A well-established body of U.S. law says children with disabilities are entitled to a free and appropriate education, but in practice most schools are under continual pressure to provide basic services on a shoestring. While neither Congress nor state legislatures have ever funded that mandate adequately, Texas appears to be the only state that has attempted to bridge the shortfall by establishing a cap on enrollment.

In 2003, Texas lawmakers slashed the TEA budget of some $30 billion a year by $1.1 billion, creating a precarious funding situation that only compounded in the ensuing years.

In 2004, the Texas House Public Education Committee issued a report on ways the state could guard against the “overidentification” of students receiving special education services.

Overidentification typically refers to students who are mistakenly referred to special ed for other unmet needs. Reducing overidentification typically means addressing the underlying needs of the student or changing the system.

According to the Chronicle’s series — which won two Education Writers Association awards, among other accolades — four TEA officials subsequently decided that no more than 8.5 percent of students should receive services.

In response, the Chronicle found, districts came up with a host of creative mechanisms for turning families away.

Read the full article on special education by Beth Hawkins at The 74