How does funding for special education impact the District’s budget problems? Are more special needs students coming to District 39?
Children with special needs are our most vulnerable students with complex needs. As a result, these students require a variety of specialists to make sure they have a successful school experience. Therefore, the cost to educate children with special needs is higher than the cost to educate a student in the general population. This is true in every school district. However, because of our early intervention efforts, we are identifying fewer students as needing special education services and we have been able to reduce the special education budget by over $1 million in the past three years.
