Griffin Farrell sits in an East Hills Middle School eighth-grade class learning equations alongside his peers.

It's something the 14-year-old with Down syndrome has done since kindergarten.

Griffin's brothers go to Catholic school. But his mother, Dena Farrell, said the Bethlehem Area School District has the best resources to work with her son's unique learning needs and allow him to be part of a regular classroom.

"It's been nothing but a positive experience. We've always wanted to do this as a team," Farrell said, referring to the district's special education program. "And they do everything as a team."

Griffin's inclusive curriculum has become standard for many special education students.

At the same time, it has become costlier for districts to provide.

According to a new report by the Education Law Center and the statewide coalition PA Schools Work, spending on special education has risen among the state's 500 school districts.

But the study says state funding has failed to keep up with rising costs, creating an ever-widening funding gap.

Spending across the commonwealth on special education increased 51 percent to $4,545,979,595 between 2008-09 and 2016-17.

Meanwhile, the state's share rose 7 percent to $1,041,792,660, over the same period, according to a Morning Call analysis of the study's data.

In the Lehigh Valley, the sluggish growth in state aid has hit Bethlehem Area the hardest, forcing it to use a larger share of its local revenue to pay for special education.

According to the study, Bethlehem's special education costs grew 79 percent to $37.5 million between 2008-09 and 2016-17.

During that period, the state's share of the funding pie for Bethlehem's special education program fell from 31 percent to 19 percent.

The change meant Bethlehem's share rose 25 percent, according to the analysis.

"Every year we fund a greater portion of this locally," said Stacy Gober, the chief financial officer for the Bethlehem Area School District.

Why special ed costs are rising

School funding experts point to three reasons for the rise in special education costs: A jump in the number of special education students, teacher training for inclusive classrooms and advances in technology used to aid special education students.

According to a report by the Pennsylvania School Boards Association, total school enrollment across the state has dropped 2.6 percent.

But the number of those enrolled who qualify for special education increased by 2.1 percent between the 2010-11 and 2015-16.

For every special education student, the Individual with Disabilities Education Act of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 sets forth mandated rights.

Those include free public education in the least restrictive environment possible, assessments to determine needs and supplementary aids and services as necessary.

Special Education students are immersed in regular classrooms at East Hills Middle School.

Such mandates have led to more integration. As of 2015-16, more than 85 percent of the state's special education students were being taught in regular education classrooms more than 40 percent of the time, according to the Pennsylvania School Boards Association.

Integrating special education students into general education classrooms requires more training and professional development for teachers. It can also mean bringing in one-on-one student aides and next-generation technology that caters to the challenges of an individual student.

If their needs require it, some students remain in special education classrooms with a tailored curriculum. Students who need extra help are sent to Intermediate Unit 20, taking up another portion of the special education budget.

State funding below rate of inflation

Reynelle Brown Staley, a policy attorney with the Education Law Center, said the state funding has increased about 1 percent each year -- below the rate of inflation.

Meanwhile, special education costs have been creeping up about 5 percent annually, Staley said.

That means schools experiencing the widest gap between state aid and special education costs have to reach into other parts of their budget, consider raising taxes or forego some of the needs of already vulnerable students, Staley said.

Staley says Gov. Tom Wolf has been restoring basic and other education funding that had been cut and flat-funded during the Great Recession.

She welcomed Wolf's efforts, but said "the increases just haven't been significant enough to match the rate of increase or make up for the preceding years when there was no increase at all."

In 2013, a bipartisan special education funding commission championed by Sen. Pat Browne, R-Lehigh County, took up the funding gap issue.

The end result was a tiered special education funding formula that funnels more money to districts with greater need.

Bethlehem's Gober said the amount being appropriated is still not enough.

"The state has made some improvements, but the pace is not adequate," she said. "The recovery gap is just so large."

Gober said the district tries its best to improve efficiency and invest in intervention as ways to reduce costs. But it's tricky to do so.

"The programs that are offered to the students in the special education arena are very customized, they become very expensive very quickly and they're mandated by federal law," she said.

Even more affluent districts like Parkland are seeing special educations costs rise and having to pull more and more of the balance from their local funds. Expenditures in Parkland climbed 49 percent since 2008-09, costing the district about $22.5 million in 2016-17.

The state's share of Parkland's special education funding pie fell from 22 percent to 16 percent.

"It's an area that's increasing much, much quicker than we can keep up with," said John Vignone, the director of business administration for the district. "That's the predicament. The solution? I don't know. But it is impacting Parkland like everyone else."

Parkland's advantage is growth and development, particularly in the southwestern portion of the district. More growth means more revenue and resources to cover the costs locally, Vignone said. But the status quo cannot last.

Browne said the special education funding commission was set to reconvene every five years to examine the formula and determine whether further changes or tweaks would help students and schools.

He said the commission will gather in January, but pointed out it has no authority to increase the amount of money going toward schools in the first place.

Browne said the desire to funnel more dollars toward education is strong among his colleagues in the state Legislature. The problem is resources.

"It is always -- in terms of new dollars -- it's always the first priority of the General Assembly and all its members to look to the education budget lines first," Browne said.

The senator agreed that special education funding appropriations needed to be addressed before the disparity becomes insurmountable.

"This is a constant conversation," Browne said.

Leigh Rusnak, Bethlehem's director of special education, said that while it's true special education costs have climbed, the strides made by public schools for these children have been remarkable.

"When you see the progress these students make, it's all worth it," she said. "They're actively impacting the community in which they live." 

Once he's done with school, Griffin will find a job; his mother is confident of this. She credits her son's education, the expectations he's always been held to and the exposure to "everyone else." 

"Putting the funding into education now is going to help alleviate the need for more funding when kids like Griffin are adults," Farrell said.

Southeastern Pennsylvania woke up to heavy damage after a severe storm tore through the region and brought with it heavy rain and flooding.

Some regional rail services were suspended and thousands were without power Saturday morning after the storm, which began Friday night, hit the region.

SEPTA regional rail riders were forced to find alternative means of transportation as a portion of the Paoli/Thorndale regional rail line was suspended due to multiple trees falling onto overhead wires.

Shuttle buses were carrying people between the Malvern and Thorndale stations. However, the shuttles were not able to access the Whitford station, and riders are advised to seek alternative transportation.

At the Malvern Station, passengers were asked to board on the outbound platform.

SEPTA could not provide a timeframe for when regular services would be restored.

PECO Energy reported that 7,564 customers remained without power as of around 8:45 a.m. Saturday.

This is a developing story. Refresh this page for updates.

The roof of an apartment complex in Pottstown came flying off after a storm hit the region, bringing with it heavy rain and winds.

This week’s High School Blitz is serving up a huge helping of playoff football.

NBC10’s “NewsForce 10” Jeep got a new, smaller look Friday afternoon.

The University of Delaware’s GoBabyGo! program housed a miniature version of our signature car. The program teams UD students up with local city workers to provide modified ride-on cars to children up to the age of three who experience limited mobility.

“When you can’t move you can’t socialize and that’s what these cars do, they take a kid and literally put him in the driver’s seat to control, they give independence, mobility, and just happiness, obviously," Gabby Kowalski, of Assistive Medical Technologies, said.

Employees of Newark, home to the University of Delaware, raised money for the cars themselves. The afternoon was spent customizing the vehicles as an act of community service.

“If you see the children’s faces and it’s really about giving back," a volunteer said.

Each vehicle is custom fit for each child, allowing them to travel freely and easily, despite their disability.

GoBabyGo! began in 2012 at the University of Delaware. The program provides children with disabilities an outlet for mobility and socialization, and continues to expand nationwide. 

Candidates in our area are making their final pushes days before the midterm elections.

NextGen Pennsylvania is trying a new recruitment method to encourage young Americans to cast their vote – puppies.

Temple University and the University of Pennsylvania will host “Puppies at the Polls.” The event hopes to draw young voters to polls ahead of the 2018 Midterm Elections by offering puppies to play with, as well as information on this year’s election.

Temple University will host the event on Monday, Nov. 5, at the Temple University Bell Tower.

“Puppies at the Polls” travels to UPenn the day after, Tuesday, Nov. 6, at the Van Pelt Library.

Both programs will begin at 10:15 a.m. and run until 2:00 p.m.

NextGen America is an environmental advocacy nonprofit and political action committee created in 2013.

An investigation is underway after a gunman shot a man 11 times inside a vehicle in West Philadelphia Saturday night.

The 34-year-old man was inside a vehicle on the 5800 block of Master Street at 8:44 p.m. when a gunman opened fire. The man was struck 11 times. He was taken to Presbyterian Hospiatl where he was pronounced dead at 9:01 p.m.

No arrests have been made and a weapon has not been recovered.

Two people were killed and two others were hurt in a crash on Route 42 in Gloucester Township, New Jersey.

The one-vehicle accident occurred in the northbound lanes of Route 42 near exit 9A Saturday night. Witnesses told NBC10 that the car landed upside-down in a ditch.

Two people inside the vehicle died while two others were injured. Officials have not yet revealed the conditions of the survivors or what led to the accident.

One late was closed on Route 42, but it was reopened by 6 a.m. Sunday.

Two teens were taken to the hospital after being repeatedly stabbed at a house party on the 5400 block of Akron Street on Sunday, Nov. 4, 2018.

A substitute aide at a Burlington County, New Jersey, high school is accused of having inappropriate contact with a male student.

Casey Bartholomew, 22, of Pemberton Township, is charged with endangering the welfare of a child, aggravated sexual contact and showing obscenity to a minor.

Investigators say the incident occurred earlier this week at Pemberton Township High School where Bartholomew worked as a substitute aide. She allegedly had inappropriate contact with a student and used social media to have sexually explicit conversations with him and send him nude photos of herself.

Bartholomew was taken into custody at the Burlington County Prosecutor's Office and lodged in the Burlington County Jail.

Christmas came early to the King of Prussia Mall on Friday, Nov. 2.

Santa Claus made his first appearance of the season, setting up in the mall merely 48 hours after Halloween.

Despite being a month away from the Christmas season, with Thanksgiving still to come, dozens of local families showed out to get on the big man in red's nice list.

Some believe Santa's arrival is too soon. Keep an eye out for their name on the naughty list.

As for those looking to get into the holiday spirit early, they can snap a picture with Santa at the King of Prussia Mall any day of the week.

Two teens are recovering at a hospital after being stabbed repeatedly at a Philadelphia house party Sunday morning.

A 19-year-old man was stabbed in the back six times and a 17-year-old boy was stabbed once in the stomach at the party on the 5400 block of Akron Street, the Philadelphia Police Department said.

Officers responded just after 1 a.m. and transported both victims to a hospital. The 19-year-old is listed in critical condition, while the 17-year-old is in stable condition.

No details have been released about what led to the stabbing, and no arrests have been made.

More than 1,000 motorcyclists are expected to roll up on the SugarHouse Casino in Fishtown, and it's all for a good cause.

The event, organized by the Delaware Valley chapter of the Alliance of Bikers Aimed Toward Education, will see the bikers bringing along gifts for the 38th annual "For the Kids" motorcycle run.

U.S. Marines will take the toys as part of their "Toys for Tots" program and then deliver them to underprivileged kids throughout the Delaware Valley.

The event kicks off at noon at the SugarHouse Casino parking lot at 1001 North Delaware Ave. and will run through 3 p.m.

The Philadelphia Police Department warns that traffic in the area will be impacted.

The Eagles may have a bye week, but that doesn’t mean the players are just lounging around. Instead, they’re trading their uniforms for the runway as they raise money for Big Brothers Big Sisters of America.

Kevyn Perkins stopped cold when he saw the letters scrawled on the door to his dorm: "N----- go back" it said, inked in messy red marker. First he was blinded by confusion. Then rage. And then all he could think about was dropping out, finding a new school, escaping for good.

"I thought maybe I don't belong here. So I called my brother and I said, 'pick me up,'" said Perkins, 19, a freshman at the University of St. Thomas, a private and mostly white school in St. Paul, Minnesota. "He said that's what they want you to do -- you have to stay there and stay strong."

Often overlooked amid the recent intense spasms of hatred -- 11 dead in Pittsburgh synagogue, two African-Americans gunned down in a Kentucky grocery store, 13 mail bombs sent to prominent Democrats -- are nearly daily flashes of hate that are no less capable of leaving their victims with deep and permanent emotional wounds. 

In October alone, there were dozens of examples of the kind of hatred that smolders without ever reaching national attention. It stretched from coast to coast, targeting victims because of their race, religion, sexual orientation, gender and myriad other differences.

An Indiana woman was arrested last week after leaving a racist letter directed at African-American neighbors, urging them to leave the neighborhood because black people weren't welcome. As early voting started in North Carolina, a black Republican volunteer was accosted with slurs and had a gun pulled on him at a polling place, leading to one man's arrest. An Uber passenger in Colorado was arrested after threatening his Middle Eastern driver and chasing him down the street because police said he "hated all brown people." Violent clashes broke out in New York City after a speech by the founder of a far-right group, leading to three arrests. 

In a Texas courtroom, a man was sentenced to 24 years in prison on Oct. 17 for torching a mosque near the U.S.-Mexico border last year because of what authorities said was a "rabid hatred" of Muslims. In sending the arsonist to prison, Judge John Rainey declared: "This must stop. It is like a cancer to our society," adding that incidents like this create "fear all over the world." 

Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said xenophobic rhetoric is feeding the anxiety of the current political moment, and that anxiety is prompting fear and promoting resentment and "all the worst impulses." 

"We're living in a moment where hate crimes are on the rise," said Greenblatt. "We need more than ever for our leaders to ratchet back the rhetoric. People feel like they're on edge across the country." 

President Trump's critics have accused him of fanning the flames with his divisive political rhetoric -- something the president pushed back against Friday. He put the blame back on reporters for "creating violence" with fake news stories.

Several cases happened on college campuses, which strive to reflect the nation's diversity but sometimes attract its intolerance. 

At more than 40 colleges, racist flyers or stickers were found posted on campus in October, according to the Anti-Defamation League, which has reported a surge in activity by white supremacist groups since Trump took office. 

At the College of the Holy Cross in central Massachusetts, a student was beaten in an assault that officials say was motivated by the victim's sexual orientation. No one has been arrested in connection with the crime. 

Students at DePauw University in Indiana reported four separate cases of hate speech in October. In three, racial and homophobic slurs and threats were yelled from cars passing by campus. In another case, a threat with the N-word was found in an elevator on campus. 

Anti-Semitic posters appeared at the University of California, Davis, blaming Jews for allegations of sexual assault that were made against Justice Brett Kavanaugh. Several Jewish groups on campus wrote a letter demanding a stronger response from the school's administration, saying Jews on campus have faced mounting prejudice in recent years.

"Anti-Semitism is very real and alive on our campus," the letter said. "Jewish students should not have to be scared of walking on campus. Students are choosing not to openly identify as Jews through our clothing." 

For Perkins, the red lettering marred the image of the friendly, welcoming campus that was sold to him by college officials. 

The incident led to a student protest that prompted the school to cancel class for a town hall meeting discussing racial tensions on campus. 

Since he found the note Oct. 19, Perkins has become more withdrawn, he said, less outgoing. And although he decided to stay at St. Thomas, he's left to wonder who on campus felt such hatred for him, and why. 

"I'm already the odd one out, and the words, the hatred behind it really made me mad," he said. "Degrading someone based on the color of their skin, I just couldn't understand why someone would do that."

Pennsylvania Rep. Ryan Costello gives an insider’s look into the current gridlock in Washington and why both parties are so unwilling to compromise.

NBC10 and Telemundo 62 are bringing together doctors from the leading cancer institution in our area to talk about the progress that has been made against the disease.

Former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell gives his take on how polarized the country has become. He holds out hope, however, that the parties will once again be able to compromise.