In The Politics of Autism, I write about special education and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
Twenty-nine states and the District of Columbia need some degree of support in meeting the requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, according to the U.S. Department of Education's most recent evaluation of state performance.
For the third year in a row, the Education Department evaluated states on the academic outcomes of students 3-21 with disabilities—so-called "results" data—in addition to how well the states met the rules and regulations spelled out in the IDEA.
States were measured on the percentage of students with disabilities participating in state tests and in the National Assessment of Educational Progress, or NAEP; the percentage of students with disabilities scoring at or above basic on NAEP; the percentage of students who dropped out; and the percentage of students with disabilities who graduated with a regular high school diploma.
Twenty-one states were in the category of "meets requirements," an increase of two states from last year. The remaining states were in the categories of "needs assistance" or "needs intervention," each of which comes with some level of increased help or oversight by the department. No state was in the lowest category, "needs substantial intervention."
