In the News
District Administration, June 2005
Solutions in Special Education: Smart districts use tech-based approaches to keep special education requirements from draining staff and budgets
By Lisa Fratt
Quick--think special education. The typical district leader groans at high costs, paperwork and inefficiency. The assessment is frighteningly accurate, but a few districts are bucking the status quo by embracing technology.
Special education can eat districts alive, confirms Clark Easter, founder and chairman of 4GL School Solutions, Inc. It devours 20 percent to 25 percent of the average district’s budget with only 11 percent to 12 percent of students. Many special education teachers spend nearly half of the day buried under piles of paper. Inequitable resource allocation, staff burnout and turnover and near-zealous focus on compliance rather than instruction further complicate the scene.