Changes
in Numbers of Students Served
[taken from statsgov]
Over
the past few years, the number of school-age students (i.e., ages 6 through 21
years old) with disabilities served has increased at a higher rate than the
general school enrollment. During
the 1996-97 school year, 5,235,952 students ages 6 through 21 with
disabilities were served under IDEA, a 3.1 percent increase over the previous
year. The prekindergarten through
12th grade total school-age enrollment figures
showed an increase of 1.2 percent between 1995-96 and 1996-97 (see table AF6,
p. A-226). The resident
population showed an increase of 1.7 percent.
The increase in the number
of school-age children served under IDEA over the previous year was slightly
more than the increase in the number of preschool students ages 3 through 5
served (2.1 percent) and slightly less than the increase in the number of
infants and toddlers served (5.7 percent) (see table AA14, pp. A-43 to A-45).
Age
Distribution of Students Served
The
number of school-age students served under IDEA has consistently increased
since the inception of P.L. 94-142 in 1975.
Dividing students served into three age groups, the number of students
with disabilities ages 6-11 served increased 25.3 percent, the number of
students with disabilities ages 12-17 increased 30.7 percent, and the number
of students with disabilities ages 18-21 increased 14.7 percent over the past
10 years.
The
relative percentages in each of these age groups has remained stable over the
past 10 years. Figure II-5 shows the age composition of students with
disabilities in 1996-97. These
percentages differ slightly from the average over the 10 years, which was 51.8
percent for children ages 6-11, 43 percent for those ages 12-17, and 5.2
percent of students ages 18-21 served under IDEA (see table AA14, pp. A-43 to
A-45).
Disabilities
Distribution of Students Served
Under
IDEA, there are 12 disability categories--specific learning disabilities,
speech or language impairments, mental retardation, emotional disturbance,
multiple disabilities, hearing impairments, orthopedic impairments, other
health impairments, visual impairments, autism, deaf-blindness, and traumatic
brain injury--by which to report students served.
However, more than 90 percent of the school-age students served under
IDEA in 1996-97 were classified in one of four disability categories:
Figure
II-5
Percentage
of Students with Disabilities Served Under IDEA, Part B by Age Group in
1996-97
Source:
U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs,
Data Analysis System (DANS).
learning
disabilities (51.1 percent or 2,676,299 children);
speech
or language impairments (20.1 percent or 1,050,975 children);
mental
retardation (11.4 percent or 594,025 children); and
emotional
disturbance (8.6 percent or 447,426 children).
Figure
II-6 shows the change in the number of students served under IDEA for each of
these four disabilities from 1987-88 to 1996-97.
The rate of increase for students with learning disabilities was
greater than for students with other high-incidence disabilities.
The number of students with learning disabilities has increased by 37.8
percent over the past 10 years, as compared with an increase of 10.2 percent
for students with speech or language impairments and 20.1 percent for students
with emotional disturbance. The
number of students with mental retardation decreased by 0.8 percent between
1987-88 and 1996-97. (See also
table AA14, p. AA-43 to AA-45.)
Figure
II-6
Number
of Children Ages 6-21 Served Under IDEA, Part B From 1987-88 to 1996-97:
High-Incidence Disabilities
Source:
U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs,
Data Analysis System (DANS).
Figure
II-7 shows the number of children served for six of the low-incidence
disability categories. Between
1987-88 and 1992-93, the average annual increase for students with other
health impairments was 7.5 percent. Between
1992-93 and 1996-97, the average rate more than tripled to 25.0 percent (see
table AA14, p. A-45). This is in
contrast to the more gradual increases in numbers of students served under
IDEA in other disability categories. Table II-2
shows the number of students ages 6-21 served under IDEA in all 12 disability
categories in 1987-88 and 1996-97 (see table AA14, p. A-45).
States’
most common explanation for the increase in the number of children served
under the other health impairments category was increased identification of
and service to children with attention deficit disorder (ADD) and
attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
Other large increases occurred in the newest disability categories of
autism and traumatic brain
injury. However, the disability categories of autism and traumatic
brain injury accounted for less than 1 percent of the students served in
1996-97. Explanations for
increases in these categories generally include improvements in reporting and
reassignment to the new disability categories during the reevaluation process.
An increase in the category of other health impairments, however, has
occurred simultaneously with the
separate reporting of students with autism and traumatic brain injury, many of
whom may have previously been counted under the other health impairments
category.
Figure
II-7
Number
of Children Ages 6-21 Served Under IDEA, Part B From 1987-88 to 1996-97:
Low-Incidence Disabilities
Source:
U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs,
Data Analysis System (DANS).
The
increase in the number of students with other health impairments since 1992-93
may in part be a response to a 1991 Department of Education, Office of Special
Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) memorandum that explained that
students with ADD (and inclusively, ADHD) should be included in the other
health impairments category when ADD is a chronic or acute health problem
resulting in limited alertness that adversely affects educational performance.
Consequently, the growth in the other health impairments category may
be a combined result of increased identification of students with ADD and the
reporting of children with ADD in the other health impairments category.
Prior to this time, students with ADD may have been reported in other
disability categories.
Table
II-2
Number
of Children Ages 6-21 Served Under IDEA by Disability:
1987-88 and 1996-97
|
Disability
|
1987-88
|
1996-97
|
Change
|
|
Number
|
Percent
|
Number
|
Percent
|
Number
|
Percent
|
|
Specific
Learning Disabilities
|
1,942,304
|
47.1
|
2,676,299
|
51.1
|
733,995
|
37.8
|
|
Speech
or Language Impairments
|
953,568
|
23.1
|
1,050,975
|
20.1
|
97,407
|
10.2
|
|
Mental
Retardation
|
598,770
|
14.5
|
594,025
|
11.4
|
-4,745
|
‑0.8
|
|
Emotional
Disturbance
|
372,380
|
9.0
|
447,426
|
8.6
|
75,046
|
20.2
|
|
Multiple
Disabilities
|
79,023
|
1.9
|
99,638
|
1.9
|
20,615
|
26.1
|
|
Hearing
Impairments
|
56,872
|
1.4
|
68,766
|
1.3
|
11,894
|
20.9
|
|
Orthopedic
Impairments
|
46,966
|
1.1
|
66,400
|
1.3
|
19,434
|
41.4
|
|
Other
Health Impairments
|
46,056
|
1.1
|
160,824
|
3.1
|
114,768
|
249.2
|
|
Visual
Impairments
|
22,821
|
0.6
|
25,834
|
0.5
|
3,013
|
13.2
|
|
Autism
|
.a
|
.
|
34,101
|
0.7
|
34,101
|
.
|
|
Deaf‑Blindness
|
1,454
|
<0.1
|
1,286
|
<0.1
|
(168)
|
‑11.6
|
|
Traumatic
Brain Injury
|
.
|
.
|
10,378
|
0.2
|
10,378
|
.
|
|
All
Disabilities
|
4,120,214
|
100.0
|
5,235,952
|
100.0
|
1,115,738
|
27.1
|
a/ Reporting on autism and
traumatic brain injury was required under IDEA beginning in 1992-93.
Source:
U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs,
Data Analysis System (DANS).
The
distribution of students by disability varies across age groups.
Specific learning disabilities is the largest single category for each of
the three age groups, accounting for 41.2 percent of students ages 6-11, 62.3
percent of students ages 12-17, and 51.7 percent of students ages 18-21.
The percentage of students with speech or language impairments decreases
dramatically among older children; 35.1 percent of the students ages 6-11 were
identified as having speech or language impairments, while only 5.0 percent of
students in the 12-17 age group and 1.8 percent of the students in the 18-21 age
group with this disability were served. Conversely,
the incidence of mental retardation is more prevalent among older children.
This may be in part because students with mental retardation tend to stay
in school longer than students with other disabilities.
Nearly one-fourth (24.4 percent) of the students ages 18-21 were
classified as having mental retardation. This
percentage drops to 12.6 percent for students ages 12-17, and drops again to 9.0
percent for students 6-11. Emotional
disturbance is most common among teenagers; 5.7 percent of students ages 6-11
were identified with emotional disturbance compared with 11.7 percent of the
12-17 age group and 9.7 percent of the 18-21 age group.
Summary
Services
to students with disabilities have continued to grow.
Among the reasons for this growth are increases in the population and
improvements in the identification of students with special needs.
The year-to-year increase in the number of school-age children receiving
services has been gradual, and increases have occurred at various rates across
the disability categories. The
largest percentage increases occurred in other health impairments, orthopedic
impairments, and specific learning disabilities. There was a reported decline in two disability categories,
mental retardation and deaf-blindness.
The
enrollment counts are fall membership counts collected by the National
Center for Education Statistics. The
enrollment figures include children in prekindergarten through 12th grade.
These
disability categories were first reported separately as an option in 1991-92
and as a requirement in 1992-93 as a result of P.L. 101-476, the 1990
Amendments to IDEA.
OSERS.
(1991). Clarification of
policy to address the needs of children with attention deficit disorders
with general and/or special education.
Memorandum to Chief State School Officers.
Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, OSERS.
