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                         Lost Records, Lost Kids

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Although the New York City Board of Education spends nearly one-quarter
of its budget on special education programs, it has no way of measuring
whether disabled students are getting an education or developing skills,
according to a report released yesterday by City Comptroller Alan G.
Hevesi. 

Auditors from the Comptroller's office sought to determine whether the
130,000 city students who have been labeled as having disabilities and
placed in special education classes are making academic progress. But
they concluded, "The board has no comprehensive policy or methodology for
measuring the success of the special education program." 

Schools Chancellor Raymond C. Cortines, who did not dispute the
Comptroller's findings, said yesterday that he would develop a new system
for tracking the student's performance.

The Comptroller's report was the latest of several studies that have cast
a critical light on the city's vast and costly special education system.
The board itself reported earlier this month that its 63 special
education schools are becoming more turbulent: the city's 14 most violent
schools during the fall term were all devoted to special education.

And many studies over the last decade, starting with a 1985 report
commissioned by former Mayor Edward I. Koch, have found that the board
has channelled disproportionate numbers of black and Hispanic boys into
the system.

In the Comptroller's study, the auditors selected a random sample of 50
high school students registered in special education in October 1992.

The auditors sought to determine whether the students were achieving the
objectives outlined in their Individualized Educational Programs, the
formal documents that classify students' disabilities when the board
enrolls them in the special education program. But sloppy record-keeping
at most schools did not permit an analysis of student progress, the study
said.

The auditors also attempted to anlayze test scores for special education 
students, but found that the data were unusable because of statistical
inconsistencies. While most special education students take citywide math
and reading tests, the auditors found their scores are not used to assess
the effectiveness of the program.

One of the 50 students picked at random in the audit had virtually
disappeared, the study said. "One student in our sample was absent for
the 1993 school year," it said. "School officials have not been able to
locate him. According to a family member, this student was incarcerated,
but school officials could not verify this.

In a statement accompanying the study, Mr. Hevesi said, "The board spends
twice as much per child on those in special ed, but there is nothing to
indicate we are getting our money's worth. Many parents believe their
children are not getting the help they need from special education
programs. Without information that tracks what works and what doesn't,
it's impossible to make sure that all children get the support they
need."

The board spends $1.7 billion of its $7.5 billion budget on special
education. It costs less than $6,500 to educate a child in a conventional
classroom, while each special education student costs $18,705, school
figures indicate.

In March, Mr. Cortines announced an extensive reorganization of the
special education division, but in May after protests from parents and
from the teachers' and principals' unions, he postponed the shake-up. Mr.
Cortines said that he intended to use the school year beginning in
September to "review everything in special education, including those
issues" and to plan for a reorganization of the system.

Several previous chancellors have also announced ambitious reorganization
plans, but little has ever materialized.

[Comptroller Report Faults Special Education Policy, Sam Dillon, New York
Times, 6/27/94]

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