The quality of education is affected by class size. Smaller classes mean less-stressed teachers who can give individualized attention to students with disabilities. Some students who lag behind in mainstream classes because of disabilities such as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) thrive when provided individual attention. Smaller classes can result in higher academic achievement for some disabled children. Guidelines for special education from the State of Illinois Directors of Special Education mandate no more than 15 students per classroom with an additional two students for each paraprofessional. This is significantly lower than the average class size in mainstream classrooms. Some special education classes in the public school sector have as high as a 1-to-1 ratio of professionals and paraprofessionals to students for the severely disabled.
Smaller classes also afford the teacher more time that can be given to individual students. Not only does this help students with disabilities academically but it can help them emotionally and psychologically as well. Not all children have the benefit of nurturing caregivers. Smaller classes can result in a nurturing environment for students with special needs. This can be stabilizing for many special needs children.
Smaller classes for children with disabilities can strain the resources of specialty teachers in the disciplines of art, music and world languages in providing adequate, regular coverage for small classes of disabled students. Some schools have addressed this problem by including children with disabilities in mainstream classes during the periods that specialized teachers visit mainstream classrooms. The larger class is maintainable as teachers or teacher's assistants help the specialized teacher with disabled students. This system works well even for children with serious disabilities such as autism, and ensures that disabled students receive opportunity for specialized instruction in which they may excel or find enjoyment. It also provides mainstream teachers with an opportunity to interact with special needs students, broadening their base of experience. In this case, the larger class results in more educational opportunities for the disabled child.
The major disadvantage of smaller classes is cost. Smaller classes mean more teachers, more assistants and more classroom space; this translates into a higher budget. While we envision an unlimited supply of funds for children with special needs, the reality is that both states and school districts endeavor to balance their budgets. Increasing class size, even for students with special needs, can result in lower costs to the school, district and state. Some administrators and politicians find this to be a benefit of larger class sizes for children with disabilities.