The CDC just released new numbers showing the incidence of autism in 8 year olds has increased to 1 in 68. That means that 15 years ago a school district with 10,000 students might have had one child with autism in half of their schools. Today, that same district would have one child in every third classroom. Clearly, these rising numbers show a growing need in the special education market.
Arc has developed an expertise in the this market for several key reasons. The special education population is 12 percent of students, but accounts for 25 percent of a district’s budget. Additionally, the potential for high-dollar per student is much greater – in a general education market, your product could be, say, $10 per student, but if it performs well in the special education market, it could be $200 per student. And the largest provider of services to the developmentally disabled is the U.S. school system, providing broad opportunities to cross over into the health care sector by developing a solid special education product. These factors a big reason behind why four out of Arc’s last six investments (which raised over $5 million) were special education opportunities. If you are looking at the special education arena more closely, don’t hesitate to e-mail us (info@arcnew.flywheelsites.com) for advisory services in this rapidly growing marketplace.
(Photo credit torbakhopper on Flickr)
