Commentary | It’s time to fund Special Education based on what students actually need
by Dr. Scott Koenigsknecht
August 5, 2025
As a parent of a child with a disability, a longtime educator, and an advocate for students with disabilities, I’ve seen firsthand how Michigan’s current special education funding system falls short. It falls short of what schools need, and most importantly, it falls short of what students deserve.
That’s why I’m proud to support the Michigan Special Education Finance Reform Blueprint, better known as the MI Blueprint. It’s a once-in-a-generation opportunity to build a smarter and more equitable funding model for special education. One that puts students, not systems, at the center.
The good news is that the momentum is real, and it’s been building for a long time.
Over the last seven months, more than 1,000 Michiganders have helped shape the MI Blueprint through surveys, stakeholder meetings, and open conversations across the state. Parents, educators, advocates, and school leaders have brought their insight to the table, working together to co-create a model that reflects what students actually need. This has been a transparent and inclusive process from the start, grounded in Michigan experiences and shaped by Michigan voices.
That community-driven momentum is being echoed at the highest levels. As we draw nearer to Michigan’s 2026 gubernatorial election, candidates have begun sharing their education platforms with some including education funding reform as a priority. Transitioning Michigan’s education funding approach to a weighted student funding formula that is decoupled from local property wealth and instead focused on what students need just makes sense. This alignment– from families and advocates to statewide leaders– underscores the urgency and the opportunity in front of us.
Right now, Michigan reimburses districts for just 28.6 percent of special education costs. That’s one of the lowest rates in the country. This leaves districts scrambling to meet their legal and moral obligations with insufficient state support. The burden falls hardest on low-wealth communities that can’t raise additional local revenue and are restricted by caps on millage increases, deepening existing disparities and limiting opportunity for the students who need the most.
This is not just a budgeting problem. It is a civil rights issue.
The MI Blueprint project was launched in response to this challenge, through bipartisan action by the state legislature. Since then, we’ve drawn from the best available research, including recent costing-out studies in neighboring Ohio and the groundbreaking School Finance Research Collaborative adequacy study here in Michigan, and applied it to local data, policy context, and lived experience.
Now we are in the home stretch with the model taking shape and a final report due to the legislature this October. It will include a clear and actionable framework with a new weighted funding formula that can create a fairer, more predictable system.
This is not a theoretical exercise. It is a blueprint for change, and it has the backing of many advocates, educators, and families across Michigan.
To fellow educators and district leaders: you’ve helped shape this process every step of the way. Your continued engagement matters. Let’s finish strong.
To families across Michigan: this is about your children. Their needs and your voices are the backbone of this effort. Every child deserves the resources they need to succeed, no matter where they live or how much support they need, and the MI Blueprint helps us get there.
And to our legislative leaders: the table is set. You asked for an objective, data-informed framework, and the MI Blueprint delivers. As you consider education priorities this fall, this is an opportunity to follow-through on what you asked Michiganders to deliver to you.
We don’t get opportunities like this very often. Let’s seize it, together.
Dr. Scott Koenigsknecht is the Superintendent of the Clinton County Regional Educational Service Agency (RESA), appointed in July 2023. With over 30 years in education, he previously served as Michigan’s Deputy Superintendent for P-20 System and Student Transitions, where he helped shape statewide strategies to better serve students across the educational continuum. Scott and his family live in Fowler, Michigan, and he is the proud dad of Cooper, his 20-year-old son with autism.