Special education enrollment has surged in the last decade, with more than 96,000 students pouring into school districts across the state, according to data from CDE. One of the drivers has been a marked increase in students with autism and other behavioral delays, a Bee analysis shows. At the same time, the number of students with other disabilities grew modestly or decreased between the 2009 and 2018 school years.
Although the trend is undeniable, no one can say exactly why it’s happening.
