‘Special Education Matters’

“If not for these programs, who would educate and treat our children with special needs?

We all have a stake in it.”

                                                --  James V. Major, CAE

                                                   maaps Executive Director  

Welcome to the ‘Special Education Matters’ Coalition website!  We hope that you find the information here helpful, and invite you to contact us for additional information about the extraordinary special education programs available in Massachusetts, and if you are interested in joining the Coalition.

Who We Are

The ‘Special Education Matters’ Coalition (a campaign created from the Massachusetts Association of 766 Approved Private Schools, known as maaps) was formed in March of 2007 to raise awareness of the enormous role special education plays in the Commonwealth, and the benefits and value that C766 private special education schools and public special education programs bring to children with disabilities, their families, and to the state. 

Most importantly, these programs provide our children with disabilities the specialized education and treatment they need to help them achieve the most fulfilling lives possible.  As a result of attending these programs, many students have incredible stories of success.  For some, it is learning to read against great odds while others have gone on to become doctors, firefighters and pilots.

Special education also profoundly impacts our economy.  By providing these children with the best education and treatment available, in most cases they are able to become productive members of society and the economy, often living independently and holding meaningful jobs.  And the C766 special education schools - which serve over 6,000 Massachusetts public students – impact the state’s economy by employing nearly 10,000 teachers, clinicians and other staff, and tuition payments from out-of-state students bring in $120 million to the Commonwealth every year. 

Education for all children is important, but never truer for our children with disabilities.  The Education Act of 1993 was passed to ensure an equal education for all the children of Massachusetts – including those with special needs.  The C766 special education schools, however, have received none of the billions of dollars in state aid for education reform since the Act was adopted.  Therefore, we must do all we can for these children by making the extraordinary expertise and services available here in Massachusetts, and the role they play in our society and economy, more widely known to ensure they continue to be here for them. 

Our ‘Mission’

The ‘Special Education Matters’ Coalition seeks to raise awareness of the benefits of C766 special education schools in Massachusetts, and to document their value to students and the community.  By doing so, the Coalition hopes to ensure that children with disabilities in the state are provided the best possible education, and opportunity for hope and achievement, to become productive members of our society and economy. 

Our ‘Goals’

• Raise awareness of the role and benefits of special education schools and programs in Massachusetts, and the highly specialized services and expertise of their staffs

• Increase public awareness of the successes and contributions of the students

• Correct misconceptions that special education is overly expensive; demonstrate its tremendous economic and social contributions 

• Assist in helping to secure funding from the state to help pay for the costs of educating all public special education students

Coalition Members (in alphabetical order)

James B. Earley, Ed.D.

Jim Earley is the Managing Director of the Walker Partnerships Program, a division of Walker Home & School in Needham, Massachusetts.  Prior to assuming the role of Managing Director for the Walker Partnerships, Dr. Earley served as the Interim Superintendent of Schools for the Watertown Public Schools, having been the Administrator for Special Education for twenty-eight years for the district.

Dr. Earley’s professional experience spans many years in the field of special education and education including teacher training, consultation to school districts, consulting to higher education and other organizations, and has served on many professional boards.

He hold’s a Doctorate in Education, in Educational Leadership in Special Education, from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst; CAGS studies from Boston University; and Master and Bachelor degrees from Northeastern University.  In addition, Dr. Earley’s written work on special education has been published extensively.  He often presents at state and national conferences, and was honored with the ‘2003 Outstanding Special Education Administrator of the Year’ Award from CASE (Council of Administrators for Special Education), a national organization.

Diane M. Greene, Ph.D.

Dr. Greene is a child psychologist who has devoted her 30-year career to the evaluation and treatment of children and adolescents, many of whom have had severe learning and/or behavioral problems.  She currently consults to both day and residential schools, as well as to specialized foster care agencies.

Joanne McLaughlin

Joanne is a parent of two children, one who has graduated from - and another who is attending - C766 approved private schools in Massachusetts.  Her eldest attended The Carroll School in Lincoln, Mass., where he learned to read and write at grade level.  He then transferred to a public school, graduated with honors and became an Eagle Scout.  He is now a student at Lyndon State College and is the Captain of the Newark Fire Department in Vermont. 

Joanne’s younger child is currently attending The League School in Walpole and has passed the tenth grade MCAS despite dealing with Autism.  Joanne feels these schools have given her children the opportunities that the typical public school could not, and will be forever grateful for the opportunities they have received.

Eli H. Newberger, M.D., Pediatrician

Eli Newberger, M.D., a leading figure in the movement to improve the protection and care of children, is renowned for his ability to bring together good sense and science on the main issues of family life.  A pediatrician and author of many influential works on child abuse, he teaches at Harvard Medical School and founded the Child Protection Team and the Family Development Program at Children’s Hospital in Boston.  From his research and practice he has derived a philosophy that focuses on the strength and resilience of parent-child relationships, and a practice oriented to compassion and understanding, rather than blame and punishment.  His latest book is 'The Men They Will Become:  The Nature and Nurture of Male Character.'  He lives in Brookline, Massachusetts, with his wife Carolyn, a developmental and clinical child psychologist.

A couple of our many success stories…

Legislative Update

On February 28^th, the governor released his proposed budget and unfortunately it contained a freeze on the proposed 3% inflation tuition increase for C766 school tuition rates.  If passed, the freeze would negatively impact the C766 schools profoundly.  It will exacerbate a serious economic problem, forcing them to absorb the freeze into their mounting deficits and make it impossible for them to be competitive in hiring the best available candidates to instruct and treat students with special needs. 

It will also increase the already unacceptable annual staff turnover rate of 37%; widen the $20,000 teacher salary gap between special education schools and public schools; and deprive the students of current textbooks, libraries and science labs.  If this freeze is not lifted - and the cost of living increase is not put back in - the schools’ abilities to serve these children will become still more challenging with even less resources.  We urge people to tell their local, elected officials that this freeze must not be passed.  Its impact will send a negative ripple throughout the special education community that we simply cannot afford.

In the Press

** Media Stories will be posted soon **

Frequently Asked Questions

1)  Why do C766 Approved Private Special Education Schools Cost More Than Public Schools?

Ø      The students need more attention and require more services.

Ø      Because the students need more services, the teacher to student ratio in C766 schools is 1 to 3.4, compared to 1 to 13.3 in public schools. 

Ø      The school year is also longer in C766 schools with an average 205 days, compared to 180 days in public schools.

The question of cost is raised by many legislators and public educators when they learn how much it will cost to educate a student with disabilities in a state approved C766 private special education school.  The first step in answering this question is to acknowledge an important fact:  students with disabilities attending C766 approved special education schools are much more disabled than students in public schools and require more services. 

Public schools have enrolled students in C766 approved schools because the public school does not have the highly specialized academic instruction and clinical services needed by the student.  In economic terms, public schools cannot educate severely disabled students at the average public school student cost per year.  Students in C766 approved schools receive intensive, one-on-one, teaching, speech and physical therapy and psychiatric services. They also require more days of instruction and treatment.  Because of these factors, educating these students costs more. 

2)  How much does it cost?*

Ø      Public school student without disabilities

With teacher to student ratio of 1 to 13.3 and 180 days = $7,009 per year

Adjusted for lower teacher to student ratio and longer school year = $31,000 per year

Ø      C766 school student with disabilities

With teacher to student ratio of 1 to 3.4 and 205 days = $39,000 per year

The adjusted public school student cost of $31,000 does not include the additional cost for therapy and treatment that students in C766 schools require.  The cost of these additional services more than justifies the cost difference of $8,000 per year.

*All figures are for FY ’04.

3)  The state is in financial crisis.  Do you have ideas as to how the state can save, create or redirect money?

A:  Yes, we have been working to identify ways for the Commonwealth to help pay for the cost of assuring there are adequate teaching, treatment and instructional resources for students in the special education programs.  The most significant step that state could take would be to implement the recommendations by the state auditor’s report concerning Medicaid reimbursements for special education, which estimates conservatively that the state could realize $50 million annually in federal reimbursements if Massachusetts changed from a blended rate to a fee-for-service reimbursement system.

We have also been working with a coalition of state associations to develop a new and more efficient model for special education student transportation.  The coalition was recently successful in convincing the state legislature to appropriate funding for a demonstration pilot program to test the new model.  The pilot has been implemented in a couple of areas, and early indications show the program will likely save public school districts in excess of $5 million annually. 

Contact Us

For more information about the ‘Special Education Matters’ Coalition or the specialized programs in Massachusetts, please contact Nicholas Oliver, maaps Director of Public Advocacy, at (781) 245-1220 – Ext. #209 or noliver@maaps.org.