Smartest students get left out; Funding dried up after ed reform
November 18th, 2007Part of a continuing series in the Quincy [MA] Patriot Ledger:
Massachusetts spends $1.8 billion each year on special education, but consistently ranks near the very bottom in state spending on programs for students who are unusually gifted or talented.
… The money for gifted and talented programs disappeared in the 1990s, educators say, the victim of changing priorities, tight budgets and the education reform movement that led to No Child Left Behind.
… For two decades, state and federal mandates have shifted more and more dollars into programs for children with special education needs because of physical limitations and learning disabilities.

