My special ed students need schools to be funded by both federal and state governments

As a special education teacher for the School District of Philadelphia in North Philly, I am very aware my students rely on varied sources of funding — including state and federal sources. Which is why the potential dismantling of the U.S. Department of Education is so alarming to me.

Federal funding makes up about 10% of all Pennsylvania education funding and helps provide additional resources through programs like Title I and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act to students who need them the most at schools like mine, which serve high numbers of students with disabilities and students experiencing poverty. The $600 million in IDEA funding that Pennsylvania receives each year provides resources for students with disabilities — helping fund not only my salary as a special education teacher but also resources, assistive technology to help students communicate, sensory objects, speech therapists, occupational therapists, and much more.

My school is so underfunded that we did not have a speech therapist for four years. Not only is it wrong to put my students through schooling without the support to help them effectively communicate, it is also illegal. This is the first year we finally have a speech therapist, and I have seen my students make so much progress.

My school is so underfunded that I have to crowdfund for basic materials and sensory objects my students need to get through the day. Those objects include elastic kickbands to keep them from fidgeting in their chairs, textured stickers for their desks, and special vests to help calm them. These objects are not optional and extra — they are necessary tools that enable my students to learn.

» READ MORE: Pennsylvania’s children with disabilities need fair funding | Opinion

My school is so underfunded that I reuse and recycle and make copies of the curriculum because we cannot order new consumable workbooks. My students deserve better than copy paper workbooks and a teacher who is tired from fighting with the copy machine.

My students with disabilities rely heavily on the resources schools provide them. They need every last resource, speech therapist, occupational therapist, and sensory object. I cannot imagine the devastation to my students’ lives if these resources are picked apart.

But with the Trump administration considering cutting the Department of Education and its funding, my students’ fixtures are on the chopping block. We must remember that before the department was created in 1979, there were no processes in place to ensure students with disabilities were receiving a free and appropriate public education.

On March 4, the American Federation of Teachers held a “Day of Action” to spread the word about the necessity of the Department of Education in view of the threat to its continued existence. Local union chapters were actively involved in these important efforts to educate the community about the role the federal government plays in the total funding of the commonwealth’s schools.

At the Pennsylvania House Appropriations Committee education hearing on Feb. 24, acting Secretary of Education Carrie Rowe made it clear it would be very unlikely Pennsylvania would be able to make up for $1.6 billion in lost revenue for schools if the Department of Education were eliminated.

While the federal government obviously plays a vital role in our school funding, we cannot forget a judge ruled in 2023 that Pennsylvania’s school funding formula was unconstitutional. Although the ruling was issued more than two years ago, we are still not on track to meet the needs of lower-wealth districts, as it mandated.

We shouldn’t have to decide between safe and maintained buildings or a full staff.

The district is doing right by its students, families, staff, and community by making do with the crumbs we get, but we are still looking at a $300 million deficit for the 2026 fiscal year. This year, we lost our emergency COVID-19 funds. Other historically funded schools got to use those funds for building improvements, air-quality improvement, and PPE, but districts like Philadelphia had to use those funds to fill budget holes in staffing. We shouldn’t have to decide between safe and maintained buildings or a full staff.

Still, this is not the time to feel defeated. This is the time to fight for my students, and students all over the United States. This is the time to call our representatives, call our senators, and be present in the community. I am not choosing between books or buildings. My students need both — just like they need both the federal and state governments to fund their schools.

Nicole Wyglendowski is a K-2 special education teacher in North Philadelphia.