Issue of Equalizing Education

Special education is offered for those requiring special handling because they are in some way handicapped, because they are mentally challenged, or because they have special abilities which may require a more nurturing environment. Such an education costs more than general education, often 2 to 2.5 times as much. Educators give reasons for these higher costs, analysts offer reasons for the higher costs, and politicians have to justify them. In New York State, the high costs have become a matter for some concern so that educators and political leaders are seeking ways to reduce the costs without sacrificing the quality of instruction, and it is not clear at this juncture whether this is possible.

Education in a democratic society holds a special place for improving social standing, educating the electorate, and providing opportunity to all. Educational level is a powerful indicator of social inequality on several levels. The level of educational attainment achieved by the individual determines to a great degree the type of job that person will be able to get and thus the economic and social level to which they may aspire. In many businesses, continuing education is necessary for advancement and so adds further to stratification in the business world. Social inequality is often measured in terms of educational level as much as it is economic level, and perceived failures in the educational system, such as are noted in the inner cities of this nation, are

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Angry parents have described the CSE as dictatorial and disrespectful. Long Island, where this meeting took place, has 34 percent of the state's pre-Kindergarten special education students with only 14 percent of the population. It costs an average of $10,847 annually to educate a student in the public schools of Long Island, but it can cost more than $30,000 per special education student. Total student enrollment topped 22.5 percent on Long Island from 1981 to 1991, but over the same period special education enrollment increased 28 percent. Special education costs over that same period increased 226 percent (Golden 1). Because of the perception of a problem with special education in the New York school districts, Governor Pataki has been trying to develop a plan that would reduce the payments made by the state, which would only increase the costs to local districts. Even as the federal government is reducing payments to the states, the state is trying to reduce payments to local districts. Each shift only passes the costs down to the next level. Administrators say such a shift only means higher school taxes for many residents or a cut in programs. Tax increases would vary according to the size of the district and the si

Category: Psychology - I