A bit more info on my post from yesterday on special education funding:
Special Education is unique in the State budget in that it falls under both the Adequacy Budget calculation and Categorical Aid. In addressing special education, the school funding law sought to discourage over-classification by districts. Consequently, Special Education Aid is not dependent on the number of special education students a district has. Instead, it is assumed that 14.78 percent of every district’s student population is classified as special education, with an additional 1.72 percent needing speech therapy.
Thing is, the 14% rate doesn’t reflect reality: NJ classified nearly 18% of its students in 2017.