A study compared ten school districts in five states, and found that spending more money on special education does not mean that you will see better academic results.   It suggests that districts focus on the quality versus the quantity of their special ed staff, and that by reducing staff will save them lots of money.  

The Fordham study recommends, among other things, that the federal government end the requirement that spending by states and localities on special education cannot fall below that of the prior year, except in certain cases.

Advocates for children with disabilities said they also support cost-effective budgets and want better academic results. But they said that special education historically has been underfunded.

“Repeatedly, every year, teachers, administrators, everyone says there isn’t enough funding to deliver the kind of services that are needed,” said Lindsay Jones, senior director for policy and advocacy at the Council for Exceptional Children, which represents special education teachers.

You can read the complete article at this link:  http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/academic-success-in-special-education-not-linked-to-spending-study-finds/2012/09/04/b8865018-f6bf-11e1-8253-3f495ae70650_story.html [2]

I get very nervous any time they talk about cutting funds from special education, because it doesn't seem like there are enough resources as it is.  I also question in these districts how hard it is to be approved for special eduction services.  

What do you think about this?