Pennsylvania Special Education Spending Increased 51% In A Decade

Between the 2008-2009 and 2016-2017 school years, Pennsylvania's special education spending for its 500 school districts increased from $3 billion to $4.55 billion, an increase of $1.54 billion, or a total of 51% over the period. However, during this time, the state funding for special education rose just $72 million, or 7%. The additional funding came from special allocations from local school districts, such as local taxes, and state basic education funding.

These findings were presented in "Shortchanging Children with Disabilities: State Underfunding of Special Education in Pennsylvania," by the Education Law Center in partnership . . .