Special education — which serves students with a wide range of issues, from learning disabilities to autism to hyperactivity disorder to blindness — is driving some San Diego-area districts to spend beyond their means. The number of students needing special education services and the costs of those services have climbed faster than the federal or state money that pays for them, county district data show. Though the services are guaranteed by law, neither the federal government nor the state of California provide enough to pay for them. That squeezes already tight school budgets, so administrators have to make do with fewer dollars for other student programs. “It’s got to come out of somewhere else,” said Paul Warren, an education research associate with the Public Policy Institute of California. “What they’re saying is, ‘We don’t have enough money to pay for everything.’” https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/focus/story/2019-04-05/districts-struggle-with-rising-special-ed-costs
Special education — which serves students with a wide range of issues, from learning disabilities to autism to hyperactivity disorder to blindness — is driving some San Diego-area districts to spend beyond their means.
The number of students needing special education services and the costs of those services have climbed faster than the federal or state money that pays for them, county district data show.
Though the services are guaranteed by law, neither the federal government nor the state of California provide enough to pay for them. That squeezes already tight school budgets, so administrators have to make do with fewer dollars for other student programs.
“It’s got to come out of somewhere else,” said Paul Warren, an education research associate with the Public Policy Institute of California. “What they’re saying is, ‘We don’t have enough money to pay for everything.’”
https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/focus/story/2019-04-05/districts-struggle-with-rising-special-ed-costs