Research

Publications:

The Long-Run Impacts of Special Education (with Briana Ballis)
American Economic Journal: Economic Policy (Vol.13, No. 4, November 2021)

Abstract: Over 13 percent of US students participate in special education programs annually, at a cost of $40 billion. However, the effect of special education placements remains unclear. This paper uses administrative data from Texas to examine the long-run effect of reducing special education access. Our research design exploits variation in special education placement driven by a state policy that required school districts to reduce special education caseloads to 8.5 percent. We show that this policy led to sharp reductions in special education enrollment. These reductions in special education access generated significant reductions in educational attainment, suggesting that marginal participants experience long-run benefits from special education services.

Press Coverage: Houston Chronicle, The74

Working Papers:

The Long-Run Impacts of Reducing Racial Gaps in Special Education (with Briana Ballis). Under Reivew.

Abstract: Black students are about 1.5 times more likely to be receiving special education (SpEd) services relative to white students. While there is concern that this implies some black students are inappropriately placed in SpEd, the impacts of the disproportionate representation of minority students in SpEd remains unclear. Using administrative data from Texas, we find that capping black disproportionality led to small gains in high school completion and college attainment for black students in special and general education. Overall, our results suggest that reductions in SpEd misclassification among black students may serve to reduce gaps in later-life success across race.

Press Coverage: The Brookings Institution

Works in Progress:

  • The Impacts of Special Education on Crime and the Labor Market (with Briana Ballis)
  • School Funding and Students’ Long-Term Outcomes: An examination of Texas’ School Finance Reforms (with Erdal Asker, Gregory R. Phelan, and John Thompson)
  • The Impacts of Special Education Funding (with Jo R. King and Roddy Theobald)
  • Impacts of Cutting Special Education Enrollment on Teachers and Staffing (with Briana Ballis and Reanna Bromley)
  • A Longitudinal Study of the Impact of IDEA Part C on Educational and Labor Market Outcomes (with Flavio Cunha and Ji-Hee Lee)
  • How Do Special Education Funding Incentives Affect Student Perforamnce?