541
Breaking the Cycle of Burdensome and Inefficient Special Education Costs Facing Local School Districts
A
LESSANDRA
P
ERNA
*
A
BSTRACT
 
Almost every issue and side effect of special education legislation comes down to cost. Within special education law, there is a recurring cycle that has never been resolved. Since the first special education legislation was enacted forty years ago, subsequent developments have caused unforeseen consequences. The issue boils down to overly burdensome and inefficient costs, as well as a lack of funding. To begin, school districts should stop over-diagnosing students. Too many students are being placed into special education when a general education, with proper services and supports, is much more effective, efficient, and beneficial to the student. Congress pledged to take on the responsibility of 40% of the cost for educating a disabled student, however, they have never come close to funding their portion of the legislation. This Note unwinds the cycle of, and reasons for, such high costs in the special education system and proposes the multifaceted solution of efficiency for reducing some of these high expenses.
*
 Juris Doctor, New England Law | Boston (2015). B.S., Business Administration, Babson College (2011). I would like to thank my family and fiancé for their unconditional love, continued support, and guidance
—
I owe my success to you.
 
 
542
New England Law Review
 v. 49 | 541
I
NTRODUCTION
 
n January 30, 2014, Sarah was hospitalized at the Connecticut Children
’
s Medical Center for out of control behavior, triggered by trivial issues at home.
1
 She was aggressive, hostile to the point of hitting, yelling, screaming, and trying to break a wall. She also attacked one of the police officers responding to the incident.
2
 Sarah is fourteen years old and in eighth grade at a Connecticut middle school.
3
 She has multiple daily episodes of out of control behavior both at home and at school
—
at times hitting other students.
4
 In addition, she has numerous daily episodes of syncope
5
 in which she falls unconscious and refuses to wake up.
6
 Sarah also reports mood dysregulation,
7
 which entails headaches, nausea, vomiting, body aches and pains, stomach aches, back pain, feeling tired, lethargic, and poor sleep at night.
8
 Sarah is diagnosed with autism, ADHD, reactive attachment disorder, and possibly anxiety and other mood disorders.
9
 Sarah sees a psychiatrist monthly and had a
1
Telephone Interview with Anonymous Teacher, Teacher, Middle School in Conn. (Feb. 23, 2014) (on file with Author). All personally identifiable information of students, teachers, and the school district have been changed for confidentiality reasons. All subsequent information is based on real events, real diagnoses, and actual support services the student currently receives.
2
Id.
 
3
Id.
Sarah was adopted at age four from Guatemala, and little is known about her family history.
Id.
 
4
Id.
 
5
See, e.g.
 ,
Syncope or Fainting
 , B
ETH
I
SRAEL
D
EACONESS
M
ED
.
 
C
TR
., http://www.bidmc.org/ Centers-and-Departments/Departments/Medicine/Divisions/Cardiovascular-Medicine/For-Patients/Diseases-and-Conditions/Arrhythmias/Syncope-or-Fainting.aspx (last visited Apr. 9,
2015) (“Syncope, better known as fainting, is a transient loss of consciousness and posture.”).
6
Telephone Interview with Anonymous Teacher,
supra
 note 1. There are concerns about Sarah's afunctional-type seizure episodes, which she feels she has been suffering from for the past two and a half years.
Id.
 She reports multiple somatic complaints, including anxiety, nervousness, and feeling scared.
Id.
 
7
See
 
 generally
 
Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD)
 , A
M
.
 
A
CAD
.
 OF
C
HILD
&
 
A
DOLESCENT
P
SYCHIATRY
(May 2013),
available at
http://www.aacap.org/App_Themes/AAC
AP/Docs/facts_for_families/110_disruptive_mood_dysregulation_disorder.pdf (“Disruptive
Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD) is a relatively new diagnosis in the field of mental health. Children with DMDD have severe and frequent temper tantrums that interfere with
their ability to function at home, in school or with their friends.”).
 
8
Telephone Interview with Anonymous Teacher,
supra
 note 1. Sarah reports feelings of hopelessness but denies any thoughts of harm to herself or others.
Id.
 However, on numerous occasions she exhibited out-of-control behavior with aggression towards others.
Id.
 
9
Id.
Sarah is currently medicated with Prozac to alleviate mood and anxiety issues, but it
O
 
 
2015
Costs of Special Education
 543
neuropsychological evaluation done in February 2014, paid for by her school district.
10
 At school, Sarah receives: a one-to-one paraprofessional thirty hours per week; academic labs (special education resource time) three hours per week; co-taught math about four hours per week; co-taught reading and writing six hours per week; academic support (with special education staff) eight hours per week; counseling with the school psychologist one hour per week; and speech and language therapy with a speech and language pathologist four and one-half hours per week.
11
 Sarah has access to computers in every class; a calculator; headphones to listen to music to help her maintain focus; and modified/alternative tests for math, social studies, and science.
12
 She is given an alternate setting and extended time for test taking, a modified amount of vocabulary for vocabulary lessons, and a reader for all areas and modified assessments.
13
 Finally, Sarah
’
s grades are based on modified assessments.
14
 This is not even Sarah
’
s entire file.
15
 Sarah is one student receiving these services
—
and not all services were mentioned above
—
in a middle school educating over 650 students in just three grades (6
–
8).
16
 The cost of educating this one student is unfathomable, yet Sarah
’
s school district is required to cover all the costs of providing her with a free appropriate public education under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (
“
IDEA
”
).
17
 This Note argues that almost every special education legislation comes down to cost. Within special education law, there is a recurring cycle that has never been resolved. The developments in special education that have occurred over the past forty years, since the first special education legislation was enacted, have caused unforeseen consequences. The issue
has not helped.
Id.
Abilify was added as an augmentation strategy but was discontinued  because of hypotensive episodes and feelings of syncope; correlation between Abilify and these adverse effects could not be established and is most likely secondary to her underlying mental illness.
Id.
 Sarah has also been on Vyvance, Risperidone, and Adderall, all with little or no change.
 
Telephone Interview with Anonymous Teacher,
supra
 note 1. 
10
Id
. Sarah’s Functional Behavior Analysis w
as also paid for by the school district.
Id.
 Sarah sees a therapist for her reactive attachment disorder every two weeks, along with therapy to work on self-regulation skills.
Id.
 
11
Id.
 
12
Id.
 
13
 Telephone Interview with Anonymous Teacher,
supra
 note 1. 
14
Id.
 
15
Id.
 
16
Id.
 
17
See
20 U.S.C. § 1401(9) (2012).
View on Scribd
Back to document

More From New England Law Review

Skip carousel