This has contributed to growth in special education spending. Over a quarter of special education program expenditures in California, on average, are paid from a school district's general fund. Because most students with disabilities today spend the majority of the school day in regular classrooms, the actual cost of educating a child with a disability is higher than the program costs alone would imply. There is a need to re-examine special education spending. Reductions in costs could come about by implementing a reasonableness standard to protect schools from excessive costs, neutralizing adverse financial incentives, allowing more private sector participation, funding special education on a block grant basis, and relaxing some staffing requirements.
Appendixes provide detailed statistical data from the study.
Policy Study No. 161. This document is available from the ERIC Document Reproduction Service .