In Pennsylvania, 21.1% of public school students were served in special education in the 2022-23 school year. In Hawaii, the figure was 11.7%, according to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). Divide 21.1 by 11.7 and Pennsylvania's rate comes out about 1.8 times Hawaii's.
Nationally, 7.5 million students ages 3 to 21 were served under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) that year, equal to 15.2% of public school enrollment, NCES reported. IDEA is a 1975 federal law that requires a free, appropriate public education for eligible students with disabilities from age 3 through 21.
Newer state reports to the U.S. Department of Education show the count still climbing. The 50 states and the District of Columbia reported 8,081,816 students served in 2024-25. That is 555,875 more than the 7,525,941 counted in 2022-23, an increase of 7.4%. Public school enrollment slipped from 49.6 million in fall 2022 to 49.5 million in fall 2023, according to NCES.
Highest and lowest states
Three states passed 20% in 2022-23: Pennsylvania at 21.1%, New York at 20.7%, and Maine at 20.6%. In each, about 1 in 5 public school students was served under IDEA. Massachusetts (19.7%) and Delaware (19.4%) came next.
Hawaii and Idaho (12.1%) were the only states below 12.5%, which works out to fewer than 1 in 8 students. Texas (12.7%) and Maryland (12.9%) had the next-lowest rates. Among U.S. territories, Puerto Rico's rate was 37%, NCES reported.
Texas has changed fastest since then. The state reported 852,699 students served in 2024-25, up from 703,058 in 2022-23. That is 149,641 more students, a 21.3% jump and the largest percentage increase of any state over those two years. The District of Columbia was second at 15.2%. Texas alone accounted for about 27% of the national increase (149,641 divided by 555,875).
The table ranks all 50 states and the District of Columbia by their 2022-23 share, the latest year NCES has published by state. The last two columns show each state's newer count and how much it changed.
| State | Share of public school students served, 2022-23 | Students served, 2022-23 | Students served, 2024-25 | Change in students served |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pennsylvania | 21.1% | 357,917 | 384,878 | +7.5% |
| New York | 20.7% | 524,993 | 558,587 | +6.4% |
| Maine | 20.6% | 35,828 | 37,579 | +4.9% |
| Massachusetts | 19.7% | 182,105 | 194,876 | +7.0% |
| Delaware | 19.4% | 27,502 | 29,243 | +6.3% |
| West Virginia | 18.7% | 46,973 | 50,234 | +6.9% |
| Vermont | 18.5% | 15,471 | 16,354 | +5.7% |
| New Hampshire | 18.3% | 30,917 | 32,324 | +4.6% |
| Indiana | 18.2% | 188,078 | 199,266 | +5.9% |
| Rhode Island | 17.9% | 24,650 | 26,854 | +8.9% |
| New Mexico | 17.8% | 56,195 | 60,536 | +7.7% |
| Wyoming | 17.7% | 16,352 | 16,559 | +1.3% |
| New Jersey | 17.6% | 243,035 | 258,870 | +6.5% |
| Minnesota | 17.5% | 151,845 | 164,717 | +8.5% |
| Connecticut | 17.3% | 88,635 | 94,417 | +6.5% |
| Oklahoma | 17.2% | 120,920 | 127,130 | +5.1% |
| Nebraska | 16.8% | 55,212 | 57,496 | +4.1% |
| District of Columbia | 16.6% | 15,126 | 17,431 | +15.2% |
| Kansas | 16.6% | 81,063 | 82,375 | +1.6% |
| Kentucky | 16.6% | 109,749 | 116,650 | +6.3% |
| Ohio | 16.6% | 278,916 | 294,438 | +5.6% |
| South Dakota | 16.4% | 23,232 | 24,353 | +4.8% |
| Arkansas | 16.3% | 80,226 | 82,245 | +2.5% |
| Illinois | 15.9% | 295,261 | 311,046 | +5.3% |
| Mississippi | 15.7% | 69,280 | 72,004 | +3.9% |
| Oregon | 15.2% | 87,648 | 92,570 | +5.6% |
| Wisconsin | 15.2% | 125,334 | 130,106 | +3.8% |
| Florida | 15.1% | 432,391 | 449,221 | +3.9% |
| North Dakota | 14.9% | 17,654 | 18,381 | +4.1% |
| Alaska | 14.8% | 19,368 | 20,578 | +6.2% |
| Missouri | 14.3% | 127,376 | 131,648 | +3.4% |
| South Carolina | 14.2% | 112,142 | 114,284 | +1.9% |
| Virginia | 14.1% | 177,836 | 189,235 | +6.4% |
| Iowa | 14.0% | 71,801 | 72,623 | +1.1% |
| Montana | 14.0% | 21,112 | 21,546 | +2.1% |
| Michigan | 13.9% | 199,856 | 212,730 | +6.4% |
| Washington | 13.9% | 151,949 | 165,762 | +9.1% |
| California | 13.6% | 805,289 | 870,993 | +8.2% |
| Louisiana | 13.5% | 96,916 | 92,103 | −5.0% |
| Alabama | 13.3% | 99,921 | 108,142 | +8.2% |
| Utah | 13.3% | 91,715 | 96,308 | +5.0% |
| Arizona | 13.2% | 149,811 | 156,856 | +4.7% |
| Georgia | 13.2% | 230,363 | 241,754 | +4.9% |
| Nevada | 13.2% | 64,032 | 69,397 | +8.4% |
| North Carolina | 13.1% | 202,310 | 218,031 | +7.8% |
| Tennessee | 13.1% | 132,339 | 140,731 | +6.3% |
| Colorado | 13.0% | 113,289 | 121,001 | +6.8% |
| Maryland | 12.9% | 114,732 | 123,169 | +7.4% |
| Texas | 12.7% | 703,058 | 852,699 | +21.3% |
| Idaho | 12.1% | 38,298 | 40,914 | +6.8% |
| Hawaii | 11.7% | 19,920 | 20,572 | +3.3% |
| 50 states and DC | 15.2% | 7,525,941 | 8,081,816 | +7.4% |
Source: NCES Digest of Education Statistics, Table 204.70 (2022-23 share and count); U.S. Department of Education, IDEA Part B Child Count and Educational Environments, 2024-25 (2024-25 count). Counts cover students ages 3 to 21. Change compares the 2024-25 count with the 2022-23 count. Ties are listed alphabetically.
How the share is counted
NCES divides the number of students served under IDEA by total public school enrollment in prekindergarten through grade 12. The agency cautions that some students in the IDEA count get their services outside public school settings, so the percentage compares two separate counts.
To qualify, a team of professionals must find that a student has a disability that hurts their academic performance and that they need special education or related services, according to NCES. Families going through that process can read allk12's guides on how to prepare for an IEP meeting and how a 504 plan differs from an IEP.
Which disabilities are most common
Specific learning disabilities were the largest category in 2022-23, at 32% of students served, NCES reported. NCES describes these as disorders in understanding or using spoken or written language, which may show up as trouble listening, thinking, speaking, reading, writing, spelling, or doing math. Speech or language impairments followed at 19%, then other health impairments at 15% and autism at 13%. The "other health" category covers chronic or acute health problems, such as epilepsy or diabetes, that limit a student's strength, vitality, or alertness.
Autism has grown faster than any other category since 2000-01. That year, schools served about 93,000 students under the autism category, 1.5% of everyone served under IDEA. By 2022-23, the number was about 980,000, or 13.0%, according to NCES. That is about 10.5 times as many students (980,000 divided by 93,000).
The 2024-25 Education Department counts put autism at 1,203,124 students, about 15% of those served. Those totals leave out Iowa, which does not report students by disability category. Measured the same way, the autism count grew 22.8% in two years, from 979,462 in 2022-23.
Specific learning disabilities moved in the other direction as a share. They made up 45.4% of students served in 2000-01 and 32.0% in 2022-23, as the count fell from about 2.86 million to 2.41 million. Other health impairments rose from about 303,000 students (4.8%) to 1.15 million (15.3%). When the federal count began in 1976-77, intellectual disability made up 26.0% of students served; by 2022-23 it was 5.8%.
Outside schools, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tracks autism in 8-year-olds. Its latest estimate, from 2022 data, reads: "About 1 in 31 (3.2%) children aged 8 years has been identified with ASD". ASD stands for autism spectrum disorder. The CDC estimate for 2000 was 1 in 150.
There is likely no single cause behind the overall rise in special education counts, K-12 Dive reported in February 2026. Education experts point to several factors, the outlet reported, including more awareness and earlier identification of autism and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, universal screening for some learning disabilities, and closer attention to children's mental well-being.
Sources
NCES: Condition of Education, Students With Disabilities
NCES: Digest of Education Statistics, Table 204.70, Children served under IDEA by state
NCES: Digest of Education Statistics, Table 204.30, Children served under IDEA by type of disability
NCES: Digest of Education Statistics, Table 203.20, Public school enrollment by state
U.S. Department of Education: IDEA Section 618 State Part B Child Count and Educational Environments
CDC: Data and Statistics on Autism Spectrum Disorder
K-12 Dive: Special education enrollment keeps growing. These 3 graphics show how.
State totals for 2024-25 summed from the Education Department's IDEA Part B child count file for ages 3 to 21.
