| As a federally-sponsored study, the SEEP was designed to provide nationally
representative data on special education expenditures across the United
States. At the same time, many states were interested in obtaining detailed
information about special education expenditures in their own states. As
a result, nine states contracted with CSEF to conduct state SEEP studies.
These states were Alabama, Delaware, Indiana, Kansas, Missouri, New Jersey,
New York, Ohio, and Rhode Island.
Although the national SEEP included all 50 states, the base sample for
any one state was too small to allow inferences about individual states.
Utilizing the same research questions and methods as in the national study,
the SEEP research team oversampled school districts and schools in each
of these nine states to obtain special education expenditure information
that was representative of each state. These state samples also enabled
comparisons to be made across states and districts.
District and school samples for the nine states were randomly selected
to ensure representation of the state as a whole. The data were analyzed
across various dimensions, such as student’s disability category, functional
ability, expenditure type, and district characteristics (e.g., district
type, urbanicity, wealth, and size).
At the outset of the SEEP, the size of the national sample was already
large, with over 200 districts and 800 schools. Yet, these nine extended
state studies doubled this sample to over 400 districts and 1,600 schools.
These studies not only produced individualized state databases and reports,
but they enhanced the national SEEP database, providing a more complete
picture for the national study, as well as data to inform future studies
on special education finance.
Following the national and nine-state SEEP data collection in 1999-2000,
CSEF conducted two additional state SEEP studies—in Maryland and Wyoming—to
address these states’ unique information and policy needs related to special
education expenditures and funding.
For additional Information about state SEEP studies:
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|
CSEF Newsletter article: Nine States Expand Participation in SEEP
This Year (142 KB)
Comparison
of expenditure data for school-age special education students across SEEP
states and the nation
