Public schools receive a certain amount of state funding for every student that is enrolled and that is part of a Special Education program. When students move to private schools, the funding goes with them. This could potentially influence a school district to push kids back into public schools, even in cases where it is not the best placement for a student.
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is a federal law that is binding in all states. Part of IDEA calls for a free appropriate public education that will be provided at no cost to parents. In short, this means that if a public school is unable to provide what a child who has special needs requires the parent can have their child be placed into a private school that is able to better provide for their child’s needs.
When this happens, the public school must pay for the cost of the tuition of the private school that the student will be attending. Sometimes, this payment is handled in the form of a school voucher. If a student who is part of the Special Education program transfers from a public school to a private school, the state funding that is provided for that student goes with him or her.
In Washington D. C., the number of Special Education students who are sent to private schools because they cannot be adequately served in the public schools has fallen by about 20% since 2011. There is some concern that students who have special needs are being pushed into public schools that are unable to handle their needs. Some worry that there is a financial incentive for the public schools to try and retain these students, even in situations where the public school is not the best placement for an individual student.
Judith Sandalow is the executive director of the Children’s Law Center. It is a non-profit organization that represents families of students who have disabilities. She said:
“Kids with special needs shouldn’t be the cash cow to fix the holes in the District’s budget.”
To me, it seems like things keep revolving around funding. Public schools lose funding when a Special Education student transfers to a private school to get the educational services that the public school cannot provide. The loss of funding will make it more difficult for public schools to provide that Special Education resources that they lack.
It seems that some public school districts think the way to solve this issue is to retain Special Education students even when that isn’t the best possible placement for the student. It is sad that the funding appears to be of more concern than the needs of the student.
Image by Tony Hall on Flickr