New data released by the US Department of Education shows an increase in the number of students in special education for the 2017–2018 school year.
- There were 6 million students ages 3 to 21 receiving services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), up from 6.4 million in the 2011–12 school year.
- 14 percent of all public school students are eligible for special education and related services, up from 13 percent in the 2011–2012 school year.
- One in three (34 percent) of IDEA-eligible students had a specific learning disability.
- 20 percent of IDEA-eligible students had a speech or language impairment.
- 14 percent of IDEA-eligible students were classified as having “other health impairment.”
- Autism accounted for 10 percent of all special education students.
