Population of Children Identified for Services Under IDEA

In 2005, states reported that 7,013,238 children ages birth through 21 years had been identified for early intervention and special education services under IDEA, including both children newly identified in the year represented by the count and children identified in earlier years who continued to receive services. The total number of children identified for each age group is presented in exhibit ES.1 and summarized as follows:

• 294,714 infants and toddlers (ages 0 through 2) were reported by states as having been identified for early intervention services under Part C of IDEA.
• 698,928 preschool-age children (ages 3 through 5) were reported by states as having been identified for preschool-age services under Part B of IDEA.
• 6,019,596 school-age children and youth (ages 6 through 21) were reported by states as having been identified for school-age services under Part B of IDEA.

Data on the gender of children identified for services under IDEA were collected by DANS for the first time in 2006. In each age group, more males than females were identified for services under IDEA. For infants and toddlers, 59.46 percent were male. The composition of males and females identified for services under IDEA was comparable for preschool and school-age children—69.29 percent of children ages 3 through 5 were male, and 66.91 percent of children ages 6 through 21 were male.