Rising special education costs for school districts
Special education is going to become a “hot issue in the next year,” as predicted by Sheldon Berman, Superintendent of Hudson Schools in Massachusetts, according to an article in today’s MetroWestDailyNews.com. More and more students require “extensive special needs services,” as (in Berman’s words), “‘evermore complex cases come through our school doors’”:
school districts are spending more on special education than in decades past as they add teachers, develop new in-district SPED programs and pay for students with severe needs enrolling in high-priced programs out of town.
Some of the programs mentioned in the MetroWestDailyNews.com article are specifically for autistic students; these programs require one-on-one instruction, which is expensive but which can be effective.
Go here to read Improved: School districts take financial hit for students with needs.
5 opinions for Rising special education costs for school districts
Rose
Jul 23, 2006 at 3:20 pm
They are spending more on special education as they attempt to t-e-a-c-h the kids, rather than warehouse them as has been done to a degree in the past. As research dictates best teaching practices, teachers pick up the slack until the districts catch up.
The special education district coordinator in my son’s school district said that half of her budget went to transportation costs…finding the right school for the child in the district, I presumed.
Society has always had a responsibility to its most vulnerable members. In the past, many were kept at home all their lives or hidden away in institutions. An institutionalized setting these days is around $27,000-$80,000 a year unless you enter the JRC, where I think I read it was $200,000 a year(abuse is expensive…).
School costs pale in comparison.
Every dollar given to education is matched by a lifetime of reduced care because of early intervention, let alone the invaluable contribution of “less” able members of society’s impact on the “more” able members, although this contribution isn’t necessarily monetary.
I do tend to think there are segments of society ready to take advantage of a perceived growth in special ed services. But then again, more information about differently abled learners has never been so available.
To be more concise…It’s about damn time we start teaching ALL our kids!
There are Federal monies mandated for special ed that some states refuse to collect and I’m not sure why…maybe it is because they will not comply with standards.
Oy…getting my feathers all riled up in the offhand chance that I will meet education bigots in the schools. Most teachers are better than that by nature.
Jannalou
Jul 23, 2006 at 3:23 pm
In Alberta, at least, the schools are given a certain amount of money per child with special needs. That money is then moved with the child from school to school. And it’s not necessarily spent on the child’s education, either. It’s enough to fund a 1:1 aide and purchase some little equipmenty things (aide being at least part-time, if not full-time). But since most of these kids are put into special ed classes, one wonders what all the money is being spent on, since the ratio isn’t 1:1 in the classroom and there isn’t really all that much being bought in the way of equipment and stuff.
Kristina Chew, PhD
Jul 23, 2006 at 7:52 pm
School districts here also allot a certain amount of funds per child and special ed schools—esp. if they are bused out of district—cost much, much more. I think this is right for the reasons Rose notes; Charlie was born with less, needs much much more. I have heard other people sough aghast that money is being “wasted” on special ed kids instead of funding gifted and talented programs. Of course we should push for both. But I have to say—being a former “gifted and taleneted” pupil—a lot came easily to me that Charlie struggles to figure out over months and years. And I am more than glad to keep working to ensure that he gets what he needs to be the best that he can.
Jannalou
Jul 23, 2006 at 8:38 pm
One parent I worked for actually had a principal tell him that the money was redistributed to various parts of the school, for maintenance and the like, instead of being spent specifically on things that the child in question required (like a properly trained aide and various sensory equipment). The money, at least in Alberta, is there. It’s just not being used properly.
Parents should be able to get a real breakdown, I think, of where government alloted funds are going. As in, “Here’s the amount the government gave us for your child, and here’s how we’re spending it on your child.”
Kristina Chew, PhD
Jul 23, 2006 at 9:22 pm
Here in NJ we can get a copy of the $$ amount spent by child, but not the breakdown. And the $$ are there, but it varies greatly from district to district how those are used.
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