Outsourcing of special education services by Seduc/SP: partnerships with non-profit civil society organizations

Abstract

The State Department of Education of São Paulo (Seduc/SP) takes actions to implement the right to special education from an inclusive perspective in its public education network. However, it still maintains partnerships with non-profit Civil Society Organizations (CSO), working in special education to offer substitutes to students with Intellectual Disabilities (ID) and Multiple Disabilities (MD) associated with ID and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). In this context, the question arises: how are partnerships formalized and what financial resources does Seduc/SP use to finance its expenses? Thus, the objective of this research is to analyze the financing policy for special education in Seduc/SP, with an emphasis on public-private relations that involve the provision of substitute special education for students eligible for assistance in the period from 2017 to 2022. It was used qualitative-quantitative methodology with documentary analysis. The data were collected in documents made available online on the portals of Seduc/SP, the Legislative Assembly and the São Paulo Finance and Planning Secretariat and their systematization supported the analyses. The results indicate that during the period there is a constant number of partner CSO, a decrease in the number of those served in the ID/DM category, an increase in the ASD category and an increase in resources spent on financing partnerships. It is considered that Seduc/SP does not fully adhere to current school inclusion policies, outsourcing services to partner CSO for part of the public special education students.

Keywords:
Special education; Education financing; Non-profit civil society organizations; Public-private partnerships; State of São Paulo