On the eve of the deadline for the new state budget, a sharp disagreement over how to reform special education has stalled state budget talks, as House and Senate leaders appear determined to hold their ground on the volatile issue.
The dispute was the subject of an unusual caucus of state senators yesterday, which included an intensely emotional speech by one lawmaker that brought some colleagues to tears.
Senator Fred Berry, a Peabody Democrat who has cerebral palsy, warned that special-needs students would be kicked out of vital support programs if the House were to get its way in the dispute.
Lawmakers are certain not to have a budget in place by July 1, the beginning of the new fiscal year. And some lawmakers said the intensity of the latest standoff could presage a long battle such as the one that delayed last year's budget for nearly five months, disrupting some state and local services and drawing fierce public criticism.
Earlier this week the House passed a temporary stopgap budget to keep the government running for two weeks into the new fiscal year.
Senate leaders said at the meeting that the House has drawn a line in the sand over whether to change the state's funding standard for special-needs students, but that many senators seemed willing to see the budget delayed rather than accede to the House position.
The dispute revolves around how far school districts should be required to go in helping special-needs students.
While the House and Senate budget plans would narrow eligibility criteria for special-education programs, the House would adopt federal funding guidelines, less generous than what the state offers now.
Massachusetts requires school districts to observe a unique "maximum feasible benefit" standard in deciding what services to provide special education students. All other states follow the federal goverment's more limited standard, which requires only a "free and appropriate education" for the disabled. The House budget adopts that federal standard.
In an interview, Senate Ways and Means Chairman Mark Montigny (D- New Bedford) confirmed that special education had become a prime issue of disagreement among budget negotiators who just days ago had spoken hopefully of completing a final spending plan this week.
"From the beginning it's been clear that special education has been one of many differences," Montigny said. "But it's grown increasingly clear as the days go by that both sides feel very strongly about their position."
Other sources were more definitive than Montigny, saying House leaders had all but declared they would not sign off on a budget deal that does not include their version of the revisions.
Montigny's counterpart, House Ways and Means Chairman Paul R. Haley (D-Weymouth), could not be reached for comment. But sources said the special education revisions are a top priority of House Speaker Thomas M. Finneran. Finneran is among the state officials concerned about soaring special education costs.
A McKinsey & Co. study commissioned by the Legislature found earlier this year that adopting the federal standard could save between $8 million and $36 million per year.
Critics of the proposed move to the federal standard say, however, that it needlessly makes it harder for deserving students to receive important services, and that it would set back the state's standing as a national leader in the performance of special-needs students.
At the Senate caucus yesterday, Berry made an impassioned speech in defense of the current standard based on his personal experience.
Senator Steven Tolman (D-Brighton), a staunch defender of the funding standard, said yesterday he could not support a budget plan that includes the House provision.
"In a time of economic prosperity, when we hear about how well everybody is doing, I cannot justify cutting the standard of service available to children with special needs," Tolman said.
Julia Landau, a leading advocate for special-needs students, said she supports the change in eligibility criteria approved by both branches. That move could lop up to 30,000 students off the rolls. But Landau said she was "outraged" by the proposed change to the funding standard.
Landau said the issue was too complicated and controversial to be pushed through the state budget process, and that lawmakers should consider it as separate legislation.
"It's really unconscionable to hold the budget hostage and to hold children with disabilities hostage," Landau said. "What the Senate has done is to adopt a very aggressive package of reforms which fully addresses the concerns and criticisms about special ed, and contain costs without harming children."
Most of the differences between the House and Senate plans have been ironed out, sources familiar with the talks said, although the two branches are still trying to reconcile a handful of other difficult issues including tax cuts and possible changes to a voter- approved campaign finance reform law.
The House has passed a $21.7 billion budget. The Senate plan is $150 million smaller. Earlier this week the House passed a temporary stopgap budget to keep state government running two weeks into the new fiscal year.