EDUCATION FUNDING POLICY FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION

Abstract

The article examines special education between 1998 and 2006 and aims to demonstrate that enrollment performance, either in the public sector or in the private sector, was strongly influenced by education funding. During that period, a public fund created from resources of constitutional linked revenues for education that prioritized primary education was available. The first section briefly describes aspects of the right to special education enshrined in the Brazilian legislation. The second section examines enrollment performance of special education under a policy of educationfunding that prioritized primary education to the detriment of other education levels and modalities. It was concluded that elementary school special education, even without counting on sufficient financial resources for an adequate care, had an increase enrollment rate in regular school, where school municipalization and coverage expansion was observed. It was also highlighted that the philanthropic and nonprofit private sector continued to grow, with a greater intake of public resources. Key words: Special education; educational inclusion; education funding; rigth to education; education policy.