For Immediate Release
August 28, 2001

A survey of large school districts conducted this spring by Education TURNKEY Systems, Falls Church, Virginia, found that spending for hardware by district special education programs will increase by nearly 25% next year. Spending for software and technology-related teacher training should increase in the double digit range. Per-pupil expenditures on hardware, software, and training for special education students were about $96 during the 2000-01 school year compared to estimates of about $65 per pupil by QED (for 2000) and $82 by MDR (adjusted 2001) for K-12 students generally.

According to Charles Blaschke, founder of the 30-year-old market research company (which conducted similar surveys on technology use in special education in 1997 and 1987), "Basic skills instruction continues to be one of the highest uses of computers by special education students, with reading cited as the content area in which computers are used ‘most often.’ In 1997, use in writing was slightly greater than reading. Our findings and recent surveys from other groups such as the National Center for Education Outcomes, University of Minnesota, confirm that the ‘standards movement,’ ‘high stakes testing’ in many states, and the ‘inclusion movement’ generally are having as dramatic an impact on special education programs as they have had on Title I programs. Because the basic skills content areas of the two Federal programs and high demand product features (based upon our 1996 Title I survey) are so similar, these two niche markets represent a convergent and growing demand for similar products."

"The study found that the type of administrative software applications ‘used most widely’ are IEP development and tracking applications followed by applications which facilitate communications with home and parents," according to Blaschke. A recent survey by CEC found the average teacher spends one and one-half days per week in updating IEPs and conducting IEP meetings; two-thirds of special education teachers spend less than two hours on one to one instruction because of time-consuming paperwork and administrative chores.

Another important finding from this survey in comparison to 1997, was that Federal IDEA funds continue to be the largest single funding source for technology purchases and have increased (for hardware) from 31% to 39% this year, and (for software) from 39% to 44% of all such purchases. As Blaschke noted, "Per-pupil IDEA allocations have increased from slightly less than $500 five years ago to between $1,200 and $1,400 this coming school year. Total Federal IDEA funds are authorized in the Senate ESEA reauthorization version to increase from $7.4 billion this school year to $24 billion ten years from now in order to meet the 1975 mandate in PL 94-142 (now IDEA) that the Federal government should pay for 40% of the cost of special education, which is estimated to be approximately $60-$70 billion nationwide."

Because IDEA is up for reauthorization next year and some amendments will likely be included in this year’s reauthorization of ESEA, several survey questions related to "funding flexibility" and other mandates which have implications for technology vendors. One such question focused on the degree to which special education programs take advantage of: (1) the Section 613 "incidental use" provision which allows, under certain conditions, IDEA funds to be used to purchase software, which can then be used by non-special education students; and (2) "commingling provisions" allowing Title I and IDEA funds to be combined to serve all students in the 18,000 Title I schoolwide programs. As Blaschke noted, "Over half of the respondents on the survey form and during our telephone follow-up indicated they were not aware of the ‘incidental use’ provision; of those that were aware, a high percentage took advantage of this provision. On the other hand, a much larger percentage of respondents were aware of the "commingling" of Title I and IDEA funds provision in schoolwide programs, but a lower percentage took advantage of it. Well over half of the respondents were not familiar with the Section 508 technology accessibility standards which require all Federally-purchased multi-media products to be accessible to users with disabilities. A decision is currently pending as to whether or not SEAs and LEAs which receive Tech Act funding must also purchase products that are compliant with Section 508 standards. Many respondents stated that such a sudden mandate on district special education programs could have a dramatic impact on the planned product purchases."

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