Department of Education Releases Annual IDEA Report to Congress

Last week, the U.S. Department of Education issued the 41st Annual Report to Congress on the Implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

Since its enactment, IDEA has required an annual report to inform Congress and the public about implementation of the law in four main domains:

• providing a free and appropriate public education (FAPE) for students with disabilities and early intervention for infants and toddlers,
• ensuring that the rights of students with disabilities and their parents are upheld,
• assisting states and localities to provide IDEA services to all students with disabilities, and
• assessing the effectiveness of efforts to provide IDEA services.

Key findings [from 2017 state-reported data] include:

• 2 percent of special education teachers providing special education and related services for students aged 3 through 5 were highly qualified.
• 9 percent of special education teachers providing special education and related services for students aged 6 through 21 under IDEA Part B were highly qualified.
• 9 percent of students ages 6 through 21 served under IDEA Part B were educated in the regular classroom for at least some portion of the school day.
• In Illinois, we are serving 11 percent more students now (2017) than we were in 2008.

Click here to download the report.