Recently released state budget data shows the counts and costs of special education are rising dramatically in Minnesota. The forecast projects special education services to rise by $1.7 billion by 2029.
The growth has already begun. Historically, the state plans on an increase of 5 to 6 percent in the amount spent on special education. The 2024 increase is expected to come in at more than 9 percent.
“Costs are going up, largely attributable to inflation and rising wages,” said Scott Croonquist, executive director of the Association of Metropolitan School Districts, which represents more than 50 districts in the Twin Cities region.
He and other observers point to a surge in staffing and transportation costs for special education programs, but the number of students needing services has also been growing.
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The overall number of students using special education services has grown from about 110,000 to 150,000 in the last 10 years. That’s about 18 percent of the state’s public school student population.
Part of that growth comes from parents getting their kids evaluated during the COVID-19 pandemic, said Tonia Teasley, executive director of the PACER Center for children with disabilities.
“We think two things are really driving that, both of which we think are positive,” Teasley said.
“One is that students are being evaluated and brought into special education services far earlier in their lives, which is a positive thing, because we all know, the earlier you intervene, the more positive impact you can have on that child. And then secondly, there’s been an increase in diagnoses of things that require special education evaluations and special education services.”
Screening at clinics has gotten better, she added, with more kids getting diagnoses on the autism spectrum, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder or dyslexia and other diagnoses that may require school support.
In the Hopkins school district, Fhonda Contreras oversees special education. She said she’s had to create five new classrooms this year to accommodate this influx of students with higher needs.
“The percentage of the students that receive special education post-COVID has definitely increased,” Contreras said. “Student populations and enrollment may or may not be growing in our schools, but the percentage of students with special ed needs is.”
It’s not just that more students need services. It’s also that the services they need are more complex and it’s getting more difficult to hire staff to meet those needs.
Contreras has seen dozens of search firms insert themselves into the teacher and paraprofessional hiring process. That means, when she goes to hire someone, she has to go through a middleman and pay additional fees.
“Post-COVID hiring agencies have flooded the scene for special education. And I’m not even exaggerating, I probably have seen or heard from 30 to 40 different agencies who now hire the special education staff,” Contreras said. “Candidates that would normally funnel in through the hiring process through the district, are using the middleman, and those prices are higher.”
Transportation is another cost that’s risen. Students with wheelchairs require specialized modes of transportation. In a district like Hopkins where certain schools specialize in meeting certain needs, that can make for a lot of shuttling time.
“Transportation is definitely increasing,” Contreras said. “We’re currently getting ready to embark on a transportation audit, to look at, are there route efficient things we can do? Do we need to divide programs up so that they’re central to two halves of the district?”
The federal government requires schools to provide certain special education services to qualifying students, but doesn’t fully cover the costs associated with them. Last year state lawmakers voted to cover more of these costs, but it still doesn’t cover everything.
“We’re always going to see that gap in services needed and the money that we have to go with it,” said Niceta Thomas, head of student services in the Roseville Area Schools and the current president of the Minnesota Administrators for Special Education. “We had a big increase for our cross subsidies, which was great, but it didn’t fully cover special education.”
“Each district then is having to go into their general fund to cover the services that are needed.”