Fast Facts: Students with disabilities, inclusion of (59)

Students with disabilities, inclusion of

Question:
What percentage of students with disabilities are educated in general classrooms?

Response:

Enacted in 1975, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) mandates the provision of a free and appropriate public school education for eligible students ages 3–21.

Of the school-age children served under IDEA in fall 2021,¹

95 percent were enrolled in regular schools;
2 percent were enrolled in separate schools (public or private) for students with disabilities;
2 percent were parentally placed in regular private schools;² and
1 percent were homebound or in hospitals, in separate residential facilities (public or private), or in correctional facilities.

Students served under IDEA who attended regular schools spent different percentages of time during the school day in general classes, and these percentages changed over time. Between fall 2010 and fall 2021,³ among all school-age students served under IDEA, the percentage who were in regular schools and spent various amounts of time in general classes changed as follows:

the percentage who spent 80 percent or more of their time in general classes increased from 61 to 67 percent;
the percentage who spent 40 to 79 percent of their time in general classes decreased from 20 to 16 percent; and
the percentage who spent less than 40 percent of their time in general classes decreased from 14 to 13 percent.

In fall 2021, more than two-thirds of students with the following disabilities spent 80 percent or more of their time during the school day in general classes:

speech or language impairments (88 percent);
specific learning disabilities (75 percent);
other health impairments (70 percent);
developmental delays (70 percent); and
visual impairments (70 percent).

Less than one-third of students with the following disabilities spent 80 percent or more of their time during the school day in general classes:

deaf-blindness (30 percent);
intellectual disabilities (20 percent); and
multiple disabilities (15 percent).

¹ Data throughout this Fast Fact represent the 50 states and the District of Columbia.
² Refers to students who are enrolled by their parents or guardians in regular private schools and have their basic education paid for through private resources but receive special education and/or related services at public expense.
³ For fall 2010 through fall 2018, school-age students include students ages 6–21. Due to changes in reporting requirements in the fall 2019 data collection, the number of 6- to 21-year-olds served may include some 5-year-olds enrolled in kindergarten in that year. Starting in the fall 2020 data collection, school-age students include 6- to 21-year-olds and 5-year-olds enrolled in kindergarten.

SOURCE: National Center for Education Statistics. (2023). Students with Disabilities. Condition of Education. U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences. Retrieved June 25, 2023, from https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator/cgg.

Numbers in figure titles reflect original numeration from source Condition of Education indicators.

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