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Special education in Arkansas: student counts, spending and staffing pressures outlined to committee
Summary
Bureau of Legislative Research reported about 63,935 students with disabilities (13.4% of enrollment) and roughly $458 million in district special-education expenditures in 2019; presenters noted rising autism and emotional-disturbance categories, changes to catastrophic funding, teacher shortages and paperwork burdens.
Adrienne Deck of the Bureau of Legislative Research presented the committee with a comprehensive review of special education in Arkansas, covering student counts, placement, assessment, funding and workforce issues.
Deck reported about 63,935 students with disabilities ages 5'21 in the 2019 school year (around 13.4% of the public-school population). The largest disability category was specific learning disabilities (approximately 31% of students with disabilities). Deck noted notable growth since 2013: autism diagnoses rose by roughly 55% and emotional disturbances by about 44%.
On placement and assessment, she said just over half of students with disabilities spent 80%…
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