The U.S. Dept. of Education has released new data on students with disabilities (eligible under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act or IDEA). Section 618 of the IDEA requires that each state annually submit data about the infants and toddlers, birth through age 2, who receive early intervention services under Part C of IDEA, and children with disabilities, ages 3 through 21, who receive special education and related services under Part B of IDEA.

The new data show the number of IDEA-eligible children ages 3-21 in 2024 increased significantly from 2023, which also showed a 3% increase.

The number of children served under IDEA Part C (birth through age 2) declined slightly in 2024, from 462,847 to 458,920, a decrease of 1%.

Students ages 3-21 increased by 3.8% (an additional 301,991 students over 2023, totaling 8,194,424) which breaks down as follows:

• students ages 3-5 (not in kindergarten) increased by 2.7% (additional 15,744 students, totaling 603,652)
• school age students (ages 5 in kindergarten to 21) increased by 3.9%, (additional 286,247 students, totaling 7,590,772).

CHANGES BY STATE

Changes from 2023 in state-level rates of school age students are shown below.

STUDENT CHARACTERISTICS

• GENDER
  
  Among school age students with disabilities (ages 5 (in kindergarten) to 21) 35.6% are female (2,704,404) while 64.4% are male (4,882,768). However, this varies by disability category. For example, school age students with autism are 20.4% female and 79.6% male. (Total school enrollment is almost evenly split: 48.6% female and 51.4% male.)

• RACIAL/ETHNICITY

• DISABILITY CATEGORIES

The distribution across IDEA’s 13 disability categories of school age students (ages 5 (in kindergarten) to 21) in 2024 showed increases in the autism, multiple disabilities and developmental delay categories while other categories remained relatively unchanged. The increase in the autism category accounted for 40% of the total increase in 2024. Autism now accounts for nearly 15% of all school age students with disabilities.

• EDUCATIONAL SETTINGS

The educational settings of school age students with disabilities has changed little over the past several years. In 2020 the percentage of students educated inside regular class 80% or more of the day was 66.2% compared to 68.1% in 2024. Students inside regular class 40% – 79% in 2020 was 16.4% compared to 14.8% in 2024. These changes, while small, show that more students with disabilities are being educated in regular education than ever before which is believed to be beneficial to students.

NOTE: Much of the information presented here is contained in the Annual Report to Congress which the Department of Education is required by Section 664(d) of the IDEA to submit each year. However, an annual report was not released in 2025. All others are available here.

See also:
Number of School Age IDEA-eligible Students Increases 3 Percent in 2023
Number of School Age IDEA-eligible Students Increases 3 Percent in 2022

JUNE 23, 2025. The U.S. Dept. of Education (ED) Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) has released the annual IDEA state determinations for 2025. The OSEP Fact Sheet on 2025 determinations is here.

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires ED to annually assign every state a “rating” on its implementation of IDEA, based on the state’s performance on its State Performance Plan (SPP). The 2025 determinations are based on performance for fiscal year 2023. Each state is assigned one of the following ratings:
– Meets requirements and purposes of the IDEA Part B
– Needs assistance in implementing the requirements of IDEA Part B
– Needs intervention in implementing the requirements of IDEA Part B
– Needs substantial intervention in implementing the requirements of IDEA Part B

See How the Department Made Determinations for details.

The map below shows the 2025 determination for each state.*

*Less than half (44 percent) of school-age students with disabilities are educated in states with a “meets requirements” determination.

Changes from 2024 Determinations

• Rating improved for 3 states: ND, NH, OH
• Rating dropped for 5 states: AL, DC, FL, GA, WA
• Just 6 states have received a “Meets Requirements” rating each of the past 12 years (2014-2025): KS, MA, MN, MO, PA, WI.
  

Get annual determinations by state for 2014 to 2025 here. (PDF, 1 pg)

Beginning in 2014, OSEP began using the “Results-Driven Accountability” (RDA) Matrix to arrive at state determinations. Under the RDA determinations matrix, it is mathematically impossible for all states to achieve a “Meets Requirements” rating due to the heavy use of scoring based on rank-ordering of states. Consequently, as the chart below shows, the number of states earning a “Meets Requirements” rating has changed little under RDA.

See also:
The Advocacy Institute comments to OSEP regarding RDA (Oct. 2022)(PDF)
How the states Stake Up: 2024 IDEA State Determinations
How the States Stack Up: 2023 IDEA State Determinations
How the States Stack Up: 2022 IDEA State Determinations
How the States Stack Up: 2021 IDEA State Determinations
How the States Stack Up: 2020 IDEA State Determinations

The U.S. Dept. of Education has released new data on students with disabilities (eligible under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act or IDEA). Section 618 of the IDEA requires that each state annually submit data about the infants and toddlers, birth through age 2, who receive early intervention services under Part C of IDEA, and children with disabilities, ages 3 through 21, who receive special education and related services under Part B of IDEA.

The new data show the number of IDEA-eligible children in 2023 increased significantly from 2022, which also showed a 3% increase.

Students ages 3-21 increased by 3.4% (an additional 261,988 students over 2022, totaling 7,892,433) which breaks down as follows:

• students ages 3-5 (not in kindergarten) increased by 9.8% (additional 52,516 students, totaling 587,908)
• school age students (ages 5 in kindergarten to 21) increased by 3%, (additional 209,472 students, totaling 7,304,525).

CHANGES IN DISABILITY CATEGORIES

The distribution across disability categories of School Age Students (ages 5 (in kindergarten) to 21) with disabilities in 2023 showed an increase in the Autism category while other categories remain relatively unchanged. The increase in the Autism category accounted for 42.6% of the total increase. Autism now accounts for nearly 14% of school age students with disabilities.

CHANGES BY STATE

Changes from 2022 in state-level rates of school age students are shown below.

NUMBER OF YOUNG CHILDREN (ages birth through age 2) ALSO SHOWS LARGE INCREASE

The number of children served under IDEA Part C (birth through age 2) also increased in 2023, to 462,847, an increase of 4.8% over 2022.

See also: K-12 Dive: Special education enrollment climbs to nearly 8M

JUNE 21, 2024. The U.S. Dept. of Education (ED) Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) has released the annual IDEA state determinations for 2024. The OSEP Fact Sheet on 2024 determinations is here.

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires ED to annually assign every state a “rating” on its implementation of IDEA, based on the state’s performance on its State Performance Plan (SPP). The 2024 determinations are based on performance for fiscal year 2022. Each state is assigned one of the following ratings:
– Meets requirements and purposes of the IDEA Part B
– Needs assistance in implementing the requirements of IDEA Part B
– Needs intervention in implementing the requirements of IDEA Part B
– Needs substantial intervention in implementing the requirements of IDEA Part B

See How the Department Made Determinations for details.

The map below shows the 2024 determination for each state.

Changes from 2023 Determinations

• Rating improved for 5 states: GA, MD, TX, VA, Micronesia
• Rating dropped for 6 states: AR, ID, OH, RI, SD, WV
• Just 6 states have received a “Meets Requirements” rating each of the past 11 years (2014-2024): KS, MA, MN, MO, PA, WI.
  

Get annual determinations by state for 2014 to 2024 here. (PDF, 1 pg)

Beginning in 2014, OSEP began using the “Results-Driven Accountability” (RDA) Matrix to arrive at state determinations. Under the RDA determinations matrix, it is mathematically impossible for all states to achieve a “Meets Requirements” rating due to the heavy use of scoring based on rank-ordering of states. Consequently, as the chart below shows, the number of states earning a “Meets Requirements” rating has changed little under RDA.

See also:
The Advocacy Institute comments to OSEP regarding RDA (Oct. 2022)(PDF)
K-12 Dive Education Department considers IDEA accountability updates as more states miss mark
How the States Stack Up: 2023 IDEA State Determinations
How the States Stack Up: 2022 IDEA State Determinations
How the States Stack Up: 2021 IDEA State Determinations
How the States Stack Up: 2020 IDEA State Determinations

All states are required to report annually to the U.S. Dept. of Education (ED) the “4-Year Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate (ACGR)” for all students and separately for many student subgroups, including students with disabilities.

The ACGR was put into place in 2008 via Federal regulations to help bring uniformity to the way states calculate the high school graduation rate. Reporting began with the 2010-2011 school year. The ACGR was subsequently included in the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) passed in 2015. It was also the subject of non-regulatory guidance released by ED in January 2017.

States are to report only those students who graduated with a “regular high school diploma” in four (or fewer) years. ESSA defines a “regular high school diploma” as the “standard high school diploma awarded to the preponderance of students in a State that is fully aligned with the State’s standards.”

The table below provides the GAP between all students and students with disabilities (IDEA-eligible) in 2021-2022 by state. Keep in mind that the GAP would be larger if it were possible to compare students with disabilities to those without disabilities. Also note that there are some differences in how states calculate the ACGR. This is particularly applicable to the population of children with disabilities. For example, states determine who is included in a variety of ways, e.g., the student started the cohort with an IEP, exited the cohort with an IEP, etc. (The source for these data is available here.)

The table below shows the performance of students with disabilities over the twelve (12) years since ACGR reporting began in 2010-2011. Each state must set an annual ACGR goal for all students and student groups as part of their ESSA state plan and report that data in its annual state report card. (Learn more about ESSA here.)

See also:
State-by-state Graduation Rates for Students with Disabilities:
2019-2020, 2018-2019, 2017-2018, 2016-2017,2015-2016
Building a Grad Nation 2023

February 28, 2024

The U.S. Dept. of Education has released new data on students with disabilities (eligible under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act or IDEA). Section 618 of the IDEA requires that each state annually submit data about the infants and toddlers, birth through age 2, who receive early intervention services under Part C of IDEA, and children with disabilities, ages 3 through 21, who receive special education and related services under Part B of IDEA.

The new data show the number of IDEA-eligible children in 2022 increased significantly from 2021, which also showed a 2% increase. There was a slight decline in 2020.

Students ages 3-21 increased by 3.8% (an additional 277,629 students over 2021, totaling 7,630,445) which breaks down as follows:

• students ages 3-5 (not in kindergarten) increased by 13.6% (additional 64,015 students, totaling 535,392)
• school age students (ages 5 in kindergarten to 21) increased by 3%, topping 7 million for the first time (additional 213,614 students, totaling 7,095,053).

PERCENT OF ENROLLMENT

The percent of public school enrollment served under IDEA varies significantly by state as the table below shows. While the national rate is 15.2%, state rates range from a high of 21.1% in Pennsylvania to a low of 11.7% in Hawaii. Data source is available here.

The number of IDEA-eligible students ages 3-21 as a percent of public school enrollment has increased steadily over the past 5 years, going from 14.1% in 2019 to 15.2% in 2023.

CHANGES BY STATE

Changes from 2021 in state-level rates of school age students range from a high of 13.7 percent in Louisiana to a low of just .6 percent in Missouri and West Virginia.

DISTRIBUTION BY RACE AND ETHNICITY

The representation by race and ethnicity of students with disabilities ages 5-21 compared to total school enrollment shows significant under-representation of Asian students, significant over-representation of Black/African American students and slight over-representation of Hispanic/Latino students.

CHANGES IN DISABILITY CATEGORIES

The distribution across disability categories of School Age Students (ages 5 (in kindergarten) to 21) with disabilities in 2022 showed an increase in the Autism category while other categories remain unchanged. Autism now accounts for nearly 13% of school age students with disabilities, up from 10% just 5 years ago.

2021 – 2022 changes by disability categories (see table below) show a significant increase in Autism and Developmental delay.

NUMBER OF YOUNG CHILDREN (ages birth through age 2) ALSO SHOWS LARGE INCREASE

The number of children served under IDEA Part C (birth through age 2) also increased in 2022, to 441,515, an increase of 8.7% over 2021.

The race/ethnicity of children served under IDEA Part C is White 48.2%, Hispanic/Latino 28.8%, Black/African American 13.0%, Asian 4.2%, Two or more races 4.9%, American Indian/Alaska Native .62% and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander .29%.

The percent of state population served by IDEA Part C varies across states from a high of 11.2% in New Mexico to a low of 1.18% in Arkansas. Nationwide rate is 4.01%.

The section 618 data collection provides data on the following

· School Year 2021-22 Part B Assessment
· School Year 2022-23 Part B Child Count and Educational Environments
· School Year 2021-22 Part B Discipline
· School Year 2021-22 Part B Dispute Resolution
· School Year 2021-22 Part B Exiting
. School Year 2021-22 Maintenance of Effort Reduction and Coordinated Early Intervening Services
· School Year 2021-22 Part B Personnel
· School Year 2022-23 Part C Child Count and Settings
· School Year 2021-22 Part C Dispute Resolution
· School Year 2021-22 Part C Exiting

JUNE 27, 2023: The U.S. Dept. of Education (ED) Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) has released the annual IDEA state determinations for 2023.

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires ED to annually assign every state a “rating” on its implementation of IDEA, based on the state’s performance on its State Performance Plan (SPP). The 2023 determinations are based on performance for fiscal year 2021. Each state is assigned one of the following ratings:
– Meets requirements and purposes of the IDEA Part B
– Needs assistance in implementing the requirements of IDEA Part B
– Needs intervention in implementing the requirements of IDEA Part B
– Needs substantial intervention in implementing the requirements of IDEA Part B

The OSEP Fact Sheet on 2023 determinations is here. How OSEP made the 2023 determinations is explained here.

The map below shows the 2023 determination for each state.

Changes from 2022 Determinations

• Rating improved for 6 states: AL, AR, ID, OH, RI, WA
• Rating dropped for 6 states: GA, ME, OK, OR, NH, VA, as well as the Bureau of Indian Education (not shown on map) and the Federated States of Micronesia
• Just 6 states have received a Meets Requirements rating each of the past 10 years (2014-2023): KS, MA, MN, MO, PA, WI.
  
  Get ratings by state for 2014 to 2023 here. (PDF, 1 pg)

Beginning in 2014, OSEP began using the “Results-Driven Accountability” (RDA) Matrix to arrive at state determinations. Our critique of the current RDA process is examined in depth in this report, “Results Driven Accountability Needs Substantial Intervention.” We discuss in detail what’s working and not working after several years of RDA-based state determinations.

Under the current RDA determinations matrix, it is mathematically impossible for all states to achieve a “meets requirements” rating given the heavy use of scoring based on rank-ordering of States. Consequently, as the chart below shows, the number of states earning a “Meets Requirements” rating has changed little under RDA.

Annual Performance Report documents for states and territories are available on this page. The Results Matrix is found toward the end of the WORD document titled 2023 SPP/APR Submission – Part B.

See also:
How the States Stack Up: 2022 IDEA State Determinations
How the States Stack Up: 2021 IDEA Determinations
How the States Stack Up: 2020 IDEA Determinations
Little Improvement in States’ Implementation of IDEA Part B in 2017

States are required to submit an annual application for Federal funds to the U.S. Dept. of Education (ED) in order to be eligible to receive their IDEA Part B Federal funds.

States must make their FFY 2023 IDEA Part B applications for Federal funds available to the public at least 60 days prior to submission to ED’s Office of Special Education Programs (due by May 24, 2023), accept public comment for at least 30 days, review and consider all public comments and make any necessary modifications to the application or policies and procedures, as appropriate. This means applications should be posted to SEA websites by March 24, 2023.

Through these applications, states must make a number of “assurances” regarding compliance with IDEA including assuring FAPE is available to all identified students, services are provided in the least restrictive environment (LRE) to the maximum extent practicable, identifying significant disproportionality and many more! States must also provide information on their maintenance of state financial support as well as a list of state special education rule, regulation, or policy that are State-imposed requirement and not required by Part B of the Act and Federal regulations.

More information about the annual application is available in the following documents:

• ED Memo to states: https://sites.ed.gov/idea/files/Grants-Part-B-FFY-2023-Procedures-for-Receiving-a-Grant-Award.pdf
• ED Instructions to states: https://sites.ed.gov/idea/files/Grants-Part-B-FFY-2023-Instructions.pdf
• Application template: https://sites.ed.gov/idea/files/Grants-Part-B-FFY-2023-Application-Template.docx
• Technical Assistance Checklist: https://sites.ed.gov/idea/files/Grants-Part-B-FFY-2023-Technical-Asssistance-Checklist.pdf
  

Find your state’s application by visiting your state’s dept. of education special education section.

Below are some documents that can assist in compiling comments to your state application:

2022 State Performance Plan/Annual Performance Report (SPP/APR). Download your state’s latest Part B SPP/APR here. Examine the performance of your state on key indicators such as graduation rate, drop-out rate, performance on annual state assessments. Question low performance on these indicators and if performance equates to FAPE as required by Assurances 1 and 2.

SPP/APR Targets.
Our series of Special Reports can be used to determine the rigor that your state’s targets on key performance indicators. Question targets that seek to achieve little if any improvement.

Annual Determinations.
Check the rating that your state has received over the past years as determined by the annual determination made by the Office of Special Education Programs. The latest determinations are available in this blog. Ratings for 2014 through 2022 are available here. The Results Matrix (a PDF appended to the end of your state’s SPP/APR) provides details on how the rating was determined.

Dispute Resolution Data.
Encourage your state to use dispute resolution data as suggested in this document:
Five Ways to Effectively Use Dispute Resolution Data in State General Supervision Systems to Improve Implementation of IDEA and to make state complaint reports available to the public if they do not currently do so.

March 21, 2023. The U.S. Dept. of Education has released new data on students with disabilities (eligible under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act or IDEA). Section 618 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires that each state annually submit data about the infants and toddlers, birth through age 2, who receive early intervention services under Part C of IDEA, and children with disabilities, ages 3 through 21, who receive special education and related services under Part B of IDEA.

The new data shows the number of IDEA-eligible children in 2021 increased significantly from 2020. Students ages 3-21 increased by 1.9%; school age students (ages 5-21) increased by 2.5% following a slight decline in 2020.

The percent of the population served under IDEA continues to vary significantly across states, ranging from a high of 12.95% in Maine to a low of 6.22% in Hawaii with a nationwide rate of 9.48%.

CHANGES IN DISABILITY CATEGORIES

The distribution across disability categories of School Age Students (ages 5-21) with Disabilities in 2021 showed an increase in the Autism category while other categories such as Specific learning disabilities and Emotional disturbance continue to decline. Autism now accounts for a full 12% of school age students with disabilities, up from 10% just 5 years ago.

NUMBER OF YOUNG CHILDREN RETURNS TO 2019 LEVEL

The number of children served under IDEA Part C also increased in 2021, after a significant decline in 2020. Part C served 407,807 children in 2021 compared to 363,387 in 2020. Equally important, the percent of the population served grew from 3.2% to 3.7%, returning to 2019 level.

The percent of population served under Part C varies by state ranging from 9.95% in Massachusetts to 1.14% in Arkansas.

The section 618 data collection provides data on the following

· School Year 2020-21 Part B Assessment
· School Year 2021-22 Part B Child Count and Educational Environments
· School Year 2020-21 Part B Discipline
· School Year 2020-21 Part B Dispute Resolution
· School Year 2020-21 Part B Exiting
– School Year 2020-21 Maintenance of Effort Reduction and Coordinated Early Intervening Services
· School Year 2020-21 Part B Personnel
· School Year 2021-22 Part C Child Count and Settings
· School Year 2020-21 Part C Dispute Resolution
· School Year 2020-21 Part C Exiting

States are required to report annually to the U.S. Dept. of Education (ED) the “4-Year Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate (ACGR)” for all students and separately for many student subgroups, including students with disabilities. The 4-Year ACGR for the 2019-2020 school year was released on December 19, 2022.

ABOUT THE ACGR: The ACGR was put into place in 2008 via Federal regulations to help bring uniformity to the way states calculate the high school graduation rate. Reporting began with the 2010-2011 school year. The ACGR was subsequently included in the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) passed in 2015. It was also the subject of non-regulatory guidance released by ED in January 2017.

States are to report only those students who graduated with a “regular high school diploma” in four (or fewer) years. ESSA defines a “regular high school diploma” as the “standard high school diploma awarded to the preponderance of students in a State that is fully aligned with the State’s standards.”

The table below provides the GAP between all students and students with disabilities in 2019-20 by state. (Keep in mind that the GAP would be larger if it were possible to compare students with disabilities to those without disabilities.)
Download the chart (PDF)

The chart below shows the performance of students with disabilities over the ten years since ACGR reporting began. Download the chart (PDF)

See also:

State-by-state Graduation Rates for Students with Disabilities:
2018-2019
2017-2018
2016-2017
2015-2016