Radio silence on special ed.

I mentioned last month that special ed identifications seem to be leveling off or even decreasing. Mike Petrilli at Flypaper offers some perspective; he is inclined to think that Reading First and Response to Intervention are behind this shift. Commenters to both our posts ask whether districts are refusing in greater numbers to provide special ed services to students who really need it. That suspicions differ so greatly on the reasons makes it all the more important for some good reporting on the subject. (So far all I have seen lately is coverage of New York City’s special ed population increasing.) I think it would make a good national magazine piece but that entire sector seems solely devoted to teacher quality and charters. Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?