The Wall Street Journal published an illuminating piece this week that talks about how schools are using a previously little used, but long standing provision in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in order to fund other district programs outside of special education.

A new report by the Government Accountability Office, which surveyed a "nationally representative sample" of school districts, says that about 44% of them plan to use the provision that allows them to shift funds.

"But supporters of special education say special-needs students are being shortchanged. The biggest rub: To shift the funds, schools must show they have met certain criteria, which may include graduation and drop-out rates of special-education students. To allow more districts to qualify, some states are ignoring or lowering the standards." [Source: WSJ]

Read the entire article online at WSJ.com