The Public Vocational Rehabilitation Program:
The Economic Impact of Increases in Special Education Funding
In 1975, Congress passed the Education for All Handicapped Children Act, later renamed the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The Act authorized funds to assist the States in assuring that each child with a disability receives a free and appropriate public education. In deliberating original passage of special education legislation, Congress assumed that the average cost of educating children with disabilities was twice that of educating other children, and pledged to pay 40% of the additional costs of educating the children with disabilities. The federal appropriation for special education increased by approximately 140 percent between 1997 and 2002. As a result of these increases in special education funding, more students with disabilities are exiting the education system and seeking adult services, including vocational rehabilitation services.
The Public VR program is also there to address the needs
of students with disabilities who do not complete high school.
One third of students with disabilities do not finish high
school. One out of five adults with disabilities has not
graduated from high school, compared to less than one out of ten
adults without disabilities. Youth with severe emotional
disturbances (57.6%) and youth with learning disabilities (36%)
have the highest drop out rates of all disability groups.
More than one in three youths who enter correctional facilities
have previously received special education services. Over
the past several years, the number of students with disabilities
in correctional facilities has risen at over twice the rate of
the overall special education population.
The return on America’s investment in special education is
closely linked to the success of the Public VR Program in
meeting the multitude of employment-related needs of these
individuals. Students who are exiting special education
need to have access to a full array of services and supports to
assist them in becoming gainfully employed. Increases in
special education funding have increased the demand for VR
services as special education students leave the education
system and seek adult services through State VR Agencies.
Although the Rehabilitation Act mandates that the annual Federal appropriation for the Public VR Program grow at a rate at least equal to the change in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) over the previous fiscal year, Congress has not provided any more than the mandated CPI increase during the last 6 years. As a result, State VR agencies do not have the resources to meet these growing demands, and as a result thousands of students with disabilities are left without access to critical services that can provide further training and skills acquisition leading to employment and self-sufficiency.
