Chaikind (1993) reports that national special education expenditure research shows that the average total per pupil special education costs are about 2.3 times the cost of regular education. Moreover, Chaikind states that over the past 20 years, total costs for special education have consistently been approximately twice the cost of regular education. These statistics highlight the importance of answering the following question: How are school districts finding money for their special education program and facilities? The purpose of this paper is to explore the pertinent literature in an effort to answer this question.
Methods of Funding and Finding Funds
One way in which the country's school districts are funding special education programs and facilities is that they are using a variety of funding sources. According to the Center for Special Education Finance (CSEF, 1999), most school districts obtain funds for special education from state, local and federal sources. In this regard, the CSEF reports that, on average, about 56 percent of special education funding comes from state moneys. An additional 36 percent of funding comes from local sources while the remaining 8 percent comes from the federal government.
The CSEF (1999), however, goes on to note that many states are currently considering some sort of reform regarding special education funding. The organization notes that:
States are currently struggling to provide FAPE (free appropriate public education) to students with disabilities with limited public resources that are being strained by the growing demand for other types of social services. (CSEF, 1999, p. 1)
In an effort to overcome the various funding limitations, school districts are also attempting to fund special education programs and facilities by trying diverse funding formulas. According to Parrish (1996), most frequently school districts are using one of the four following funding formulas:<...