Welcome to the IDEA Data Center

We help states build capacity to collect, report, analyze, and use accurate IDEA Part B data.

What's New at IDC

A circular donut chart contains the words "A Date with Data" in its center

A Date with Data, Episode 25: Status Quo? No! Delaware Finds Creative Approaches to Improve Pre-School Environments Data

In Delaware, they're doing it differently, at least when it comes to Indicator 6. Listen as host Amy Bitterman talks with the Delaware Department of Education’s 619 coordinator, Cindy Brown, and Part B data manager, Bob Sabolcik about changing trajectories on preschool environments data, asking districts that are doing well to share their strategies with others, and just generally saying no to the status quo.

New: SPP/APR Target Setting Toolkit

The SPP/APR Target Setting Toolkit is a series of eight Excel workbooks designed to assist states as they set targets for their State Performance Plan/Annual Performance Report (SPP/APR). Each tool presents five different target setting methodologies that states can use to develop, discuss, and, ultimately, set measurable and rigorous targets, as required by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

This image shows a pair of shoes standing before two questions marks chalked into pavers on a street.

New Resource: EDFacts Modernization Planning Questions

Are you ready for EDFacts modernization? Help ensure a smooth transition to using EDPass to submit your 618 data collections with this series of guided questions designed to help you conduct a review of your state’s data processes.

This image reads "Save the Date: ii23" and "June 6-7, Charlotte, NC." There is a background image of a monarch's crown, representing the city of Charlotte.

Save the Date: Our 2023 Interactive Institute

Attention: Get ready to join us June 6⁠–7 in the Queen City, Charlotte, North Carolina, for the IDC 2023 Interactive Institute. There, we'll take the next steps on our journey to build and sustain a culture of high-quality data. Mark your calendars and prepare to become data quality influencer royalty!

Blue Chip: An IDC TA Story

The gameplan: A state department of education wishes to take on the challenge of significant disproportionality in its districts. They draw it up on the board and are ready to hit the court. But key to every all-star team are role-players, team members ready and able to lend a hand at just the right moment to help ensure a big win. That’s where IDC comes in to play.

This photograph shows a white puzzle with one offset piece revealing a blue background underneath.

New Resource: Unpacking and Understanding Part B SPP/APR Indicator 3D

The purpose of this resource is to unpack Part B SPP/APR Indicator 3D to better understand how to use Indicator 3D results to improve outcomes for all children with IEPs. This resource guides the reader through Indicator 3D, including how to calculate it; information on the setting/resetting of its baselines and targets; and considerations when analyzing, reporting, and using Indicator 3D data.

New: Our ii22 Resources Page

Our 2022 IDC Interactive Institutes were bigger and better than ever, offering states a chance to take part in innovative, engaging, and highly interactive learning about proven practices to improve data collection, reporting, analysis, and use. Nor does the good news end there! The presentation slides and related resources from those events are now available on this very website. Click the link below to see it all for yourself.

The New EDFacts Collection Package: Where to Begin

You may have heard that the EDFacts Information Collection Package for SY2022–23, 2023–24, and 2024–25 is now available. You may even have already begun to explore everything it has to offer. Or maybe, just maybe, you may now be wondering where to begin. Where indeed? The answer to that question is to first familiarize yourself with what has changed, including Section 618 data technical corrections, revisions to data collection categories, and the addition of some brand-new elements to the collections.

Building Your SPP/APR Stakeholder Engagement Plan: 10 Essential Questions

This interactive resource guides states through 10 key questions they should ask themselves as they build their stakeholder engagement plans. Each question offers detailed options to consider that will assist states in preparing to describe their engagement activities in their SPPs/APRs.

New Resource To Identify And Address SSIP Data Quality Issues

States developing Indicator 17 SSIPs are required to identify data quality issues in their SPPs/APRs, and this checklist can help. Your state can use it to identify and address data quality issues and avoid the potential consequences of failing to do so.

View All News and Announcements

Need Technical Assistance?

Use our interactive map to find your IDC State Liaison.

Learn More

It’s so rewarding working with educators dedicated to bringing the spirit of IDEA alive through work at the state and local education levels. I’m always honored to be a small part of this important effort on behalf of students with disabilities across the country.

— Tamara Nimkoff
IDC TA Specialist

News From the Field

New: OSEP Releases IDEA Section 618 Data

OSEP has released 10 new 2020-21/ 2021 data files on ED’s Open Data Platform. For ease of navigation, please refer to OSEP’s IDEA Section 618 Data Products website to access the data files, documentation related to the files, and static tables to provide commonly used percentages associated with the IDEA Section 618 data. You can find more information at this link.

OSEP Blog Series: Discipline and Behavior

New from OSEP, this blog series covers topics such as alternatives to exclusionary discipline, informal removals, discipline disparities, and behavior as part of a free appropriate public education. The series will also feature relevant resources for stakeholders to encourage a shift to address challenging behavior proactively, positively and preventatively. See the first installment here, "Discipline Discussions: The Impact and Harm of Exclusionary Discipline."

New: Help Getting High-Speed Internet This Back-to-School Season

As America’s kids get back to school and continue to recover from the challenges of the pandemic, ensuring that all families have access to affordable high-speed internet is more important than ever. The U.S. Department of Education's Affordable Connectivity Program Back-to-School Toolkit provides actionable recommendations (and a ready-to-use backpack flyer) that schools and community partners can use to help students and their families get signed up! Click here for more information.

New Guidance to Avoid Discriminatory Use of Discipline

New guidance from the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) helps public elementary and secondary schools fulfill their responsibilities to meet the needs of students with disabilities and avoid the discriminatory use of student discipline. These newly released resources are the most comprehensive guidance on the civil rights of students with disabilities concerning student discipline and build on the Department’s continued efforts to support students and schools through pandemic recovery. Learn more here.

Available Now: The EdFacts Information Collection Package

EDFacts Update! The EDFacts Information Collection package for SY 2022-23, 2023-24, and 2024-25 has been approved and is now available. The package includes pre-kindergarten through grade-12 performance data about students, schools, staff, services, and educational outcomes at the state, district, and school levels. Approximately 170 data groups are included and respondents include all 50 states, Washington DC, Puerto Rico, outlying areas and freely associated states, the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA), and the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE). Access the EDFacts Information Collection here.

New OSEP Fast Facts: Students with Disabilities who are English Language Learners (ELs) Served under IDEA Part B

The Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) recently released a new OSEP Fast Facts: Students with Disabilities who are English Language Learners (ELs) Served under IDEA Part B, which explores Section 618 data with the specific lens on one of the fastest-growing populations of students with disabilities served under IDEA.

Visit OSEP Fast Facts for existing and future Fast Facts.

OSEP Updates IDEA Section 618 Data Products Website With New Data and More

The Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) released nine new Part B and Part C data files for school years 2019 through 2021. The data files, supporting data documentation files and related data notes, and associated static tables include Parts B and C Child Count, Discipline, Dispute Resolution, and Exiting data and more. The data are downloadable as comma separated values (CSV) files. The static tables provide commonly used percentages associated with the IDEA Section 618 data.

Beyond the IDEA Section 618 Data Products website, OSEP displays and publishes these data in other user-friendly sources including the Annual Report to Congress on IDEA Implementation and on the OSEP Fast Facts web page of the IDEA website.

A New Home for IDEA Section 618 Data

The IDEA 618 data products have a new home on the U.S. Department of Education's Open Data Platform. The older data files, static tables, and collection documentation have been migrated and are available on the Open Data platform. As of February 15, 2022, the IDEA Section 618 data will no longer be available on the current site.

OSERS Published the 43rd Annual Report to Congress on IDEA

The Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) released the 43rd Annual Report to Congress on the Implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 2021. The report focuses on progress in providing a free appropriate public education to children with disabilities served under IDEA, Part B, and early intervention services to infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families served under IDEA, Part C.

Click here for more information and to download the report.

The Department Releases New Resource on Supporting Child and Student Social, Emotional, Behavioral and Mental Health during COVID-19 Era

The U.S. Department of Education released a new resource: Supporting Child and Student Social, Emotional, Behavioral and Mental Health to provide information and resources to enhance the promotion of mental health and the social and emotional well-being among children and students. This resource highlights seven key challenges to providing school- or program-based mental health support across early childhood, K–12 schools, and higher education settings, and presents seven corresponding recommendations.

Click here to read more.

Upcoming Events

Here's what's happening in the next few months.

View All Events

Recordings

Click here for access to slides and recordings of all IDC's past webinars.

View All Recordings

IDC Bee

Connect With Us

Keep up with our new projects, resources, and events.

Follow @IDEAdatacenter on Twitter
Follow the IDEA Data Center on LinkedIn

Access Public IDEA Data

U.S. Department of Education website offers current and historical data and products.

Learn More

Interactive Public Reporting Engine

This tool provides an interactive way for states to meet federally mandated IDEA data public reporting requirements.

Learn More