"Which Children in Special Ed"

"A new policy is aimed at intervening early with intensive teaching to give struggling students a chance to succeed in regular classrooms and escape the ''special ed'' label."

It allows educators to use funds to intervene early rather than use a "wait and see" approach. Some parents of special ed students object to taking funding away from children already in special ed programs. New policies also mandate the use of funds when minorities are overrepresented in special education programs.

"In cases where districts have a disproportionately high number of minorities in special education, the set-aside becomes mandatory -- educators must use 15 percent of special education funds on intensive services in the early grades... black students, who are more likely to be poor than whites, could be behind in school due to socio-economic disadvantage -- not disability. They may have lacked quality preschool experience or had few books at home, and are less likely to have the best teachers, experts say."

Via the NY Times

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