This article was written by Kara Arundel and published by K-12 Dive on May 1st, 2026.
The National Study of Special Education Spending will be the first comprehensive, federally supported look into IDEA funding in two decades.
A long anticipated national study of special education spending by the U.S. Department of Education is taking its first step by asking for clearance from the White House’s Office of Management and Budget to begin its work, according to a notice planned for publication in the Federal Register on Monday.
The $5.6 million National Study of Special Education Spending, first announced three years ago by the Education Department under the Biden administration, seeks to give policymakers and special education administrators an updated picture of what influences special education spending under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
Research questions will include:
- How much is spent to educate students with disabilities? How does that compare to spending on their peers without disabilities?
- To what extent do spending amounts reflect students’ needs compared to where they live or go to school?
- What does special education spending pay for, and what role does IDEA play?
- To what extent is the federal contribution to special education funding meeting its target?
The first report from the study is not expected until 2028. The Education Department’s proposed fiscal year 2027 budget allocates $2 million for the special education spending study, as well as for other research into the implementation of IDEA. That would be a $11.3 million reduction from the FY 2025 allocation for the special education studies and evaluations program at the agency’s Institute of Education Sciences.
The last federally-supported comprehensive study of national special education finances — titled Special Education Expenditure Project — relied on data from the 1999-2000 school year. The last time Congress made substantial changes to IDEA was in 2004.
When IDEA was created in 1975, Congress said it would “fully fund” the law at 40% of the additional per-pupil cost for special education services. Federal funding has never reached that level and currently, it’s at about 10%, or around $1,810 per student.
Over the five decades since IDEA was enacted, many education administration organizations and disability rights advocacy organizations have called for more federal funding to support special education services, which is also paid for through state and local dollars and Medicaid reimbursements.
Meanwhile, the number of students eligible for special education services has continued to increase in recent years.
About 8.2 million students ages 3-21 qualified for services under IDEA in 2024. That was a 3.8% increase compared to the year before. IDEA also served 458,920 infants and toddlers through IDEA’s Part C early intervention services in 2024.
