What Are We Spending on Special Education Services in the United States, 1999-2000? Report. Special Education Expenditure Project (SEEP).

Overview & Synopsis

This document is one of a series of reports based on the Special Education Expenditure Project, a study of the nation's spending on special education and related services based on analysis of data for the 1999-2000 school year. This report focuses on three questions: "How much is the nation spending on services for students with disabilities?"; "What is the additional expenditure used to educate a student with a disability?"; and "To what extent does the federal government support spending on special education?" A highlights section notes the following: total special education spending (approximately $50 billion); total regular and special education spending on students with disabilities ($77.3 billion); additional expenditure on special education students (about $5,918 per student); percent of total K-12 education expenditures (21%); total spending ratio (1.9 times that of the typical student with no special education needs); and federal funding ($3.7 billion, or $605 per special education student and 7.5% of total special education spending). Separate sections of the report provide an introduction to the study, analysis of total spending on students with disabilities, analysis of allocation of special education expenditures, and analysis of allocation and use of federal funds. Appendices provide data on samples used and the data analyzed. (DB)