Fast Facts

Question:
How many students with disabilities receive services?

Response:
Slowly increasing numbers and proportions of children are being served in programs for the disabled. During the 1993� school year, 12 percent of students were served in these programs compared with 14 percent in 2003�. Some of the rise since 1993� may be attributed to the increasing proportion of children identified as having speech or language impairments, which rose from 2.3 percent of enrollment to 3.0 percent of enrollment; other health impairments (having limited strength, vitality, or alertness due to chronic or acute health problems, such as a heart condition, tuberculosis, rheumatic fever, nephritis, asthma, sickle cell anemia, hemophilia, epilepsy, lead poisoning, leukemia, or diabetes), which rose from 0.2 to 1.0 percent of enrollment; and autism and traumatic brain injury, which rose from 0.1 to 0.4 percent of enrollment.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics (2006). Digest of Education Statistics, 2005 (NCES 2006-030), Chapter 2.

Children 3 to 21 years old served in federally supported programs for the disabled, by type of disability: Selected years, 1976-77 through 2003-04
Type of Disability	1976-77	1980-81	1990-91	1993-94	1999-2000	2002-03	2003-04
Number served (in thousands)
	All disabilities	3,694	4,144	4,710	5,216	6,190	6,523	6,634
Specific learning disabilities	796	1,462	2,129	2,408	2,830	2,848	2,831
Speech or language impairments	1,302	1,168	985	1,014	1,078	1,412	1,441
Mental retardation	961	830	534	536	600	602	593
Emotional disturbance	283	347	389	414	468	485	489
Hearing impairments	88	79	58	64	70	78	79
Orthopedic impairments	87	58	49	56	71	83	77
Other health impairments	141	98	55	82	254	403	464
Visual impairments	38	31	23	24	26	29	28
Multiple disabilities	-	68	96	108	111	138	140
Deaf-blindness	-	3	1	1	2	2	2
Autism and traumatic brain injury	-	-	-	24	80	159	186
Developmental delay	-	-	-	-	19	283	305
Preschool disabled¹	-	-	390	486	582	�/td>	�/td>
Number served as a percent of total enrollment²
	All disabilities	8.3	10.1	11.4	12.0	13.2	13.5	13.7
Specific learning disabilities	1.8	3.6	5.2	5.5	6.0	5.9	5.8
Speech or language impairments	2.9	2.9	2.4	2.3	2.3	2.9	3.0
Mental retardation	2.2	2.0	1.3	1.2	1.3	1.2	1.2
Emotional disturbance	0.6	0.8	0.9	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0
Hearing impairments	0.2	0.2	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.2	0.2
Orthopedic impairments	0.2	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.2	0.2	0.2
Other health impairments	0.3	0.2	0.1	0.2	0.5	0.8	1.0
Visual impairments	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1
Multiple disabilities	-	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.3	0.3
Deaf-blindness	-	#	#	#	#	#	#
Autism and traumatic brain injury	-	-	-	0.1	0.2	0.3	0.4
Developmental delay	-	-	-	-	#	0.6	0.6
Preschool disabled¹	-	-	0.9	1.1	1.2	�/td>	�/td>

- Not available.
� Not applicable.
# Rounds to zero.
¹Includes preschool children 3-5 years served under Chapter I and IDEA, Part B. Prior to 1987-88, these students were included in the counts by disability condition. Beginning in 1987-88, states were no longer required to report preschool children (0-5 years) by disability condition. Beginning in 2002-03, preschool children were again identified by disability condition.
²Based on the total enrollment in public schools, prekindergarten through 12th grade.

NOTE: Includes students served under Chapter I and Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), formerly the Education of the Handicapped Act. Prior to October 1994, children and youth with disabilities were served under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Part B, and Chapter 1 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. In October 1994, Congress passed the Improving America's Schools Act, in which funding for children and youth with disabilities was consolidated under IDEA, Part B. Data reported in this table for years prior to 1993-94 include children ages 0-21 served under Chapter 1. Counts are based on reports from the 50 states and the District of Columbia only (i.e., figures from outlying areas are not included). Increases since 1987-88 are due in part to new legislation enacted in fall 1986, which mandates public school special education services for all disabled children ages 3 through 5, in addition to age groups previously mandated. Some data have been revised from previously published figures. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics (2006). Digest of Education Statistics, 2005 (NCES 2006-030), Table 50.

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