Celebrating the 40th Anniversary of IDEA

This video was first developed for the Celebration of the 35th Anniversary to document the history of IDEA. While the critical message the video conveys are still historically accurate, the data points have changed in the past 10 years. Below are the updated data points as of 2020:
- The number infants, toddlers, children, and youth with disabilities from birth through age 21 served under the IDEA has increased from 3,694,000 in the 1976-77 school year to 7,539,553 in the 2018-19 school year (or over 3 million to over 7 million).
- In 2018-19, 95% of students with disabilities were educated in a school.
- More than 6 million students with disabilities received services in a general education classroom at least part of the day.
- The number of infant and toddlers served under IDEA, Part C has increased from 154,065 in 1993-94 to 410,887 in 2018-19.
- The percent of students with disabilities exiting school ages 14 through 21 who graduated with a regular diploma has increased from 52% in the 1994-95 school year to 72.7% in the 2017-18 school year.
- The percent of students with disabilities exiting school ages 14 through 21 who dropped out has decreased from 34% In the 1994-95 school year to 16% In the 2017-18 school year