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 - 1996

Chapter 1

School-Age Students with Disabilities Served, 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 have access to a free appropriate public education (FAPE) that is determined on an individual basis and designed to meet their unique needs. This education must be provided in the least restrictive environment (LRE), and the rights of the child and family are protected through procedural safeguards.

IDEA also requires the Secretary of Education to determine how well the States are fulfilling these requirements. To determine how well the States are providing FAPE to students with disabilities, several data sources are used. One of those sources is the State-reported data required 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. States also provide data on educational placements (which are included in Chapter 3 of this report), the exiting status for students with disabilities, and the number of personnel employed and needed to serve these students. Information on monitoring, compliance, and procedural safeguards is reported in Chapter 5.

This chapter consists of the five main sections described below.

Formula Grant Program describes the financial assistance provided to States in educating children and youth with disabilities under IDEA, Part B.
Number and Disabilities of Children and Youth Served Under IDEA, Part B reports the number of children and youth with disabilities ages 3-21 receiving services under IDEA, Part B during the 1994-95 school year, and describes trends over time in the number of children served.
Students with Disabilities Exiting Special Education reports the status of students ages 14-21 who exited special education programs in 1993-94.
Services Anticipated to Be Needed by Exiting Students with Disabilities: Results of the Second PASS Field Test reports the results of the second field test of the Performance Assessment for Self-Sufficiency (PASS) instrument and expert system for reporting data on anticipated service needs.
Personnel Serving Students with Disabilities reports the number of teachers and other personnel employed and needed to serve students with disabilities during the 1993-94 school year. Revisions to the collection of data on personnel employed and needed are discussed.

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[Executive Summary]

[Formula Grant Program]