Special Education Funding, Department of Public Instruction 99-7: An Evaluation.

Overview & Synopsis

This report reviews special education costs and funding for Wisconsin public school districts, as well as the funding relationship between special education and regular education. In addition, it compares Wisconsin's method of allocating categorical aid to methods that other states use in allocating special education funding, and presents survey results from Wisconsin school district administrators on special education funding. To better compare special education costs with regular education costs, general administration, debt service, and similar costs from the analysis were excluded. From FY 1992-93 through FY 1997-98, special education costs increased 36.9 percent, to $863.5 million, and regular education costs increased 25.5 percent, to approximately $4 billion. Cost per student increases, however, were more modest: special education costs per student increased 15 percent, which is slightly below the 18.1 percent increase in regular education costs per student. Results of the investigation also indicate 70 percent of school district administrators were dissatisfied with the current categorical aid formula and 62 percent support changes that would target aid to special education students whose services were exceptionally costly. Appendices include a list of special education costs, special education enrollment, and special education funding proportions by school districts. (CR)