Public Resources in the Private Sphere: Special Education Policy in a Large Municipality of São Paulo

ABSTRACT:

Brazilian Special Education has historical marks of privatization, one of which is focused on this article, which aims to analyze the transfer of public financial resources from education to the private sphere in a large municipality in São Paulo, between 2012 and 2017. Adopting a qualitative approach, the amounts settled in favor of Special Education directed to the private sphere are analyzed based on documentary sources, covering contracts with outsourced companies, terms of collaboration and additions, reports on remuneration of Special Education professionals and documents for the transfer of funds to the private sphere. The results indicate an increase in resources allocated to this modality in the private sphere, mainly due to the need to hire caregivers, until that moment without filling a position in this teaching network. They also express that school inclusion reproduces funding modes that mark the history of Special Education in Brazil. The partnership with non-profit private institutions and the contracting of outsourced companies are in line with the managerial perspective of public administration. On the one hand, in the analyzed case, the school inclusion policy outsourced the maintenance of services from the concession to the private sphere, on the other hand, there was a growing increase in funding from the municipal public sector.

KEYWORDS:
Special Education; Public policy; Education financing; Public-private partnership