Financing Education for Children with Special Needs

Localized multi-disciplinary teams were charged with developing programs of education to meet the obligation of FAPE without regard to the cost of these services, thus creating a fiscal burden shared by federal, state and local educational authorities. While disability advocates continued to apply pressure for more and better services to students with disabilities, means to fund these services in a balanced manner created significant challenges for policy makers. Thirty-five years later we find the field continuing to grapple with funding issues in the context of an equitable and adequate educational good for all students.