In the absence of established evaluation guidelines, it is not surprising that questions of benefit have arisen. The more urgent question, however, is one of cost. Some participants in the public discourse have, in fact, no interest or motivation other than cost reduction. There is the question of whether or not the cost is excessive. There are also questions about what general education and enrichment programs may be underfunded, or not funded at all, as a result of the legislative mandate to provide, at whatever cost, special programs to students with disabilities.
Cost is the critical issue.
Interestingly, there is not sufficient data available to identify conclusively the total cost of special education. There are statements, however, that the available data do seem to validate. First, special programs are universally more expensive than their general education counterparts. While special program expenditure levels vary widely, a consensus estimate that they cost roughly 2.3 times that of a general program is emerging. Second, special education expenditures now represent a significant and growing proportion of most every school district's total budget.