As state and federal governments place an increasing emphasis on academic outcomes, should they be used to determine adequate funding for students with disabilities (SWD)? Although adequacy is determined through a political process, it requires an understanding of cost -- the expenditure required to reach a specific outcome. Therefore, with the complexity of statistical modeling this study represents an initial foray into whether an outcomes-based approach can be used to analyze student outcomes in relation to funding for SWD. Focused on North Carolina, I apply a cost function approach to account for cost differentials coming from variations in resource prices, student needs, and efficiency (Duncombe & Yinger, 2008). While the findings show a significant positive relationship between math growth and funding for SWD, there were no significant relationships with three other outcomes. Additionally, difficulties in modeling mean the findings are only correlational. Given that most SWD are in general education classes where the focus is on academic outcomes, justifying more funding for SWD requires a recognition of cost through some form of outcome measure. The questions remain, though: what outcomes should be related to funding for SWD and whether the difficulty in modeling the relationship can be resolved, giving support to a causal relationship.