A new report from the Thomas B. Fordham Institute takes a look at a few methods districts and states can implement to help grapple with the costs of their highest needs special-education students.
- Form a cooperative: working with other schools or districts allow school systems to develop the right capacity to serve high-need students.
- Weight your funding based on services required: Weighted student funding allows money to be distributed based on student need, but rather than base that need on the students’ disability, base it on the services that the students need.
- Create a fund for students with exceptional needs: If a higher level authority (district, regional authority, state) can create a fund to assist with those one or two particularly needy students, it can be like an insurance policy to make sure you can cover those costs without breaking the bank.
Check out the full 18-page report for more information.