On Top of the News
Fenty outlines plans to cut special-ed costs and return students to public schools
07/02/10 | The Washington Post

Behind the Headline
Debunking a Special Education Myth
Spring 2007 | Education Next

In Washington, the mayor hopes to reduce spending on private school placements for special ed students, which currently cost $280 million a year. In 2007, Jay Greene and Marcus Winters noted that most school districts spend much less money on private school tuition for disabled students than Washington does. The cost of private school placements at one time represented 15 percent of the school district’s budget in D.C. In the same year, New York City schools spent only 0.17 percent of the budget on private school placements.