referred to as disability services or the office of disabled student services.
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Funding of K-12 Public Education
Federal, state, and local governments fund K-12 public education in the United States. Under the Constitution, the state is responsible for public education. Annual funding levels vary dramatically across the country, with an average range from $4,000 to $10,000 for students without disabilities and $10,000 to $20,000 for students with disabilities. The federal government contributes about 10% of the total budget for both groups, primarily in the form of categorical grants to state education agencies. Local taxes generate the bulk of school funding (40%-50%). The heavy reliance on local property taxes causes significant funding differences within and across states. Some states have attempted to address the inequity by developing formulas that help equalize disparities and increase funding to disadvantaged areas.
Federal Special Education Funding
Federal special education funding comes primarily from two sources: the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) and the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA). ESSA provides categorical funding to support student achievement in low-income areas. IDEA accounts for the bulk of the federal government's ongoing contribution to special education.
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) ensures services to children with disabilities. IDEA governs how states and public agencies provide early intervention, special education, and related services to children and youth. Infants and toddlers with disabilities (birth-age 2) and their families receive early intervention services under IDEA Part C. Children and youths (ages 3-21) receive special education and related services under IDEA Part B. The total IDEA state allocation is split between Parts B and C. The state distributes the funds to the local systems to be used in accordance with state and federal law. The state has the option to reserve a small portion of the total federal allocations for discretionary purposes. Up to 15% of IDEA special education funds may also be used to support early intervening services for low achieving and at-risk students. Many districts are now using this provision to help fund their Response to Intervention (RtI) efforts.
Challenges in IDEA Funding
IDEA does not fully fund special education programs and services. Although Congress authorized 40% of average per-pupil expenditure in the state, appropriations historically have ranged between 10% and 20%. State allocation formulas for special education vary and are dependent on the local district's tax structure. Equalization is not guaranteed and there is a wide disparity in funding in some geographical areas across the nation. Local funding formulas also vary widely and district budgets rely heavily on local revenues.
State and Local Funding Disparities
The heavy reliance on local property taxes causes significant funding differences within and across states. Some states have attempted to address the inequity by developing formulas that help equalize disparities and increase funding to disadvantaged areas.
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Addressing Unfunded Mandates
Technically, there are no unfunded federal "mandates." Each federal education law is conditioned on a state's decision to accept federal funds. The federal law applies only when a state voluntarily chooses to accept federal funds. Any state that does not want to abide by a federal program's requirements can choose not to accept the federal funds associated with that program. Many states and districts accept the requirements and then find that state and federal funding is insufficient to cover local expenses. In these cases, local districts must transfer money from their general funds to pay expenses.
Medicaid as a Revenue Source
Medicaid is another important source of revenue for school districts. Congress annually appropriates funds intended to help states' cover the cost of medical assistance to low income individuals. In 1988, the Catastrophic Medicare Act allowed some providers to bill Medicaid for special education services delivered in the schools. Department of Health and Human Services authorizes the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to distribute Medicaid funds to states. Funds are allocated to each state to match state expenditures for the cost of medical assistance. The matching rates are determined by a formula tied to state per-capita income. States may or may not require local education agencies or districts to bill for Medicaid services. If schools do participate, a system for billing is established. States can retain a percentage for administrative costs. School districts place funds in the school budget according to state and/or local policy. Each state provides a list of permissible expenditures. Each district determines the standards for and costs of providing IEP mandated speech and language services using restricted special education funds. In addition, districts may also choose to implement and fund unmandated services for students without identified disabilities using money from the general fund.
State-Specific Programs and Initiatives
Empowering every student to reach their full potential is the cornerstone of educational equity, especially for those with disabilities.
Education Savings Accounts (ESAs)
Six states offer education savings accounts specifically for students with disabilities: Florida, Indiana, Mississippi, Montana, North Carolina, and Tennessee.
Florida's Family Empowerment Scholarship Program for Students with Unique Abilities
This program allows students with special needs an opportunity to receive an education savings account (ESA) funded by the state and administered by an approved scholarship funding organization (SFO). For the fall 2023-24 school year, the program had 83,499 participating students with an average account value of $9,858.
Indiana ESA
The Indiana ESA was Indiana’s fourth choice program. About 14% of Indiana students are eligible for the program. During fall 2023, the program had 412 participants with an average program value of $6,203.
Mississippi’s Equal Opportunity for Students with Special Needs Program
This education savings account program allows K-12 Mississippi students with special needs to receive a portion of their public funding in a government-authorized savings account with multiple uses. The program has 104 participating schools and 381 participating students with an annual award value of $7,089. Eligible students must have had an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) within the past three years. While participating in this program, students are not eligible for either a Dyslexia Therapy Scholarship or a Nate Rogers Scholarship.
Montana’s Special Needs Equal Opportunity Education Savings Account program
In 2023 Montana enacted the Special Needs Equal Opportunity Education Savings Account program provides families of students with special needs who meet the federal definition of a “child with disabilities” under the IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) an account with a maximum annual allocation up to $8,000 for flexible educational and therapeutic uses, including private school tuition. Roughly 12% of students are eligible with an average account value of $6,000.
North Carolina’s Personal Education Student Account for Children with Disabilities program
This program provides families of students with special needs who meet the federal definition of a “child with disabilities” under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) an account with a maximum annual allocation of $9,000 ($17,000 for students with certain disabilities) for educational and therapeutic uses, including private school tuition. Roughly 10% of K-12 students statewide qualify for NC Education Student Accounts. Students qualify if they are eligible to enroll in kindergarten through 12th grade. They must also have an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) and have been diagnosed with one of several medical conditions. For the 2022-23 school year, the program has 338 participating students with about 3% of students eligible statewide.
Tax Credits and Tax Credit Scholarships
Seven states offer tax credits and tax credit scholarships specifically for students with disabilities: Alabama, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Virginia.
Arizona’s Tax Credits for School Tuition Organizations (STOs)
Arizona offers tax credits to businesses and stockholders supporting school tuition organizations (STOs), nonprofits that provide private school scholarships to students with special needs and those in foster care. Students are eligible if they (1) have a Multidisciplinary Evaluation Team (MET) or Individualized Education Plan (IEP) from an Arizona public school district, (2) have a 504 plan from an Arizona public school district or (3) are now or have ever been in the Arizona foster care system. Roughly 11% of students are eligible statewide with 151 participating schools. In the 2021-2022 school year, 1,345 students were awarded with an average scholarship value of $3,763.
Oklahoma’s Opportunity Scholarships Act
The Opportunity Scholarships Act offers tax credits for individual or corporate contributions to scholarship granting organizations (SGOs), which provide private school scholarships. The Oklahoma Equal Opportunity Education Scholarship program offers individuals and businesses a tax credit for qualifying donations to scholarship-granting organizations (SGOs).
Pennsylvania’s Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit Program
Pennsylvania’s Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit Program offers corporations tax credits for their donations to scholarship organizations (SOs) that provide private school scholarships. Students who meet the zoning and income requirements can receive scholarships funded from those tax credits.
South Carolina’s Refundable Educational Credit for Exceptional Needs Children
The South Carolina Refundable Educational Credit for Exceptional Needs Children is a refundable tax credit program, meaning parents or guardians of students with special needs can be reimbursed, through a tax credit, for what they paid out of pocket for private school tuition. Parents are eligible if their child has been designated by the South Carolina Department of Education as meeting the federal definition of a “child with a disability” (34 CFR § 300.8). This South Carolina program offers up to 100 percent tax credits to individuals and businesses who make charitable contributions to the Educational Credit for Exceptional Needs Children’s Fund, which provides private school scholarships to students with special needs. Roughly 13% of students statewide are eligible.
Utah’s Special Needs Opportunity Scholarship Program
Utah’s Special Needs Opportunity Scholarship Program provides a dollar-for-dollar tax credit to individuals who donate to scholarship-granting organizations, nonprofits that provide scholarships to students with special needs to pay for a variety of educational expenses, including private school tuition, textbooks, and therapies. About 11% of students are eligible statewide. For the 2022-23 school year, the program had 345 participating students with an average scholarship value of $9,500.
Virginia’s Education Improvement Scholarships Tax Credits Program
Virginia’s Education Improvement Scholarships Tax Credits Program offers a 65 percent tax credit to individuals and businesses to donate to qualified scholarship foundations. The foundations then provide private school scholarships to students whose families meet the income requirements. military. Students who fall under these categories must have previously attended public school, unless they are children of active-duty military families or they receive a waiver from their school district.
Voucher Programs
Several states offer voucher programs that allow students with disabilities to attend private schools using public funds.
Arkansas’ Education Freedom Accounts Program
In 2023, Arkansas created a universal education savings account program, the Education Freedom Accounts Program, which will eventually absorb the Succeed Scholarship. In the 2023-24 school year, students who had been receiving Succeed Scholarships were moved into the new EFA program and grandfathered in with the same funding they would have received through Succeed.
Georgia Special Needs Scholarship Program
The Georgia Special Needs Scholarship Program allows any student with a disability to receive a voucher to attend private school. Roughly 12% of Georgia students are eligible. For the 2021-22 school year, 273 schools participated in the program.
Louisiana’s Voucher Program for Students with Exceptionalities
Louisiana provides vouchers to students with certain exceptionalities in eligible parishes to attend private schools of their parents’ choosing that provide educational services specifically addressing their needs. Roughly 11% of students in the applicable parishes are eligible. For the 2022-23 school year, 21 schools participated in the program.
Mississippi’s Dyslexia Therapy Scholarship Program
Mississippi has the nation’s only school choice program created exclusively for students with dyslexia. The program allows children with dyslexia to receive vouchers to attend accredited private and public schools that provide dyslexia therapy. About 4% of students are eligible statewide, with 237 students participating in the 2023-24 school year. Students must be in first through 12th grade and have been screened properly and diagnosed with dyslexia by a licensed psychometrist, psychologist, or speech language pathologist.
Nate Rogers Scholarship for Students with Disabilities Program
The Nate Rogers Scholarship for Students with Disabilities Program is the nation’s only voucher program designed only for students with speech-language therapy needs. Students must be in grades K through 6 and have been screened properly and diagnosed with speech-language impairment. About 3% of students are eligible statewide.
Ohio’s Autism Scholarship Program
Ohio’s Autism Scholarship Program allows Ohio students with autism to receive vouchers up to $32,455 for education services from a private provider, including tuition at a private school. Students must be ages 3 to 21, diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder, registered in a public school special education system, and have a current IEP. Students may use the voucher whether or not they were enrolled previously in public schools, though students not previously enrolled in public schools must formally transfer into the public system for IEP purposes. Roughly 2% of students are eligible statewide for the Autism Scholarship Program. The program has 279 participating schools and serves 4,696 students during the 2022-23 school year, and the average voucher value was $26,639. A child must be in the program for a full academic year to claim the maximum award amount.
Ohio’s Jon Peterson Special Needs Scholarship
The Jon Peterson Special Needs Scholarship provides Ohio parents of children with special needs vouchers to pay for private school tuition, private therapies, and other services covered by their Individual Education Plans (IEPs). About 14% of students statewide are eligible for the scholarship with 8,183 students participating in the program during the 2022-23 school year, and the average voucher value was $10,801.
Oklahoma’s Lindsey Nicole Henry Scholarships for Students with Disabilities
Oklahoma’s Lindsey Nicole Henry Scholarships for Students with Disabilities provide vouchers to qualifying students with special learning needs. Students must have or qualify for an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) or Individualized Service Plan (ISP) to participate in the program. For the 2022-23 school year, the program had 1,256 participating students and 73 participating schools with an average voucher value of about $8,000 per recipient.
Puerto Rico’s School Vouchers
Students living in Puerto Rico who have been enrolled in public or charter schools for at least two consecutive years qualify for school vouchers that may be used at private and public schools.
Utah’s Carson Smith Special Needs Scholarship Program
The Carson Smith Special Needs Scholarship Program provides eligible families of students with special needs with vouchers to attend private schools. About 12% of students are eligible statewide. Public school students between ages three and 21 identified as disabled under federal disability rights law are eligible to receive vouchers, as well as students with special needs in private schools that served students with disabilities prior to participating in the program.
Wisconsin’s Special Needs Scholarship Program
Wisconsin’s Special Needs Scholarship Program provides vouchers designated specifically for students with disabilities to attend private school. For 2023-24, the maximum voucher amount is $14,671. For fall 2023, the program has 2,703 students and 179 participating schools. Roughly 12% of students statewide are eligible for the scholarships, and the average voucher value was $12,883 for the 2022-23 school year. Participating students must have an active Individualized Education Plan (IEP).
Inclusive Choice Programs
This section includes additional choice programs nationwide that are inclusive of students with disabilities, but are not specifically targeted to them. For example, several of these programs are targeted to families that are below certain income levels and/or have a student with disabilities.
Navigating College as an IEP Student
If you’re a parent or caregiver of a student with an IEP, you’re probably already juggling enough. Now you’re staring down the next hurdle: college. But here’s some good news: There are actual programs out there that can help IEP students go to college-for free or close to it. Yes, really.
Qualifying for Programs and Funding
Before diving into the options, it’s important to understand what qualifies a student for these types of programs and funding. Documentation typically includes an IEP, 504 Plan, evaluation report, or a medical note confirming the student’s needs.
Federal Aid Options
- Pell Grants: These are need-based grants from the federal government and do not need to be paid back.
- FSEOG (Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant): Extra funding for students with proven financial need.
- Federal Work-Study: Provides part-time jobs for students with financial need.
- Federal Aid for Students with Intellectual Disabilities: Includes options like Pell Grants and work-study, even if the student isn’t in a traditional degree program.
- TRIO Programs: Department of Education programs that help low-income, first-gen, and disabled students.
State-Specific Programs
- HOPE Career Grant (Georgia): Offers free tuition for technical certificates or diplomas in high-demand fields.
ABLE Accounts
ABLE Accounts are tax-free savings accounts for individuals with disabilities.
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