• The IDEA 618 Data Tables and Other Data Products headings provide access to the state-reported data. The organization of these data is described below.



• Information about how the data are currently collected, as well as information about past data collections, are available under the Documentation heading. A brief description of the documents available is provided below.



• Documents developed to assist state in reporting their data to OSEP are available under the TA Materials heading.



• More general documents are available under the Publications heading. These include the newsletters published for data managers and the proceedings of the annual data managers’ meetings.



• The web site also provides Links to related web sites. These include links to the Department of Education, OSEP, other government agencies and related organizations; links to past Annual Reports to Congress; and links to web sites that specialize in web accessibility.



• Listserv is available to state special education data managers. It provides data managers with a means for sharing ideas and helping each other with common problems. Contact Mary Job (maryjob@westat.com) to add your name to the Listserv.

The data tables, and most pages of this web site, are organized according to the part of the law that governs services for children in an age group. IDEA Part B serves children ages 3 through 21+, and IDEA Part C serves infants and toddlers, ages birth through 2.

Part B

IDEA Part B funds services to children ages 3 through 21. Seven types of data are collected about the implementation of this part of the law:

1. a count of children and students served under IDEA (child count);



2. a count of the number of personnel employed to provide services under IDEA (personnel);



3. a count of children and students served under IDEA according to the educational environment in which they received services (education environments);



4. a count of the number of students ages 14-21+ exiting special education, according to the basis of exit (exiting);



5. a count of the number of children and youth disciplined (discipline);



6. a count of the number of students administered assessments (assessment); and



7. a count of the number of actions initiated during the June 30 to July 1 school year (dispute resolution).

A brief description of each data type is provided below. Consult the Part B Data Collection History and Fact Sheets for a summary of the data collection history, data dimensions, and considerations for analysis of each data type.

The child count data are state counts of children ages 3 through 21 (grouped by ages 3-5 and 6-21) receiving special education and related services under IDEA, Part B on a state-designated date between October 1 and December 1 (inclusive) of each year. Counts of children are available as a two-way tabulation of disability by individual age and as a two-way tabulation of disability by race/ethnicity. A tabulation of individual age by race/ethnicity is not available. The number of children ages 3-21 by gender and their limited English proficiency by state are also available. Tabulations of the number of children ages 3-21 by gender and race/ethnicity and limited English proficiency and race/ethnicity are also available.

The personnel data are state counts of special education teachers and related services personnel who provide special education and related services to children ages 3 through 21 on the child count date of each year. Counts of personnel are provided in full-time equivalents (FTE).

The educational environments data are state counts of the number of students ages 3 through 21 (grouped separately for ages 3-5 and 6-21) served in each educational environment on a state-designated date between October 1 and December 1 (inclusive). These data provide a measure of the extent to which students with disabilities are educated with their peers without disabilities. Counts of children ages 3 through 5 are available as a two-way tabulation of educational environment by individual age, as a two-way tabulation of educational environment by disability, and as a two-way tabulation of educational environment by race/ethnicity. No three-way tabulations are available. For children ages 6 through 21, counts are available as three-way tabulations of educational environment by age group (6-11, 12-17, 18-21) by disability. A two-way tabulation of educational environment by race/ethnicity is also available. For children ages 3-5 and 6-21, a two-way tabulation of educational environments by gender and a two-way tabulation of educational encironment by limited English proficiency is also available.

The exiting data are state counts of the number of students ages 14 through 21 who exited special education during the school year by basis of exit and disability. Counts of exiters are available as a three-way tabulation of basis for exit by disability by individual age and also as a two-way tabulation of basis of exit by race/ethnicity. A tabulation of individual age by race/ethnicity is not available.

The discipline data are state counts of the number of students ages 3 through 21 receiving special education and related services who were removed to interim alternative educational settings and the number of students with disabilities suspended or expelled more than 10 days. The discipline data are available for each disability category and for each racial/ethnic category. A tabulation of disability by race/ethnicity is not available. The assessment data are state counts of the number of students in grades 3-8 and one high school grade administered an assessment. The assessment data are available for each type of assessment for participation and performance categories by grade. The dispute resolution data are state counts of the number of actions initiated during the June 30 to July 1 school year.

A brief description of each data type is provided below. Consult the Part C Data Collection History and Fact Sheets for a complete description, collection history, data dimensions, and considerations for analysis of each data type.

The child count data are state counts of infants and toddlers ages birth through 2 receiving early intervention services under IDEA, Part C according to an individualized family services plan (IFSP) on December 1 of each year. Counts of infants and toddlers are available for each individual age and for each racial/ethnic category. A cross-tabulation of individual age by race/ethnicity is not available. States that serve at-risk infants and toddlers also provide counts of infants and toddlers who are at risk of experiencing substantial developmental delays if early intervention services are not provided.

The settings data are state counts of the number of infants and toddlers ages birth through 2 receiving early intervention services under IDEA, Part C according to the primary setting of the services on December 1 of each year. Counts of infants and toddlers are available as a two-way tabulation of program setting category by individual age and as a two-way tabulation of program setting by race/ethnicity. A cross-tabulation of individual age by race/ethnicity is not available.

The exiting data are state counts of the number of infants and toddlers ages birth through 2 who exited Part C early intervention programs during a State-specified one-year time period. Counts of Part C exiters are only available as a two-way tabulation of reason for exit by race/ethnicity. These data are not available by individual age.

The dispute resolution data are state counts of the number of actions initiated during the June 30 to July 1 school year.

A number of documents are available at this site to help you understand the data collected under IDEA. The most recent Data Collection Forms used by states to report their data are provided, in Word and PDF format, for each data type described above. Researchers often find these forms helpful in understanding the structure and contents of the data before undertaking analyses.

The Fact Sheets are a good starting point for anyone interested in learning about the IDEA data. They are available, in Word and PDF format, for each data type and provide a quick summary of the data collection history, the dimensions of the data, key definitions, and considerations for analysis and interpretation of the data.

The Data Collection Histories provide greater detail on each of the data collections, including a year-by-year summary of what data were collected and which data collection categories were used. These documents are essential reading for anyone planning to use the IDEA data longitudinally.

Definitions of the terms that appear in the annual data reports are provided in the Data Dictionaries. These definitions include terms used in the instructions for the data collection forms or in the data tables themselves. The terms are listed in alphabetical order with a notation at the bottom of each page indicating the table where the term is found.

The Data Notes contain important information about ways in which states collected and reported data differently from the OSEP data formats and instructions. They also provide explanations of significant changes in the data from the previous year. Data Notes are provided for each year of data available on this web site and are available in every annual report to Congress.

Need More Information?

For further assistance on the content of this web site, or for answers to questions about the IDEA data, please use the contact link below: