You are here
Impact of North Carolina’s Early Childhood Initiatives on Special Education Placements in Third Grade
This study examines the community-wide effects of investments in two early childhood initiatives in North Carolina (Smart Start and More at Four) on the likelihood of a student being placed into special education. We take advantage of variation across North Carolina counties and years in the timing of the introduction and funding levels of the two programs to identify their effects on third-grade outcomes. We find that both programs significantly reduce the likelihood of special education placement in the third grade, resulting in considerable cost savings to the state. The effects of the two programs differ across categories of disability, but do not vary significantly across subgroups of children identified by race, ethnicity, and maternal education levels.
Keywords: Early Childhood Initiatives, Special Education, Education Policy
Citation: Clara Muschkin, Helen Ladd, Kenneth Dodge (2015). Impact of North Carolina’s Early Childhood Initiatives on Special Education Placements in Third Grade. CALDER Working Paper No. 121
You May Also Be Interested In
High School English Language Arts Teachers and Postsecondary Outcomes for Students With and Without Disabilities
Roddy Theobald, Dan Goldhaber, Trevor Gratz, Kristian Holden
Career and Technical Education, Inclusion, and Postsecondary Outcomes for Students With Disabilities
Roddy Theobald, Dan Goldhaber, Trevor Gratz, Kristian Holden
See other working papers on:
Education Level: Early childhood
Research Area: Other
Topic Area: Special education