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  3. American Economic Journal: Economic Policy
  4. November 2021
  5. The Long-Run Impacts of Special Education

The Long-Run Impacts of Special Education

  • Briana Ballis
  • Katelyn Heath
American Economic Journal: Economic Policy
vol. 13, no. 4, November 2021
(pp. 72-111)
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Abstract

Over 13 percent of US students participate in special education (SE) programs annually, at a cost of $40 billion. However, due to selection issues the effect of SE placements remains unclear. This paper uses administrative data from Texas to examine the long-run effect of reducing SE access. Our research design exploits variation in SE placement driven by a unique state policy that required school districts to reduce SE caseloads to 8.5 percent. This policy led to sharp reductions in SE enrollment. These reductions generated significant reductions in educational attainment, suggesting that marginal participants experience long-run benefits from SE services.

Citation

Ballis, Briana, and Katelyn Heath. 2021. "The Long-Run Impacts of Special Education." American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 13 (4): 72-111. DOI: 10.1257/pol.20190603

Additional Materials

JEL Classification

  • H75 State and Local Government: Health; Education; Welfare; Public Pensions
  • I21 Analysis of Education
  • I28 Education: Government Policy
  • J13 Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
  • J14 Economics of the Elderly; Economics of the Handicapped; Non-labor Market Discrimination
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