Redefining the implementation of special education programs in fiscal terms

The argument is made that how one looks at – how one chooses to analyze – policy problems determines how the problem is defined and what solutions are eventually reached. To illustrate this point, the implementation of a special education reform in Massachusetts is examined. By changing from a ‘program’ to a ‘fiscal’ point of view, problems with implementation are seen to result logically from implicit fiscal incentives that were built into the law and that actually worked against stated program goals. Finally, some of the organizational and cognitive factors that prevent organizations and their managers from easily changing their analytic perspective are briefly sketched.