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.