D.C. loses track of 1,300 special ed students

WASHINGTON (Map, News) - District of Columbia school officials have let the federally mandated education plans of nearly 1,300 students expire, exposing the besieged D.C. education system to even more litigation, The Examiner has learned.

Critics point to Encore, D.C.’s computerized, multimillion-dollar special education case-management system, as an example. Even as school systems like Montgomery County have used Encore to reduce expenses and streamline their services, D.C. officials haven’t gotten sufficient training on the system, court documents and a school source indicate. Less than 55 percent of D.C. special education cases have been entered in the system in the last three years, the source said. The Examiner

DCPS Special Education system

» 17.9 percent of students classified as special education
» Budget of at least $209.6 million
» Average cost per child: $81,000

Source: American Institutes for Research