fox43.com

As school districts across Pennsylvania finalize their budgets, many are facing difficult financial decisions tied to the rising cost of special education services. Educators and school leaders say growing enrollment, increasingly complex student needs, years of federal underfunding and recent cuts to federal special education programs are putting pressure on local budgets and taxpayers. According to the Pennsylvania State Education Association (PSEA), the percentage of public-school students receiving special education services has increased from about 15% to nearly 21% over the past decade, representing roughly 350,000 students statewide. “Many of these students also have more complicated needs and services that are required for them to be in those schools learning,” said Chris Lilienthal, spokesperson for the PSEA.