Special needs, a costly debate

School superintendents and parents of special needs children are demanding that Massachusetts boost spending on special education to help cities and towns that are struggling with an increasing number of signficantly disabled students who need a wide range of high-cost services.

Massachusetts has one of the most inclusive special education programs in the country, and costs of teaching students with disabilities have strained school budgets for years.

But rising special education enrollment, particularly the number of students with autism and other severe disabilities, and surging transportation and health costs have made costs increasingly unmanageable, educators said.

The Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents has filed legislation that would amend the so-called circuit-breaker law to increase reimbursements to school districts for the cost of educating children with severe learning problems.

The circuit-breaker law requires the state to reimburse districts for high-cost students. Under that provision, the state provided about 11.5 percent of special needs spending in fiscal 2005, according to the Superintendents Association; the share was expected to be about 10 percent in fiscal 2006. Leaders of the Legislature's Education Committee have signaled support for more funding.

"A small percentage of children need significant services, and the costs are enormous," said Thomas Scott, executive director of the Superintendents Association.

The cost of educating special needs children in Massachusetts public schools has increased by more than $400 million since fiscal 2001 and totaled $1.6 billion for fiscal 2004, the latest year for which a total is available, or roughly one-fifth of school spending.

There were 160,752 special needs students in Massachusetts schools in 2005-2006, or 16.3 percent of total enrollment. The number of children identified with special needs increased by 10,749 between 2002 and 2006.

Special education has drawn increased attention from parents, educators, and policy makers following the fatal stabbing last month of a Lincoln-Sudbury High School student, allegedly killed by a student with Asperger's disorder, a form of autism.

Some administrators and parents worry that the stabbing will cause a backlash against placing special-needs children in mainstream schools. Tense trade-offs sometimes occur in school districts to balance costs of educating special needs students against needs of other students.

Jennie DunKley, a special education consultant and mother of a 13-year-old with Asperger's disorder, said she believes that there is an inherent conflict of interest in having budget-conscious administrators define the scope of a child's education.

Financial constraints, she said, are the "elephant in the room" that forces administrators to closely examine expensive services that might help a child improve.

"If you have only $100 to educate one child or 100, which are you going to choose?" she asked. "Everyone's hearts are in the right place, but their hands are tied."

One solution is more money. Top lawmakers met with school administrators last week to discuss potential changes to the state's funding law.

Senator Robert A . Antonioni, Democrat of Leominster and cochairman of the Legislature's Joint Committee on Education, said that legislators should strongly consider providing additional funding to ease the burden on school districts, which are handling nearly 90 percent of all special education costs. The state pays about $200 million annually.

"It's a real disproportionate share," he said. "These costs really do a number on districts."

Representative Patricia A . Haddad, Democrat of Somerset and cochairwoman of the committee, said the rising costs increasingly pit regular and special education against each other.

One reason for the increasing costs, specialists say, is that more students with multiple and severe cognitive disabilities are entering the schools, in part because of medical advances that have allowed more premature babies to live.

The number of preschoolers identified with special needs has doubled since 1985, and the number of children diagnosed with moderate to severe disabilities through early intervention programs has climbed dramatically in the past 15 years, according to a task force report.

"These children would not have been in the system 10 years ago," said Pam Kaufman, director of special education for the Framingham Schools and a member of the task force. "There are far more children with increased challenges coming to our schools, and schools are hurting financially as a result."

Administrators point to the state's strong reputation for educating students with disabilities as a major factor in rising enrollments.

As a parent of a special needs child, "you'd be crazy not to send your child to Massachusetts schools," said Wayne Ogden, superintendent of schools in Franklin.

"Special education is funded because it has to be, so districts are forced to cut costs elsewhere," said Sheldon Berman, the superintendent in Hudson and one of the state's leading authorities on special education.

In fiscal 2005, the latest information available, schools spent an average of $14,643 to educate a special education student, up from $10,249 in fiscal 1999, the state Department of Education says.

That far outpaced the increase in regular education, which rose from $5,487 per pupil to $7,421 over the same period.

Parents desperate for their children to catch up to their peers and lead more normal lives find the tug-of-war with school administrators over the necessary services heartwrenching.

Trish Orlovsky, an Arlington mother of a special needs child and an advocate for parents, said that school officials "hope parents aren't savvy enough to realize they are entitled" to certain services.

She likened the negotiations over accommodations to a poker game.

"It's a really desperate situation," said Wilhelmina Howell of Sherborn, who said she has clashed with school officals over services for her two autistic children. "A lot of parents have to fight for everything they get."

Many administrators point out with frustration that federal funding has never approached the level pledged when the national special education law was passed in 1975.

Still, there is a general consensus that special education is helping the state's neediest children lead more rewarding, more independent lives.

By attending The New England Center for Children, a private school for autistic children, and working with an in-home therapist 20 hours a week, Howell's 8-year-old autistic son, Dean, has made gains she never would have thought possible.

"He listens when I say Dean now," she said. "That's a new thing."

To her, the benefits far outweigh the costs, and Berman and many administrators agree.

"I think Massachusetts has done an extraordinary job," he said. "We're doing the right thing for the kids. The question is how to share the financial responsibility without compromising all the students."

Matt Carroll of the Globe staff contributed to this report. Peter Schworm can be reached at schworm@globe.com.