Special-needs students often shortchanged, lawmakers told

Montana shortchanges thousands of students with special needs, whether it’s gifted students, special education students with disabilities or students at risk of dropping out, lawmakers were told this week.

The state is “severely underfunding” education for high-ability kids, Julie Merritt, a parent with the Montana Association for Gifted and Talented Education, told the Legislature’s Education Interim Committee.

The $250,000 a year that the Legislature provides for roughly 4,800 gifted students is so low, Merritt said, that gifted education is virtually “unfunded.”

Source: Special-needs students often shortchanged, lawmakers told | Education | bozemandailychronicle.com