Educating special education students in Seattle Public Schools costs nearly four times more than educating their peers. This significant expense is primarily due to the bureaucratic requirements mandated by the federal special education laws of the 1970s. These laws were designed to aid students with severe social, behavioral, physical, or cognitive disabilities who struggled in mainstream classrooms.
Over time, special education has increasingly become a broad category, encompassing any student whose teacher or parent believes requires additional support. Ideally, only about 5% of students should qualify for special education, but Seattle Public Schools saw an uptick from 15% in 2020 to 17% in 2024. Reducing this number to 11% has the potential to save the district a substantial $100 million, effectively addressing the existing budget shortfall.
In reality, many students in the special education system could be receiving necessary assistance outside of it. This includes learning to read through phonics, participating in courses that offer social and behavioral assistance, learning English as a second language, engaging in vocational training, taking breaks to catch up, or working with attendance specialists to combat absenteeism.
While some schools provide certain types of support, there’s no uniform approach to remedial help, nor a system to ensure kids receive the necessary aid promptly. Consequently, students who struggle to adapt to mainstream classrooms might lag behind, escalating into behavioral or academic crises that eventually result in a referral to special education.
It’s important to note that special education is not ideally designed to handle crises. The legally required process involves individual disability assessments and personalized education plans, needing collaboration from teachers, parents, and often, costly specialists. As more pressure mounts on the system, it becomes less effective for the students who truly need it and more susceptible to costly legal challenges.
The problem is furthered by the inclusion approach, where special education teachers support students within general classrooms. In theory, this works well when educators have small caseloads and adequate coordination time with their general education counterparts. However, in practice, special education teachers often split their efforts across multiple classrooms, serving more as temporary aides.
The increased adoption of inclusion indicates a universal desire: a school environment where all children can succeed together. While some resourceful parents can navigate options by switching classes or opting for different schools, it would be more beneficial for schools to offer proper group settings and classes for all students. This is where the Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) comes in.
MTSS is a versatile and cooperative approach led by teachers and school leaders. It caters to varying student levels across subjects like math, reading, and social/behavioral skills. Furthermore, MTSS challenges high-achieving students akin to a gifted program without isolating children based on a single intelligence metric, thereby avoiding parental manipulation.
Unfortunately, rather than prioritizing MTSS, state officials, including Rep. Gerry Pollet from Seattle, have focused on expanding special education. In the last legislative session, measures were introduced that financially incentivize districts to qualify more students for special education, and there’s ongoing momentum to eliminate the 16% cap on special education enrollment. Pollet also aims to speed up referral processes, even suggesting these occur during the summer break when faculty and students are typically unavailable.
Special education is a reality due to its legal and financial backing. Yet, for MTSS to thrive, it needs similar legislative support. Without a legal mandate, MTSS risks remaining a well-meaning concept, echoed by Seattle Public Schools and the state’s superintendent, but not leading to meaningful action. Instead of continuing to invest in a failing system, the Legislature should prioritize rewards for districts that successfully implement MTSS and reduce the numbers of students classified under special education.
Eric Fisk: has two children who graduated from Seattle Public Schools and one in special education, with family and friends engaged in the special education sphere.
