Special-Ed Funds Redirected – School Districts Shift Millions of Dollars to General Needs After Getting Stimulus Cash – Study: Youth now have more mental health issues

Florida’s Broward County Public Schools saved as many as 900 jobs this school year. Nevada’s Clark County School District just added more math and tutoring programs. And in Connecticut’s Bloomfield Public Schools, eight elementary- and middle-school teachers were spared from layoffs.

These cash-strapped districts covered the costs using a boost in funding intended for special education, drawing an outcry from parents and advocates of special-needs children.

A provision in federal law allows some school districts to spend millions of dollars of special-education money elsewhere, and a government report indicates many more districts plan to take advantage of the provision.

Supporters of special education say special-needs students are being shortchanged. The biggest rub: To shift the funds, schools must show they have met certain criteria, which may include graduation and drop-out rates of special-education students. To allow more districts to qualify, some states are ignoring or lowering the standards.

By ANNE MARIE CHAKER

Full Story: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB126274303415617219.html

***

Study: Youth now have more mental health issues

By MARTHA IRVINE, Associated Press

A new study has found that five times as many high school and college students are dealing with anxiety and other mental health issues as youth of the same age who were studied in the Great Depression era.

The findings, culled from responses to a popular psychological questionnaire used as far back as 1938, confirm what counselors on campuses nationwide have long suspected as more students struggle with the stresses of school and life in general.

Full Story: http://helenair.com/lifestyles/health-med-fit/article_98c11ee4-ff45-11de-86d3-001cc4c03286.html