Special Ed Enrollment Tops 8 Million Nationwide

New data shows that the number of U.S. children eligible for services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act jumped significantly.

Nearly 8.2 million kids ages 3 to 21 qualified for special education services in 2024. That’s an increase of more than 300,000 compared to the previous year and continues a pattern of rising enrollment in the program since the COVID-19 pandemic.

The figures come from an analysis of newly released U.S. Department of Education data that was conducted by The Advocacy Institute, a nonprofit that focuses on improving the lives of people with disabilities.

The group said that an increase in the number of children with autism accounted for 40% of the growth in special education enrollment.

Overall, a third of school-age students in special education were categorized as having a specific learning disability while about 17% had speech/language impairment, 16% had “other health impairment,” nearly 15% had autism and 5.5% had intellectual disability.

Another factor contributing to the spike in special education enrollment is a big bump in students qualifying for IDEA services in Texas, likely due to new requirements for serving children with dyslexia in that state, according to The Advocacy Institute.

Among students in special education across the country, more than 68% spent at least 80% of their day in mainstream classrooms, the data shows, a figure that is up slightly since 2020.

Meanwhile, the report indicates that fewer young children with disabilities received services. The number of kids from birth to age 2 served under IDEA dropped 1% in 2024.

Typically, the Education Department includes special education enrollment data in its annual report to Congress, which is required under IDEA, but The Advocacy Institute notes that no report was issued in 2025.