Special education population rose 2% between 2020 and 2021

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In 2021, there were 7.8 million children and young adults with disabilities, ages birth through 21, who received specialized services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, according to a recently released report by the U.S. Department of Education.

That's an increase from the year before, which recorded 7.6 million children and young adults receiving IDEA special education services.

Education Department data also shows that from 2020 to 2021, there was a 2% increase in the number of students ages 6-21 receiving IDEA special education services.

The annual reports — mandated by Congress — include the number of children served, as well as figures for disability categories, time spent in general education classes, dispute resolution activities and other IDEA-related programs.

In the most recent 281-page report, the Education Department acknowledged the difficulty of collecting data during the early years of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, it said the purpose of the reference is to describe the nation’s progress implementing IDEA, not to explain the effects of the pandemic or other factors on Part B programming for school-aged students or Part C services for infants and toddlers.

Here are some more figures from the report:

By the numbers

406,000

The number of children ages birth through 2 served under IDEA, Part C, in 2021. That's an increase from 363,387 in 2020.

9.6%

The percentage of children and young adults, ages 6-21, served under IDEA, Part B, in the 50 states, the District of Columbia and Bureau of Indian Education in 2021. In 2012, the figure was 8.4%.

97.5%

The percentage of all full-time equivalent personnel employed to provide related services for students ages 3-21 served under IDEA, Part B, who were fully certified in 2020.

65% to 75%

The range of percentage of students served under IDEA, Part B, in each of grades 3 through 8 and high school, who did not have a medical exemption, who participated in a reading assessment during the 2020-21 school year.

6.6 million

The number of students ages 5-21 served under IDEA, Part B, who were educated in regular classrooms for at least some portion of the school day in 2021. This amounts to 95% of that age group served under IDEA.

35%

The percentage of students ages 5-21 served under IDEA, Part B, in fall 2021 who were classified as having a specific learning disability — the most common disability category under IDEA. The next most common category is other health impairment at 18%, followed by speech or language impairment at 17%.

$8.7 million

The grant amount awarded to RTI International, SRI International and Social Dynamics for the Post-High School Outcomes for Youth with Disabilities Study, Phase II. This study will provide updated national information of students’ paths through high school and beyond, as well as measure the progress youths with an individualized education program have made since the most recent reauthorization of IDEA in 2004.