Wonder why schools are so expensive?

[Bigmack]

One of the biggies is Special Ed. (This is NOT an anti-Special Ed thread, so just save it!)

Special Ed is the queen of the unfunded mandates. If a district has a good school system - usually a bluestate phenomenon - it attracts people anxious to get the best for their student.

Each one of those students costs bigtime, and the fed/state pays squat!
- - -
Special ed attracts students, deficit
Growing enrollment strains budget
By DEBORAH BACH P-I REPORTER

On any given day, Sara Woolverton might get a call from parents living in a town along the Interstate 5 corridor or in a state halfway across the country, asking about enrolling their children in Seattle schools. They all have one thing in common: a desire to get the best special education and medical services for their children.

"They get a diagnosis of autism in Wichita and call us up and say, 'We're moving to Seattle next month,' " she said. "You build it and they will come -- that is part of our problem." The problem Woolverton refers to is a multimillion-dollar budget deficit projected for several years, prompting district officials to consider closing some schools, reducing bus service, trimming the central office payroll and making other cuts. One service that can't be cut is special education, which gets one out of every nine dollars the district spends.

For Seattle, that factor contributes to a gap of about $18 million between what the 47,000- student district spends on special education and the money it receives from the state and federal government -- about $31 million a year. The cost of providing special education to children varies tremendously, with the most expensive students costing upward of $60,000.

The district provides some level of special-education services for nearly 150 students attending private schools -- from assessments to transportation -- at a cost of about $800,000 to $1 million. Districts also are charged with finding and evaluating all children within their boundaries who need special education, regardless of whether they attend public or private school.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/259303_specialed13.html

[beyurslf]

1. In my district, a student with an all-day IEP costs 25K, about 3 times

what another student without an IEP costs. But it sounds so crass to talk about student and their "cost." Every student deserves an education. The Federal Govt should recognize this and pay for it.

[China_cat]

2. We have a severly handicapped nephew

who lives with his parents in Holland. There's little to no 'mainstreaming' there. Our nephew attends a special school that can take care of his physical needs as well as his educational requirements. After seeing the difference in the systems, I have come to the conclusion that we've shortchanged ALL our students by trying to take care of everybody in the same facility.

I don't want to see it go back to the 'out of sight, out of mind' days but it's time to flat out say that one size does NOT fit all and that one facility just can't do it for everybody.

[MountainLaurel]

4. NCLB will have some impact

On how states deal with special education students and mainstreaming, but I'm not entirely sure how it will work out.

[Tesha]

5. Special Ed students can cost much more than $25K. But...

Special Ed students can cost much more than $25K; a school district
is responsible for providing the best situation possible, and that
often means tuitioning your Special Ed kids out to off-site programs
such as Perkins School for the Blind and the like. But there is (used
to be?) some Federal Aid that capped a school district's liabilities
at $25K/year or so. I have no idea if that program still exists in
the Bushworld of Leave No School District Standing.

Tesha

[beyurslf]

6. 25K is the average for students with an all day IEP. Some of these

are much less than 25K and some are much much more.

[rodeodance]

3. more and more is being laid on the States because of reckless Fed

spending. and states are raising a ruckus. this too will come back to the WH (maybe)

[lumberjack_jeff]

7. So many misconceptions in this thread.

1) this is an excellent example of how to lie with figures. Seattle public schools get special ed funding ($3944 for each student) as well as $4237 in funding for every general ed student. Since every special ed student is also a general ed student, SPS gets $8181 for every special ed student, not $3944. Seattle public schools spends $8479 for each SPED student, while they get $8181. not the dramatic shortfall that the district would have you believe. The fact that the district is crying poverty because it spent SPED students general ed allottment on programs for other students frankly pisses me off.
2) americans (which special ed students are, believe it or not) are entitled to a "free and appropriate public education" not "the best possible".
3) school districts with high-needs students can apply for "safety net" funding. Seattle only applied for $19,000 of this funding. The only rational reason for not taking full advantage of it is the requirement to fully account for the basic special ed money.
4) special ed is a funded mandate. It is true that the federal government has passed the buck to the states, but that burden has generally not fallen onto local districts. In my experience, local districts (especially here in washington) are using Special ed as a scapegoat for insufficient general ed funding. In Washington, local districts get $4237 for each general ed student and an additional $3944 for every student with an IEP. High-needs students qualify for safety net.
5) it strains credibility that Seattle is incapable of putting on an adequate special ed program for the $8144 that every other district in the state can.

http://www.k12.wa.us/safs/rep/app/0506/17001mb.txt

edited to add the link

[Baconfoot]

8. You are missing something important from the article.

"Under state and federal law, the district also must provide children enrolled in private schools with special-education services.

Seattle Public Schools receives about $1,600 in federal IDEA funding for each of those students, but can claim the state allocation only up to the enrollment cap. Because Seattle's exceeds it, the district must provide services to children in private schools even though it doesn't get the state allocation for them."

[lumberjack_jeff]

10. Not really

1) the district is obligated to provide "free and appropriate" special ed services, not a blank check.
2) the district is entitled to safety net funding (in 1995 the total available statewide was $35 million, I'm sure it's more now) Seattle requested only $19,000 - or about $3 per student.

[eppur_se_muova]

9. I know it's a cliche, but...what is the cost of NOT providing education ?

This has to be figured into the balance, and the long-term cost is too much for a civilized society to bear.