needs of Wisconsinites who are being harmed.

>> On the issue of K-12 school funding in the state budget, a push to increase funding for special education.

Proponents want more state money for students with learning challenges to release the pressure that special education costs put on local property taxes "Here& Now".

Reporter Steven Potter has more.

>> Education is a right that we all have.

They have a right to every bit of as good of an education as anyone else.

>> Students with disabilities make up nearly 16% of all children in the Wisconsin school system.

There are more than 120,000 students with disabilities in the state.

These students can have cognitive or emotional behavior issues, speech, health, or physical impairments, learning disabilities, or a range of other conditions that help at school.

>> Torment.

>> Tiffany Ciano's son is one of those students.

>> My son Jack is seven years old.

He is a lot of fun.

He's a brilliant little boy and he's also autistic.

We've struggled finding him.

The right supports that.

He needs to be successful in the community and in school.

>> The.

>> Jack cannot write, so he is able to use assistive technology like speech to text.

And he also has a 1 to 1 aide.

So someone who's with him all the time to help him navigate school.

>> Right now, Ciano's son is enrolled in a public school in Sheboygan.

>> I think that they try their best.

>> But she's worried about Jack's educational future, primarily because there aren't enough school staff trained to do the work he needs.

education educator shortage.

We have a shortage of paraprofessionals.

Who are those adults who work one on one with our kids?

There are shortages of school psychologists.

We don't have enough speech therapists, occupational therapists.

We're expecting general education teachers now to also kind of step into that special education role.

And I don't think that we set them up for success with that.

>> Shawano says that the money public schools in Wisconsin get for special education just isn't enough.

>> The funding isn't there for every dollar that a school spends on special education.

They're reimbursed about $0.30 from the state.

We believe that that number should be a lot higher.

>> During my first term, I fought to secure the first special education aid increase in over a decade.

>> Democratic Governor Tony Evers agrees.

As part of his state budget proposal for the 20 2527 biennium.

Evers would like to double the amount the state spends on special education.

>> And we're going to guarantee the state reimburses special education costs at 60% to ensure every kid gets a public education.

They deserve.

>> But that still needs to pass.

The Republican controlled state legislature.

Stakes are high for parents and their kids.

>> My older son is eight and my younger son is five.

My older son has is neurodivergent.

He's got ADHD.

He also has some other complex health needs.

And then my younger son is five and he has autism and ADHD, and he also has a speech language disorder.

Say hi Corbin.

>> I'm Melissa Kuster says that because of the special education staffing challenges at her elder son's Grafton School district, she removed him from the local school and now teaches him at home.

Kuster and Shawano created the Learn in My Shoes outreach campaign earlier this year.

Together, they've been speaking up with other parents about the need for more special education funding.

>> Parents are tired of competing for limited resources.

We are tired of excuses, of being dismissed and of your heads nodding like you understand when you really don't.

It's time for special education to be reimbursed at at least 60%, some sufficient, and we aren't going anywhere until we have it.

>> In addition to testifying before the state Budget Committee, parents with learning my shoes are also taking their demands directly to lawmakers in the Capitol.

Dropping off stories about their special education struggles tucked into their kids shoes.

Milwaukee Democratic state Senator Chris Larson is a longtime advocate for increased special education funding.

He says that not increasing funding at the state level will continue to cause problems at the local school level.

>> We need to get to that 60% or bust, because otherwise those kids are costing those schools, right?

And we shouldn't penalize schools for taking in every child that enters their classrooms.

>> What will happen if funding for special education remains at the current level of 30 or less than 30%?

>> If it goes lower, or if it stays what it is it's going to go.

It's going to result in property tax increases, which is what we've had, right?

But beyond that, they are cut to the bone.

People are kind of sick and tired of having to make up for the difference, and people are starting to see that this is the state's problem, not their local school board, that they've been been blaming.

>> Potentially blaming school districts for going to referendum, seeking more funding from taxpayers.

If Governor Evers proposal of doubling reimbursements from 30 to 60% passes, the state legislature, that would be an extra $1.1 billion spent on special education over the next two years.

Republican State Representative Jesse Rodriguez of Oak Creek says that that amount is a very big financial request.

>> It's very difficult to say that that's something we could possibly do when it costs $1 billion.

>> Rodriguez, who sits on the Joint Finance Committee, says she and her Republican colleagues are listening.

>> Special education is something that's supported by pretty much everyone.

>> Last week, however, Republicans on JFC removed hundreds of Governor Evers funding proposals, including more money for special education.

But Rodriguez says that special education funding increases are still on the table for the budget that the legislature will write.

>> I think the desire is to do more.

But it's going to be a lot, a lot of discussions to see what that number is going to be.

>> Well, the state does billion budget surplus.

Rodriguez isn't in favor of using that money to fund special education increases, because it's not a long term solution.

time surplus.

There is an expectation in that if we're going to put more funding into special education, that we need to continue to provide that funding moving forward.

you.

>> Parents like Shawano and Custer, however, have grown tired of their children's education needs not being met.

They say it's past time to increase and properly fund special education.

>> There's just not enough to go around right now.

>> I don't believe that it's fair that these barriers that don't need to be there keep people from accessing their right to an education, and that affects their entire life.

>> Reporting from Grafton.

>> Reporting from Grafton.