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Shifting Trends in Special Education

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Shifting Trends in Special Education
May 2011

Shifting Trends in Special Education
By Janie Scull and Amber M. Winkler

SH I FTI NG TREN DS I N SPECIAL EDUCATION > CONTENTS

Contents
Executive Summary.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Findings.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Students.with.Disabilities.across.America.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Students.with.Disabilities.by.State.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Specific.Learning.Disabilities.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Personnel.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Behind.the.Numbers.in.Outlier.States.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13


.Massachusetts.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 .Texas. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .


Links: .on.the.Department.of. Education.website.at.http://www.doe.mass.edu/sped/definitions.html..For.definitions.of.federal.disability.categories,.see.Appendix. B..Category.definitions,.of.course,.represent.just.one.of.many.layers.of.disability.identification..Some.might.argue.that.functional. definitions.are.instead.hammered.out.through.arbitration.hearings. 22. .Sheldon.Berman.et.al.,.“The.Rising.Costs.of.Special.Education.in.Massachusetts,”.in.Rethinking Special Education for a New Century,.ed..Chester.E..Finn,.Jr.,.Andrew.J..Rotherham,.and.Charles.R..Hokanson,.Jr..(Washington,.D.C.:.Thomas.B..Fordham.Institute.and.Progressive.Policy.Institute,.2001),.http://www.edexcellence.net/publications-issues/publications/rethinkingsped.html. 23. .The.exposé.on.students.in.Boston.was.released.in.1970.by.a.task.force.that.investigated.the.issue.of.exclusion.in.the.city..See.The Way We Go to School: The Exclusion of Children in Boston.(Boston,.MA:.Task.Force.on.Children.Out.of.School,.1970),.http://www.eric. ed.gov/PDFS/ED046140.pdf. 24. .That.Massachusetts.offers.robust.special-education.services.is.well.known.in.the.special-education.community.and.also.likely. attracts.many.families.with.special.needs.children..For.example,.Autism.Speaks,.a.national.autism-advocacy.organization,.recently. named.Boston.as.one.of.the.“top.ten.places.to.live.if.you.have.autism.”.(“The.10.Best.Places.to.Live.if.You.Have.Autism,”.Autism. Speaks,.April.21,.2011,.http://www.autismspeaks.org/press/best_places_to_live_survey_results.php.).Such.endorsements.likely.contribute.to.a.greater.density.of.children.with.disabilities.in.Massachusetts.than.in.other.states. 25. .Section.504.of.the.Rehabilitation.Act.of.1973.falls.under.civil-rights.law;.it.guarantees.access.to.education.for.students.with.disabilities.and.provides.reasonable.accommodations.for.those.students..On.the.other.hand,.students.who.require.IEPs.(Individualized. Educational.Programs).fall.under.the.Individuals.with.Disabilities.Education.Act.and.generally.require.more.significant.assistance. and.customization.of.a.general.education.curriculum.and.approach..Students.who.are.serviced.through.504.plans.are.not.reported. in.IDEA.child.counts..See.Texas.Education.Code.§38.003.and.Texas.Administrative.Code.§74.28. 22 SH I FTI NG TREN DS I N SPECIAL EDUCATION > FI N DI NGS 26. .Review of Special Education in the Houston Independent School District.(Boston,.MA:.Thomas.Hehir.and.Associates,.2011),. http://www.houstonisd.org/HISDConnectEnglish/Images/PDF/HISD__Special_Education_Report_2011_Final.pdf. 27. .This.practice.was.relayed.to.the.authors.by.a.representative.from.the.Texas.Education.Agency’s.IDEA.coordination.department. 28. .Review of Special Education in the Houston Independent School District,.Thomas.Hehir.and.Associates,.2011. 29. .Child-count.data.on.Hispanic.students.with.disabilities.from.the.Data.Accountability.Center..Hispanic.population.data.from. the.January 2011 State of Texas Education Study.(Austin,.TX:.Texas.Education.Agency,.2011),.http://loving1.tea.state.tx.us/lonestar/ Reports/Summary2010/AAG1-State-Summary-Report-PDF-2011.pdf. 30. .Department.of.Education,.Office.of.Special.Education.and.Rehabilitative.Services,.“State.Maintenance.of.Financial.Support. Waivers.under.Part.B,”.http://www2.ed.gov/policy/speced/guid/idea/monitor/smfs-partb-waivers.html. 31. .Christina.A..Samuels,.“Learning-disabled.Enrollment.Dips.after.Long.Climb,”.Education Week,.September.8,.2010,.http://www. edweek.org/ew/articles/2010/09/08/03speced_ep.h30.html?r=306322826..According.to.a.2009.study,.nearly.half.of.all.elementary. schools.examined.in.the.analysis.had.subgroups.of.students.with.disabilities.that.fell.below.reporting.requirement.minimum.n.sizes.. Of.those.with.large.enough.subgroups.of.students.with.disabilities,.nearly.all.failed.to.meet.Adequate.Yearly.Progress.(AYP).markers..See.John.Cronin.et.al.,.The Accountability Illusion.(Washington,.D.C.:.Thomas.B..Fordham.Institute,.2009),.http://www.edexcellence.net/publications-issues/publications/the-accountability-illusion.html. 23
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