IDEA Numbers Increasing, Funding Doesn’t Keep Pace

The number of students with disabilities served under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act continues to increase at a rate higher than both the general population and school enrollment, according to the U.S. Department of Education’s latest annual report on IDEA.

Despite the increase in numbers, funding hasn’t kept pace. The U.S. Senate last week killed an amendment calling for mandatory full funding of IDEA. The federal government currently is providing only about 10 percent of its promised 40 percent share of the cost of IDEA.

The report said ED’s Office of Special Education Programs is supporting a new Finance Center to collect and disseminate information on the costs of special education and related services.

IDEA mandates that students with disabilities receive a free appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment and that "to the maximum extent appropriate," they be educated with their non-disabled peers.

In 1996-97, over 95 percent of America's 6 million students with disabilities received special education and related services in regular school buildings, and 46 percent were removed from regular classes for less than 21 percent of the day, said the ED report.

Secondary-aged children were more likely than elementary-aged to receive services outside the regular classroom for more than 21 percent of the school day.

The greatest increases in the past 10 years have been in the 12 through 17 age group and in the other health impairments disability category. Also, the number of children age 2 and younger who were receiving special education services jumped from 34,270 in 1997 to 197,376 the next year, the report said.

A record 46 percent of students with disabilities were educated in regular classrooms alongside their non-disabled peers in 1996-97, continuing an inclusion trend started nearly a quarter-century ago when IDEA was passed, the report said.

The figures show that 46.2 percent of students with disabilities ages 3-21 spent at least 80 percent of their time in regular classrooms in 1996-97, up from 45.9 percent the previous school year.

The report shows that 25 percent of students with disabilities served in special education programs graduated.

"Currently, we know little about the scholastic performance of students with disabilities. This is due in part to the lack of their representation in national large-scale data sets," the report said.

The lack of scholastic data comparable to those reported for nondisabled peers will be addressed through new IDEA requirements, it said.

The report said there is also a lack of data from states to assess the extent, type or prevalence of misconduct by special education students, or the disciplinary actions resulting from the misconduct. Under IDEA, students with disabilities are treated differently for the same infractions are regular students. AASA supports a single discipline standard for all students.

"Research reveals little consensus among administrators regarding what constitutes aggression or disruption or who should be suspended," the report said.

Natalie Carter Holmes, Editor