A Cost Analysis Decision-Making Model for School Administrators to Compare Costs of Handicapped Programs

With the passage of P.L. 94-142 the increase in costs for exceptional education programs attracted the attention of educational finance researchers and school officials. Cost studies evaluated achievement gains in students as a function of cost and the type of service delivery model (resource versus self contained), and provided cost indices for various handicapping categories. The criticism of the research was the lack of control in gathering valid cost data, the discrepancies in cost data between programs within a district and the lack of attention to non-monetary factors. In this study, cost data were collected from the billing forms and transportation reimbursement claim forms of nineteen school districts serving out of district students in high prevalence/self contained exceptional programs. Cost data were collected and analyzed for five districts transporting to other districts large numbers of students for exceptional programs. Based on the data collected from the nineteen school districts the costs for starting a program within the students home school district were calculated. Comparisons between current costs and costs to start a new program indicated that in all but one district it was less expensive to send students to another district. Also discussed are hidden costs and non-monetary factors. Based on the literature regarding decision making and this study, a decision making cost analysis model was developed and discussed. Implications and recommendations for future research using a cost analysis approach are made.

Name thesis:degree_name

Educat.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Education

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2014

Author dc:creator

• Schneider, Kenneth Evans

• Education, Finance
• Education, Special

Identifier

(UMI)AAI8711871

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/69110