Modified Education Numbers Differ

A study completed by the US Department of Education shows the percentage of students in modified education are different in states.  Rhode Island is the highest in the country at 18%.  Texas is last at 9%, while the average is 13%.

These differences may be due to financial budgets.  Modified education costs can account for up to 20% of a school’s budget.  With budget cuts to modified education possibly on the horizon, these numbers could experience even more change.

Another factor to the differing number of students in modified education could be the broad definition of a physical/mental challenge.  Autism is one of the more rapid growing categories in placing students in modified education.  If researchers were to alter its medical terminology, some think it would end the growth.  These definitions of the medical conditions can be seen differently depending on where the student calls home.

“If you have a struggling reader, there are some schools and or some states that will say immediately, we’re putting that kid in special ed,” says Alice Farrell, director of special education in Vermont. “There are other states, such as ourselves, that say, ‘let’s not do that, let’s diversify our education and handle it in the classroom.”

Modified Numbers: http://www.disabilityscoop.com/2012/01/25/state-special-education-rates/14849/