Exhibit ES.6. Trends in national percentage of preschool-age children identified for services under IDEA, by age (1997–2006)
Exhibit reads: Nationwide, the percentage of 3-year-olds identified for services under IDEA increased from 2.88 percent in 1997 to 4.01 percent in 2006.
NOTE: The percentage of children who were identified was calculated by dividing the number of children identified for services under IDEA (DANS) in a given age group by the total number of children in the same age group as indicated by the NVSS-constructed population proxy. The numbers of children identified in the exhibit are aggregated counts of children identified for services under IDEA at a single time point between October 1 and December 1 of each year. These annual counts include both children newly identified in the year represented by the count and children identified in earlier years who continue to receive services under IDEA. Data represent the counts for the 50 states and the District of Columbia, including Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) schools. The total number of children is a population proxy constructed with National Vital Statistics System (NVSS) birth data, including births on Indian reservations.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs, Data Analysis System (DANS), Part B, Child Count, 1997–2006, retrieved December 7, 2007, from http://www.ideadata.org/PartBChildCount.asp; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics, National Vital Statistics System, 1990–2005, retrieved January 11, 2008, from http://209.217.72.34/VitalStats/ReportFolders/ReportFolders.aspx.