Changes in American Special Education Population Characteristics
The Special Education Process in Pennsylvania and on national level has experienced much change in recent years and will only continue to evolve as new teaching methods are discovered and implemented as well as other interactive strategies and learning tools.
The Premier Source for Developmental Disability News recently released an article discussing a few points of change in special education demographics throughout the United States. The article is based on information provided by the National Center for Education Statistics and while informative, it is only a mere reflection of the current composition of students with disabilities.
Based on the article, special education in the United States has seen significant growth since the 1970s and up to the present. While the percentage of special education students in the U.S. has mostly been consistent over the last few years, the characteristics of these students with disabilities are far from consistent. One example of the fluctuation of special education demographics relates to students in public schools with autism. For data representative of 2007-2008, the amount of autistic students in public schools has tripled since the 2000-01 school year, making up 0.6% of the public school population. For the equivalent time frame, the percentage of intellectually disabled students decreased from 1.3% to 1%.
Data from the study also emphasizes that 95% of students with disabilities attend public schools and only 3% receive an education at schools designated specifically for certain disabilities. The remaining special education student demographic attends traditional private schools (1%) and an even lower amount of students receive education through homeschooling, or at a medical or correctional establishment.
Deciding what is in the best interest of a child with a disability in terms of their education is not something to take lightly. This is one of many reasons why some lawyers who practice Special Education Law often offer informative presentations, such as one reported by North Jersey coming up in New Jersey called “Navigating the Alphabet Soup of Special Education,” for parents regarding basic rights and remedies for special education. Keep an eye out for free and public meetings similar to this one in your city to further educate yourself on special education and what options are available for your child and their education endeavors.
