A r c h i v e d I n f o r m a t i o n

To Assure the Free Appropriate Public Education of all Children with Disabilities - 1995

Chapter 1

School-Age Students with Disabilities Served, Placement and Exiting Patterns, and Personnel Who Provide Special Education and Related Services

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires that all children and youth with disabilities within certain age ranges¹ be provided a free, appropriate public education (FAPE). IDEA requires the Secretary of Education to determine how well the States are fulfilling this requirement. Several data sources are used. One of those sources is the State-reported data required by Congress under Section 618(b) of IDEA. States provide annual data to the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) on the number of children and youth with disabilities served under Part B of IDEA and Chapter 1 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), State Operated Programs (SOP).² States also provide data on educational placements and exit status for students with disabilities, as well as data on the number of personnel employed and needed to serve students with disabilities.

This report includes data for children served under the Chapter 1 (SOP) Handicapped Program for Federal fiscal year 1994 (school year 1993-94). In October 1994, Congress passed the Improving America's Schools Act that reauthorized ESEA and eliminated the Chapter 1 (SOP) Handicapped Program. IDEA was amended so that, beginning in fiscal year 1995, funding for special education and related services for all eligible students with disabilities will be provided under the IDEA Grants to States (Part B) and Early Intervention for Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities (Part H) programs. Hold harmless provisions were added to the allocation formulas for these programs to ensure that States do not lose funding because of this change. The fiscal year 1994 allocations for the Chapter 1 (SOP), Grants to States, and Early Intervention for Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities programs are the basis for the hold harmless provisions. In addition, for fiscal year 1995, the number of children aged birth through 2 who would have been eligible for the former Chapter 1 (SOP) Handicapped Program will be used to distribute $34,000,000 of the funds appropriated for Part H. The December 1, 1994 count will be presented in the 18th Annual Report to Congress.

This chapter consists of the six sections summarized below.

Formula Grant Programs describes the financial assistance provided to States in educating children and youth with disabilities under two Federal programs, Part B and Chapter 1 (SOP) during the 1993-94 school year.
Number of Children and Youth Served under Part B and Chapter 1 (SOP) reports the number of children and youth with disabilities from birth through age 21 receiving services under these two programs during the 1993-94 school year and describes trends over time.
Educational Placements of Students with Disabilities describes students' educational placements during the 1992-93 school year.
Students with Disabilities Exiting Educational Programs reports the status of students age 14 through 21 who exited educational programs in 1992-93.
Services Anticipated to be Needed by Exiting Students with Disabilities: Results of the PASS Pilot Test reports the results of the pilot test of the Performance Assessment for Self-Sufficiency (PASS) instrument and expert system for reporting data on anticipated service needs.
Personnel Employed and Needed to Serve Students with Disabilities reports the number of teachers and other personnel employed and needed to serve students with disabilities during the 1992-93 school year. Revisions to the collection of data on personnel employed and needed are discussed.

¹ See table 2.6 for a State by State listing of the age at which children are eligible for FAPE.

² For simplicity, these two laws will be referred to as Part B and Chapter 1 (SOP) throughout this report.

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[Executive Summary]

[Formula Grant Programs]