The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), formerly the Education of the Handicapped Act (EHA), requires the Secretary of Education to transmit to Congress annually a report describing the progress in serving the nation's disabled children. The annual report contains information on children served by the public schools under the provisions of Part B of the IDEA and for children served in state-operated programs (SOP) for the handicapped under Chapter I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). Statistics on children receiving special education and related services in various settings and school personnel providing such services are reported in an annual submission of data to the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS), by the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the outlying areas. The child count information is based on the number of disabled children receiving special education and related services on December 1st of each year. Count information is available from http://www.ideadata.org.
Since each participant in programs for the disabled is reported to OSERS, the data are not subject to sampling error. However, nonsampling error can occur from a variety of sources. Some states follow a non-categorical approach to the delivery of special education services, but produce counts by disabling condition because EHA–B requires it. In those states that do categorize their disabled students, definitions and labeling practices vary.
Further information on the Annual Report to Congress may be obtained from:
Office of Special Education Programs
Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services
550 12th St., SW
Washington, DC 20065
http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/osers/osep/index.html
http://www.ideadata.org
Other Department of Education Agencies Sources