Schools beat back demands for special-ed services

Parents Face Long Odds Amid Cost Concerns

Daniel Golden writes in the Wall Street Journal about a national pattern of denial of claims for special education services, quoting disability advocates and parents.

They say administrative reviews in many parts of the U.S. overwhelmingly back school districts in disputes over paying for special-education services. State education departments, which have an interest in keeping down special-education costs, typically train or hire the hearing officers. Also, recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions and changes to federal law have made it harder for parents to win cases.

Although relatively few disputes between parents and school districts reach the hearing stage, the decisions set ground rules for how much extra assistance districts must provide disabled students, who comprise 14% of all public-school students. In recent years, schools have "mainstreamed" more students with disabilities in regular classrooms, hoping to benefit the children through interaction with nondisabled peers while saving money at the same time.

The battles reflect tension over the high cost of special education. In 1999-2000, the latest year for which figures are available, national spending on special education reached $50 billion, according to the Center for Special Education Finance, a nonprofit research group. In 2005-06, New York City's public school system alone spent $390 million on private education for disabled students considered unsuited to public school. Such tuition can cost $50,000 a year or more per pupil.