I don't know for sure if schools make money on special ed.
I can tell you as a parent of a child with a real special need (lots of brain damage as evidenced in an MRI) that my daughter and many others like her are shortchanged.
It seems the only way to really get the correct services for our children is to sue the school districts.
I think special ed needs to be totally retooled. For example, when a kid needs speech therapy. Well, the speech therapist works for the district. It kind of sets up a conflict of interest. The kid needs lots of therapy, and the district doesn't want to pay for the therapy.
I wouldn't even mind paying for some services on my own if they could be offered at school so that I don't have to drive my daughter all around after school to different therapies. Why not have a reading specialist at a school sight that a parent could hire. Why not have a speech therapist that the parent could pay for one on one therapy for.
There is so much wasted money on lawyer fees. I would much rather that money go to the kids.
I can tell you as a parent of a child with a real special need (lots of brain damage as evidenced in an MRI) that my daughter and many others like her are shortchanged
You are both correct. The schools make the money on the "special ed" kids who really aren't special need. A child with brain damage has real, costly needs. An unruly boy doesn't. Schools want few of the former and lots of the latter in the special ed programs.