Patterns of Identification and Outcomes for Children and Youth with Disabilities

Contractor: SRI International and the DMA Corporation

Background/Research Questions:

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA 2004) is the most recent authorization of a law passed in 1975 to promote a free appropriate public education for children with disabilities. Funded at $12.0 billion in FY 2008, IDEA supports early intervention services for infants and toddlers, special education services for children ages 3 through 21, and early intervening services for students not in special education but in need of academic or behavioral support. IES is conducting studies under Section 664 of IDEA 2004 to assess the implementation and effectiveness of key programs and services supported under the law.

IDEA 2004 emphasizes the early and appropriate identification of children with disabilities, the improvement of outcomes (including performance on state academic assessments) for children receiving IDEA services, and the provision of IDEA services by qualified staff. This task, part of the National Assessment of IDEA 2004, is supporting the analysis of extant data as a cost-effective means of examining patterns of identification, outcomes, staffing, and provision of services for children with disabilities. The contractor will address the following research questions targeting four topic areas:

• Identification for early intervention and special education: What is the variation in the percentage of children identified for early intervention and special education services over time and by age, gender, race/ethnicity, and disability classifications? What is the variation across States and over time in the percentage of children that has been identified for early intervention or special education under IDEA?
• Outcomes for children with disabilities: How do academic and developmental outcomes for children with disabilities served under IDEA compare with children not identified for services under IDEA? How do these outcomes for children with disabilities vary by disability classifications within age groups and over time?
• Early intervention and special education services: What early intervention, special education, and related services are children in various age and disability categories receiving, and in what settings?
• Early intervention and special education personnel: How do the number (per child served) and the certification of early intervention, special education, and related services personnel vary by personnel type, across States and over time?

Design:

The studies performed under this contract involve the synthesis of existing evidence and new analyses of extant data sources to address the research questions above. Priority is being given to completing studies on outcomes and identification, to be followed by studies on services and personnel.

Among the extant data sources being used for the study are the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), data from State academic assessments of children with disabilities, Section 618 data submitted by States to ED to track IDEA 2004 implementation, Census Bureau population estimates, and data gathered from four national longitudinal studies of children with disabilities (National Early Intervention Longitudinal Study, Pre-Elementary Education Longitudinal Study, Special Education Elementary Longitudinal Study, and National Longitudinal Transition Study-2).

Duration: 42 months (August 7, 2007 to February 7, 2011).

Current Status:

The contractor is preparing a report on patterns of identification and outcomes for children with disabilities. Final reports from this study will be announced on http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/.