Impact on Schools - Individuals With Disabilities Education Act
Impact on General Education Spending
Because students with disabilities have a legally enforceable right to a free, appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment, schools must accommodate special education costs before allocating money to general education. This can create conflict within schools and has led to complaints that the escalating cost of special education is harming the quality of general education.
Special education has not stolen money away from general education or caused general education spending to decline. However, schools have had to redirect a disproportionate amount of newly allocated funds to students with disabilities. According to a study by Richard Rothstein and the Economic Policy Institute, special education accounted for 40 percent of "net new spending" in nine representative districts from 1967 to 1996, while general education accounted for only 23.3 percent of net new education spending.[1]
Impact on Student Achievement
There is no evidence that the expansion of the special education population has hurt general student achievement. In fact, some special education spending may even be helping other students in the regular classroom.[2] Because of IDEA’s requirement that students with disabilities be taught in the "least restrictive environment," schools must make every effort to include them in classrooms with their peers. When students with disabilities are taught in these "inclusive" environments, it is difficult to dissociate the effect of special education funds. For example, additional teacher aides or supplemental learning materials can have positive spillover effects on the entire classroom be it terms of improved student discipline or augmented direct instruction.
As for children with disabilities, IDEA and its accompanying special education services have had a considerable positive impact on participation and achievement. Between 1987 and 2003, the number of children with disabilities graduating from high school grew by 17 percent, and the number of students with disabilities participating in higher education more than doubled.
Numerous controlled studies have found direct evidence of the effectiveness of special education in boosting student achievement.[3] While an achievement gap between students with and without disabilities still exists, it is narrowing. For example, between 2000 and 2005, the achievement gap between fourth grade reading scores for students with and without disabilities declined by a third, according to the U.S. Department of Education.
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[1] "Net new spending" is calculated as real per pupil spending in 1967 minus real per pupil spending in 1996. See "Where’s the Money Going? Changes in the Level and Composition of Education Spending, 1991-1996," (Richard Rothstein, 1997)
[2] See "The impact of inclusion on students with and without disabilities and their educators," (S.J. Salend, L.M. Duhaney, 1999); "Academic achievement effects of an in-class service model on students with disabilities," (L. Saint-Laurent et al., 1998)
[3] See "Inferring Program Effects for Special Populations: Does Special Education Raise Achievement for Students with Disabilities?", (Eric A. Hanushek, John F. Kain, Steven G. Rivkin, 2002); "Academic Progress of Students Across Inclusive and Traditional Settings," (C.M. Cole, N. Waldron, M. Majd, 2004); "Outcomes for students with learning disabilities in inclusive and pullout programs," (P.J. Rea, V.L. McLaughlin, C. Walter-Thomas, 2002)
