Jessica Mathews / Associated Press / News@whmi.com


When Michigan officials this year lauded a record-high 82.8% high school graduation rate in 2024, special education advocates pointed out a vastly different outcome: only 61% of students with disabilities graduated.

That is one of several metrics showing what students with disabilities are up against in Michigan: They score below their peers in Michigan and across the nation in several areas, according to the first-ever Michigan Special Education Benchmarks Report released Wednesday by the Autism Alliance of Michigan.

The group found 77% of disabled students are secluded or restrained, 40% miss more than 18 or more days of school per year and 60% of their parents report their schools do not “facilitate meaningful involvement.”

The report is a call for more funding and inclusion in Michigan, noting that state and federal money covers 44% of special education costs, forcing local districts to cover the remainder.

“Students with disabilities can be educated, can be contributors to society,” said Heather Eckner, director of statewide education with the Autism Alliance of Michigan.

“But if our public school system, where the majority of them are educated, is not fulfilling their obligation to prepare them for future education and prepare them for independent living, then we are not doing our jobs to get them to be ready to be citizens in our state.”

The report also found that disabled students have a dropout rate of 21%, twice their nondisabled peers. The disparities widen for disabled students of color or from lower-income homes.

The 92-page benchmarks report was unveiled during a three-day summit this week in Lansing to observe the 50th anniversary of the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act, federal legislation guaranteeing an education for students with disabilities.

It was presented to lawmakers in tandem with a recently-released report, MI Special Education Finance Reform Blueprint, which calls for $1.28 billion more in special education funding atop the state’s annual budget of $2.8 billion.

After a year of research and $500,000 in state funding, the reform report notes that the funding model reimburses districts for only 28.6% of student services, leading to inequities based on student addresses.

In addition to more money, the plan calls for funding based on student needs.
Advocates say the need for change is urgent: Nearly 15% of the state’s K-12 population, 223,100, have disabilities and the share is expected to rise.

“This isn’t something that is going to mitigate itself or go away,” said Eckner. “We are going to have to have real leadership in the state of Michigan. We are going to have to have real, robust solutions.”

Advocates say the report, which will be released annually, comes amid longtime frustrations among parents.

State Rep. Regina Weiss, D-Oak Park, said funding is not as high a priority “as it should be” but lawmakers may support changes.

“It’s definitely possible,” said Weiss, a former school teacher who has two children with IEPs.

“There’s more awareness and (continued) public pressure on the Legislature and governor’s office will actually get it done.”

Dozens of parents, educators and researchers attended the special education summit, primarily from the grassroots coalition, Michigan Parent, Advocate & Attorney Coalition, affiliated with the Autism Alliance for Michigan.

Among them was Cass County resident Christina Beuschel, whose 11-year-old daughter relies on a device to assist with her limited speech.

Beuschel said that her daughter spent two days in the least restrictive school environment in first grade until school staff members told Beuschel that her daughter would need to be placed in a secluded learning center outside of the general student population, and switch her from a costly communication program that her daughter had used since she was four years old.

This was done without a meeting, written notice or exploring any other options, Beuschel said.

“It was a classic case of lacking resources to educate staff on (my daughter’s) mode of communication, and it felt as if they assumed that because she cannot speak, that she cannot learn,” Beuschel told reporters during a Tuesday briefing. “Our current special education funding structure in Michigan does not match the unique needs of somebody like my daughter.”

Waterford Township resident Elyse Swenson agreed. She said she grew up with dyslexia, didn’t have the supports she needed and vowed to do better for her children. But when her daughter was diagnosed with dyslexia in second grade, she had to advocate and fight for what she needed and pay for outside services including tutoring.

Swenson said Michigan needs to act now and embrace the special education funding reform plan.

“It finally gives Michigan … a system that stops depending on which parents can fight the hardest, a system that stops leading districts to go broke and families burned out, a system that protects kids instead of failing them,” Swenson said.

“This blueprint is not just a policy document. It is the first real path to preventing another generation from slipping through the cracks the way I did.”

This story was originally published by Bridge Michigan and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.