Special education funding in the sphere of Fundef and Fundeb as basic education funds

Abstract This study aims at analyzing special education in the context of education funding. It assessed the effects of Fundef and Fundeb on services provided to people with disabilities, pervasive developmental disorder and high-potential/gift, between 2007 and 2013. The study took into account the number of enrollments in the State of Espírito Santo, Brazil, and the minimum amounts per special education student set at national and state levels for this modality of education. The results show that the special education funding policies developed by the federal government have resulted in the incorporation of special education enrollment into Brazilian education systems. However, this does not minimize the lack of minimal quality conditions in the public school network for serving this population, who was historically excluded from the schooling process. Thus, it is necessary to discuss the financial resources intended for this education modality; the (re)definition of the deliberation criteria; the number of enrollments in the private school network to receive public resources; the interaction between states and, especially, the participation of the Federal Government towards universalizing public service for special education.