Outsourcing: Privatizing the Heart of Special Education
It is difficult to find proof that handing over the heart of special education to non-profit and for-profit companies improves services for students with special needs. It’s unclear whether it saves money either. But school privatization involving special education appears to be on the rise.
First, district administrators complain there is little district funding and they need to cut programs. The next thing you know they are “partnering” and have contracted with an outside business to provide the same services, only of questionable quality, they refused to fund originally.
In 2012, Stephanie Simon wrote a Huffington Post article entitled, “Privatizing Public Schools: Big Firms Eyeing Profits From U.S. K-12 Market.” Scroll down to the section/subheading “Special Ed as a Growth Market.”
Another niche spotlighted at the private equity conference: special education.
Mark Claypool, president of Educational Services of America, told the crowd his company has enjoyed three straight years of 15 percent to 20 percent growth as more and more school districts have hired him to run their special-needs programs.
Autism in particular, he said, is a growth market, with school districts seeking betterOutsourcing: Privatizing the Heart of Special Education:
