IncreasED: How Court Rulings Impact Special Education Identification
Year: 2026
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Healthcare services outside of school can impact the likelihood of receiving school-based special education identification and services. Using Massachusetts administrative data on public school students, this paper employs the difference-in-differences method to examine the impacts of expanded Medicaid coverage for mental and behavioral healthcare resulting from the Rosie D. lawsuit of 2009. Rosie D. caused a 0.3 percentage point (15%) increase in emotional disorder (ED) identification among low-income grade 9–12 students. After Rosie D., students with ED were more likely to be Black or multiracial. Students were also more likely to have experienced suspension or chronic absenteeism before ED identification. Finally, students with ED in grades K–8 were educated in less inclusive settings.
Authors: Stephanie Coffey, Christopher Cleveland
Institutions: Saint Anselm College, Brown University
Language: English
Topic: Legal Issues in Education
Subfield: Law
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7139974101