Special education in California an 'urgent priority'

One in eight students in California receives special education services, but the state’s schools are often “ill-equipped” to serve them, and funding for students with disabilities has not “kept pace with district costs,” according to a collection of research papers released Tuesday by Policy Analysis for California Education. In California, only about a third of young children receive developmental screenings, the state has a lower rate of including students with disabilities in regular classrooms than other states, the shortage of special education teachers is “acute,” and many general education teachers feel unprepared to serve special education students in their classrooms. “These challenges have made special education an urgent priority for policy and practice in California,” wrote Jeannie Myung, director of policy research at PACE, and Heather Hough, PACE’s executive director.