Source: Hechinger Report
The government’s overall appropriation of funds for special education preschool programs has varied by year, but generally decreased between 2002 and 2015, from $390 million to $353 million, before getting a slight bump to about $368 million in 2016 and 2017. At the same time, the number of children served by the programs more than doubled from the early 1990s to 2017, when 753,000 children ages 3 to 5 were served. The growth in enrollment without adequate federal funding (for special education) means per pupil spending has decreased sharply, by 40 percent per child from 1994 to 2014. Without funds, states may struggle to offer a robust special education preschool program and services, which means kids who could greatly benefit from having a head start in school are missing out and losing valuable time to catch up with their peers.
While Afton recognizes that total federal preschool funding has increased substantially since 2008, this article points out the growth in special education Pre-K enrollment without adequate federal funding for Pre-K students with disabilities.