Arizona's Education Financing and Special Education: A Perfect Storm

Overview & Synopsis

Public education is different than it was 40 years ago when U.S. schools educated only one in five children with disabilities. Many states had laws excluding certain students from attending public schools, including children who were deaf, blind, or had emotional or intellectual disabilities. In 1974, Arizona students with certain disabilities were either not allowed in schools because they were viewed as unable to be educated, were schooled in separate facilities, or taught at home. As of October 1, 2015, 127,356 students with disabilities make up 11.3% of the student population in Arizona public schools, pre-K through 12th grade. Among this group, 65% are placed inside a regular class for 80% or more of the day. This positive change was sparked by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), originally titled the Education for All Handicapped Children Act, passed in 1975. The IDEA spells out the requirements to ensure that all children with disabilities have a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) available to them. This report examines the current state of special education in Arizona. It found that one of the biggest barriers to implementing FAPE in Arizona is inadequate funding, which has led to a shortage of well trained and qualified teachers.