Letter: Special ed costs more than is known

If you want to change the cost of education, start with the assumption that every handicapped child can be educated in a regular classroom ["How the government debt crisis could cost you," News, July 17].

Question the validity and cost of inclusion. Inclusion is one teacher assigned to teach a single special education student in a regular classroom, even if the student has a totally different curriculum. Today, socialization is a major goal in the educational process.

The New York State school report card, in its Fiscal Accountability Supplement, outlines the cost of inclusion, but in a deceptive way. The report card lists only the cost of instructional expenses, when in fact, related service costs must be factored in. These are almost equal to instructional expenses and include expenditures such as transportation, debt service and districtwide administration.

The Fiscal Accountability Supplement also includes the statement that special education services provided in the general education classroom may benefit pupils not classified as having disabilities. Therefore, the entire population of students is paying for special education students to have a private teacher.

Jane Goldblatt, East Northport

Editor's note: The writer is a retired special education teacher.