States Rethink How To Pay For Special Ed.

By Lynn Schnaiberg

When New York state Commissioner of Education Richard P. Mills called for big changes in the way the state pays for special education earlier this month, he was traveling a well-worn path.

Nearly two-thirds of the states are working to change the way they pay for special education, according to the Center for Special Education Finance in Palo Alto, Calif.

Faced with pressure to make more out of flat budgets, states see the rising cost of special education as a pressing concern. Reports that show a big share of new education dollars going to special education and a steady flow of news stories about the high costs of specialized schooling for some students with disabilities have helped push...