POLICY ISSUE
More than one in seven U.S. students—approximately 7.5 million children—currently receive special education services. Enrollment rates in the
three states examined in this study exceed the national average of 15%:
roughly 17% of public school students in Connecticut, 18% in Indiana, and
20% in Massachusetts are enrolled in special education. Nationally, the
number of students receiving services has grown by 20% since 2000–01,
with comparable growth in each of these states. These individualized supports, governed by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA),
on average cost roughly twice as much per pupil as general education and
account for about one-third of federal appropriations to elementary and
secondary education.
