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Report: Over-identifying special-needs children could cost state $500 million

(Bowling Green, Kentucky) – Offering scholarships to Kentucky’s special-needs children would benefit families, taxpayers and school districts, according to a new report by the Bluegrass Institute, Kentucky’s free-market think tank.

The new study, “Enable the Disabled: An Analysis of the Kentucky Students with Special Needs Scholarship Program,” reveals that the state and local school districts could save more than $61 million if just 1 percent of Kentucky’s 109,000 special-needs students participate in the scholarship program during the next decade.

Legislation pre-filed by Rep. Stan Lee, R-Lexington, for consideration during the 2007 General Assembly would provide parents of learning-disabled children with scholarships comprised of the state’s current SEEK (Support Educational Excellence in Kentucky) base amount plus the add-on funding designated to provide services for each student’s disability type. Scholarship amounts would be established by the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) and range from approximately $4,300 to $12,000.

“Since only a portion of their education funding follows scholarship students to their new schools, the state and resident school districts would actually reap a savings worth $5,100 for each participating child,” said lead author Vicki Murray, Ph.D.

The new program likely would also reduce the number of students over-identified as having special needs. According to the new report, an estimated 20,210 students were over-identified as learning disabled between 1990 and 2005. It finds Kentucky’s practice of over-identifying special-ed students and associated costs of regulatory compliance is projected to exceed $500 million during the next decade.

“School districts statewide currently send 2,500 special-needs students to other public and private schools that they think offer better educational services,” Murray said. “Rep. Lee’s plan would let every Kentucky parent of a special needs child do the same – without costing taxpayers a single extra dime.”

Included in the report are the names and contact information of more than 400 private schools in Kentucky, many of which provide needed services for special-ed students.

For interview information, contact Jim Waters, Director of Policy and Communications for the Bluegrass Institute. He can be reached at (270) 782-2140 or jwaters@bipps.org.

The Bluegrass Institute is an independent research and educational institution offering free-market solutions to Kentucky's most pressing problems.

Permission to reprint Perspective commentaries, in whole or in part, is hereby granted, provided the author and his affiliations are cited. Authors are available for interviews by contacting the Institute.

Bluegrass Institute for Public Policy Solutions
400 East Main Avenue, Bowling Green, KY 42101

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