Schools
Special Education Funding for Schools a Delicate Balancing Act
The per pupil cost of educating a student with special needs can be three times more than a general education student. How much does your district spend?
There are few issues that generate more heat than spending on public education. Now more than ever, schools are faced with decreased state and federal aid and skyrocketing costs of state mandates, mostly to pay for staff benefits and pensions.
Special education services also make up a significant chunk of school district budgets. The per pupil cost of educating a child with special needs can be up to three times as much as typical per pupil costs.
Schools must meet certain standards for educating special needs students under the federal Individual with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The problem, however, is that federal funding to meet these requirements is nowhere near the levels school districts need, so the state and, ultimately, taxpayers bear the burden of these costs.
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Parents and advocates of students with disabilities welcomed President Obama’s proposed allocation of $11.3 billion in federal funds to schools to carry out IDEA mandates. But they also worry that up to half of that money can be redirected to a school’s general budget costs, according to IDEA MoneyWatch.
All of this puts school districts and parents, who don’t want to see any cuts in special education services, in a difficult position. In December, the New York State Board of Regents approved a special education cost-containment proposal from the state Department of Education that allows for some changes in special education services.
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There are two provisions that worry parents the most. One would allow a school to increase the maximum number of special education students in an integrated class from 12 to 14, under certain circumstances.
The other provision repeals the requirement that a school provide a minimum of two 30-minute language or speech therapy session a week. Instead, the “frequency, duration and location of each service shall be in the IEP [individual education plan], based on the individual student’s need for the service,” according to the amended rules.
Many parents believe these amendments represent a “slippery slope” that will lead to more changes in services.
Patricia Phelan, an attorney from South Orangeburg who has a daughter with autism, understands parents’ fears. “If this is going to be the beginning of the cutting back of services, we don’t want that,” she said.
But Phelan, who represents parents in disputes with school districts, sees both sides of the issue and says these amendments don’t represent a sweeping overhaul of the system. “I don’t want there to be a knee-jerk reaction or instinctive panic,” she said.
It is, however, a delicate balance. It’s critical, she said, that the new provisions do not become the norm.
“They should only be used in exceptional circumstances,” Phelan said. “What everything comes back to is making sure individual students’ needs can be met.”
Tracking Special Education Spending
The following information is part of the Department of Education's New York State School Report Card data. School districts are required to report certain general education and special education spending ratios compared to spending by similar school districts and average spending in New York State.
Click here to see all New York State school district's Fiscal Accountability and Special Education Information Supplement. The following data is from the 2007-2008 school year, the latest available.
Ardsley SDGeneral Ed Special Ed Instructional Expenditures $27,140,644
$14,265,405
Pupils 2,199 302 Instructional Exp.Per Pupil $12,342 $47,236 Bedford CSD General Special Ed Instructional Expenditures $65,774,794
$16,380,235 Pupils 4,309 384 Instructional Exp.
Per Pupil $15,265 $42,657 Brewster CSD General Special Ed Instructional Expenditures $40,224,239 $18,506,516 Pupils 3,476 516 Instructional Exp.
Per Pupil $11,572
$35,865
Briarcliff ManorGeneral Special Ed Instructional Expenditures $26,409,248 $8,033,577 Pupils 1,750 179 Instructional Exp.
Per Pupil $15,091 $44,880 Bronxville UFSD
General Special Ed Instructional Expenditures $22,787,163
$7,652,713* Pupils 1,572 157 Instructional Exp.
Per Pupil $14,496 $48,743 Chappaqua CSD
General Special Ed Instructional Expenditures $58,811,414 $15,652,254 Pupils 4,389 484 Instructional Exp.
Per Pupil $13,400 $32,339 Croton-Harmon
General Special Ed Instructional Expenditures $18,004,021 $8,081,154 Pupils 1,759
232 Instructional Exp.
Per Pupil $10,235 $34,833 Dobbs Ferry UFSD
General Special Ed Instructional Expenditures $18,225,980 $7,822,983 Pupils 1,452 185 Instructional Exp.
Per Pupil $12,552 $42,286 Eastchester UFSD
General Special Ed Instructional Expenditures $35,142,685 $14,532,967 Pupils 3,017
292 Instructional Exp.
Per Pupil $11,648 $49,770 Harrison CSD
General Special Ed Instructional Expenditures $48,461,735 $20,536,541 Pupils 3,385 514 Instructional Exp.
Per Pupil $14,317 $39,954 Hastings-on-Hudson
General Special Ed Instructional Expenditures $21,623,329 $8,225,642 Pupils 1,665*
236 Instructional Exp.
Per Pupil $12,987 $34,854 Mamaroneck UFSD
General Special Ed Instructional Expenditures $60,486,740 $21,847,133 Pupils 4,874 659 Instructional Exp.
Per Pupil $12,410 $33,152 Nanuet UFSD
General Special Ed Instructional Expenditures $29,690,115 $10,172,943 Pupils 2,343
281 Instructional Exp.
Per Pupil $12,672
$36,203
New Rochelle CSDGeneral Special Ed Instructional Expenditures $119,131,859 $36,104,448 Pupils 9,964 1,240 Instructional Exp.
Per Pupil $11,956
$29,116
General Special Ed Instructional Expenditures $38,335,764 $13,972,645 Pupils 3,023 354 Instructional Exp.
Per Pupil $12,681
$39,471
Pearl River UFSDGeneral Special Ed Instructional Expenditures $28,089,136 $10,342,740 Pupils 2,676 314 Instructional Exp.
Per Pupil $10,497
$32,939
Peekskill CSDGeneral Special Ed Instructional Expenditures $37,594,544 $18,158,464 Pupils 2,867 468 Instructional Exp.
Per Pupil $13,113
$38,800
Pelham UFSDGeneral Special Ed Instructional Expenditures $32,980,270 $8,719,655 Pupils 2,620 320 Instructional Exp.
Per Pupil $12,588
$27,249
Pleasantville UFSDGeneral Special Ed Instructional Expenditures $19,697,039 $9,648,799 Pupils 1,820 245 Instructional Exp.
Per Pupil $10,823
$39,383
General Special Ed Instructional Expenditures $38,633,159
$13,880,414*
Pupils 3,885 525 Instructional Exp.Per Pupil $9,944
$26,439
Rye City SDGeneral Special Ed Instructional Expenditures $42,251,534
$7,732,894
Pupils 3,066 215 Instructional Exp.
Per Pupil $13,781
$35,967
Rye Neck UFSDGeneral Special Ed Instructional Expenditures $17,979,687
$6,108,334
Per Pupil $12,223
$40,186
White Plains CSDGeneral Special Ed Instructional Expenditures $99,133,291
$38,008,502
Pupils 6,996 861 Instructional Exp.Per Pupil $14,170
$44,145
Yorktown CSDGeneral Special Ed Instructional Expenditures $46,384,401
$16,819,300
Pupils 4,083* 575 Instructional Exp.Per Pupil $13,360
$29,251
General Special Ed Instructional Expenditures $25,385,860
$8,670,043
Pupils 1,939 210 Instructional Exp.Per Pupil $13,092
$41,286
Scarsdale UFSDGeneral Special Ed Instructional Expenditures $73,849,028
$14,501,061
Pupils 4,737 391 Instructional Exp.Per Pupil $15,590
$37,087
Tarrytown UFSDGeneral Special Ed Instructional Expenditures $34,848,398
$10,455,721
Per Pupil $13,884
$30,843
* Editor's note: An earlier version of this story misstated some data for Bronxville, Hastings-on-Hudson, Port Chester-Rye, and Yorktown school districts. The updated story now contains the correct information. We regret the error.