Special Educators On Edge As Cuts Loom

Faced with the possibility of more funding cuts, a new survey finds special educators across the country are worried.

Already, 86 percent of special education directors say they are seeing increased caseloads, while most also report that services are less available for students with disabilities, according to a survey of more than 300 administrators conducted by the Council for Exceptional Children, a national group that lobbies on behalf of special educators.

And the situation may soon get worse. Under a budget deal last year, federal funding for special education and many other initiatives is expected to face an across-the-board cut of 8 percent starting in January 2013 under a process known as sequestration.

If the cuts go through as expected, the vast majority of special education administrators surveyed indicated that caseloads would increase further, funding for technology and other resources would decline and there would be greater strain on the availability of services for students.
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