In June 2021 the U.S. Dept. of Education (ED) Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) released the annual IDEA state determinations. 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 2021 determinations are based on performance for fiscal year 2019. 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 map below shows the 2021 rating for each state. Based upon these ratings, 60 percent of the nation’s IDEA-eligible students are educated in states that “Need Assistance” in implementing the requirements of IDEA Part B.

The method for determining the rating is described in this document:
How the Department Made Determinations – Part B

Here is how to locate information for your state’s 2021 rating:
– Go to this page
– Locate your state’s 2021 SPP/APR Submission Part B and State Determination Letters PART B
– Click and download the MS WORD document of the 2021 SPP/APR Submission PART B
– Go to the end of the MS WORD document and click on the PDF icon that says “results matrix -2021b.” This document – titled “2021 Part B Results-Driven Accountability Matrix” – provides the scoring for each element of the matrix used to determine the state’s rating.

Beginning in 2014 OSEP began using the “Results-Driven Accountability” (RDA) Matrix to arrive at states rating. We have spent a great deal of time examining RDA. 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. As the chart below shows, the number of states earning a “Meets Requirements” rating has not improved under RDA. Get ratings by state for 2014 to 2021 here. (PDF, 1 pg)

See also:
Federal Monitoring and Enforcement of IDEA Compliance, National Council on Disability, 2018