After Endrew: Does Special Education Funding in Colorado Afford Students an "Appropriately Ambitious" Education?

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 33
  In Roundtable Session: Systematic Approaches Toward Equitable Schools

Abstract

In Endrew F. v. Douglas County Schools the Supreme Court reinterpreted the “free and appropriate public education” required under IDEA, raising the standard of FAPE that had been required under previous jurisprudence. In this paper, we examine the implications of this decision for the state of Colorado. To do this, we apply a mixed-methods approach to (1) quantify the association between fiscal incentives and the identification rate and (2) qualitatively explore the factors that contribute to this relationship. We find that Colorado’s approach to funding special education creates a disincentive to identify students. Our findings imply that these disincentives are largely shaped by a tiered-system of funding that has not accounted for the rising costs of special education.

Authors

• Christopher Saldaña, University of Colorado - Boulder

• Elizabeth Silva Diaz, University of Colorado - Boulder

• Deena Gumina, University of Colorado - Boulder