Special Education Spending Estimates from 1969-2000

Overview & Synopsis

The U.S. spent an estimated $50 billion on special education services in the 1999-2000 school year. Another $27.3 billion was spent on general education services, and an additional $1 billion was spent on other special needs programs for students with disabilities. The total spending to educate students with disabilities represents 21.4% of the $360.6 billion total spending on elementary and secondary education in the U.S. Total special education spending alone accounts for 13.9% of total spending. For 1999-2000, total expenditure for school-age students with disabilities amounted to $12,474 per student, which included $4,394 for general education services and $8,080 for special education services. This compares to $6,556 per general education student. There are significant variations in spending levels and spending ratios across states and in spending levels across disability categories. Spending ratios in individually studied states were as much as 20% more or 20% less than the national average for 1999-2000, and spending on the most expensive category of special education students (those in external placements) was twice the average amount across all categories for 1999-2000. The 1999-2000 "spending ratio" of spending per special education student compared to spending per general education student is 1.90:1. This ratio was estimated at 1.92:1 in 1968-69, 2.15:1 in 1977-78, and 2.28:1 in 1985-86. This declining ratio may seem counter to commonly cited policy concerns related to rising special education spending. However, the contention that special education spending is rising as a percentage of total education spending is correct. The declining per pupil spending ratio simply illustrates that this rising overall expenditure is much more attributable to increased special education enrollments than to expenditures on relatively few additional numbers of students with severe disabilities. (Contains 4 figures and 15 notes.)