IDEA Compliance Report Card – 2023
How well are we educating our disabled children in the US?
It is a hard question to answer, but we can use US Department of Education data to make a start. This is the first part of the Disability Almanac report on the state of Special Education in the US for 2023.
IDEA, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, was passed in 1975 – 48 years ago. Yet, this year, in 2023, only 23 US states and territories are actually in full compliance with the law (see IDEA History).
We come a long way since it wasn’t even required to educate “Disabled Learners” before IDEA passed, but we still have a long way to go. IDEA compliance, and strengthening IDEA itself, is a key foundation for progress.
What is IDEA Compliance?
IDEA Compliance is not a measure of whether a state is doing a good job of educating its disabled children, but it measures how well the state complies with data reporting and VERY minimal performance requirements.
IDEA Compliance is like passing the written test for your driver’s license – it doesn’t mean you are a good driver, but at least you know the rules of the road.
This is not a high bar.
Every year, the US Department of Education reviews data from each US state and territory and responds with a letter to address the 2 major parts of IDEA:
- Part B – for students 3 to 21 – through high school. IDEA doesn’t yet address college, vocational, or technical schools
- Part C – for children under 3 – early intervention programs
The states receive a letter along with one of 5 “grades”:
- Meets the requirements and purposes of IDEA;
- Needs assistance in implementing the requirements of IDEA (first year);
- Needs assistance in implementing the requirements of IDEA for more than 2 years in a row;
- Needs intervention in implementing the requirements of IDEA;
- Needs substantial intervention in implementing the requirements of IDEA.
This year, the report came out from the Department of Education on 26 June 2023 – 2023 DETERMINATION LETTERS ON STATE IMPLEMENTATION OF IDEA.
In the summer when no one is thinking about school.
Didn’t you hear about it?
It didn’t get much press.
The number of states and territories that are “in compliance” was pretty abysmal. So, I went back through the data available online and pulled together a cumulative “report card” for the US and each state. I hope this spurs some discussion and, more importantly, meaningful change.
2023 US IDEA Compliance Summary Report Card

2023 State and Territory Status Summary
IDEA Part B – School Age Children Ages 3 to 21:
Meets requirements:
- Alabama
- Arkansas
- Connecticut
- Florida
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Massachusetts
- Minnesota
- Missouri
- Nebraska
- New Jersey
- Ohio
- Pennsylvania
- Republic of the Marshall Islands
- Rhode Island
- South Dakota
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
Needs Assistance – 1 year:
- Georgia
- Maine
- New Hampshire
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Virginia
Needs Assistance – 2+ years:
- Alaska
- American Samoa
- Arizona
- California
- Colorado
- Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands
- Delaware
- District Of Columbia
- Guam
- Hawaii
- Iowa
- Louisiana
- Maryland
- Michigan
- Mississippi
- Montana
- Nevada
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Puerto Rico
- Republic of Palau
- South Carolina
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virgin Islands
Needs intervention:
- Bureau of Indian Education
- Federated States of Micronesia
IDEA Part C – Infants and Toddlers under Age 3:
Meets requirements:
- Alabama
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- Connecticut
- Georgia
- Kansas
- Nebraska
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Puerto Rico
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
Needs assistance 1 year:
- Alaska
- Colorado
- District of Columbia
- Idaho
- Kentucky
- Massachusetts
- Maryland
- Maine
- Minnesota
- North Carolina
- Nevada
- Pennsylvania
Needs assistance 2+ years:
- American Samoa
- California
- Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands
- Delaware
- Florida
- Guam
- Hawaii
- Illinois
- Iowa
- Louisiana
- Michigan
- Missouri
- Montana
- Rhode Island
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virgin Islands
Needs intervention:
- Indiana
- Mississippi
Sigh, this probably needs a chart.
Top US States and Territories for IDEA Compliance 2017 to 2023

Bottom US States and Territories for IDEA Compliance 2017 to 2023

Why Red for Needs Assistance 2+ years?
I tagged the states that need assistance for more than 1 year as this is a good indicator of an ongoing problem. States that are in full compliance with IDEA tend to stay there and those that “need assistance” for 2 or more years also tend to stay there.
The existing reporting loses the important information that states that need assistance for any length of time tend NOT to get better.
Again, IDEA Compliance is not a high standard. It is fulfilling the basic bureaucratic mandates of IDEA.
(On a personal note, it is particularly distressing as a Californian to see my state not ever being in full compliance with IDEA during the period of available online reports.)
It should be disheartening to all of us that 48 years after this law – which provides minimum protections and support for educating our disabled learners – passed; we have so few states and territories actually complying with its basics.
Alabama IDEA Compliance Report Card for 2023

Alaska IDEA Compliance Report Card for 2023

American Samoa IDEA Compliance Report Card for 2023

Arizona IDEA Compliance Report Card for 2023

Arkansas IDEA Compliance Report Card for 2023

Bureau of Indian Affairs IDEA Compliance Report Card for 2023

California IDEA Compliance Report Card for 2023

Colorado IDEA Compliance Report Card for 2023

Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands IDEA Compliance Report Card for 2023

Connecticut IDEA Compliance Report Card for 2023

Delaware IDEA Compliance Report Card for 2023

District of Columbia IDEA Compliance Report Card for 2023

Federated States of Micronesia IDEA Compliance Report Card for 2023

Florida IDEA Compliance Report Card for 2023

Georgia IDEA Compliance Report Card for 2023

Guam IDEA Compliance Report Card for 2023

Hawaii IDEA Compliance Report Card for 2023

Idaho IDEA Compliance Report Card for 2023

Illinois IDEA Compliance Report Card for 2023

Indiana IDEA Compliance Report Card for 2023

Iowa IDEA Compliance Report Card for 2023

Kansas IDEA Compliance Report Card for 2023

Kentucky IDEA Compliance Report Card for 2023

Louisiana IDEA Compliance Report Card for 2023

Maine IDEA Compliance Report Card for 2023

Maryland IDEA Compliance Report Card for 2023

Massachusetts IDEA Compliance Report Card for 2023

Michigan IDEA Compliance Report Card for 2023

Minnesota IDEA Compliance Report Card for 2023

Mississippi IDEA Compliance Report Card for 2023

Missouri IDEA Compliance Report Card for 2023

Montana IDEA Compliance Report Card for 2023

Nebraska IDEA Compliance Report Card for 2023

Nevada IDEA Compliance Report Card for 2023

New Hampshire IDEA Compliance Report Card for 2023

New Jersey IDEA Compliance Report Card for 2023

New Mexico IDEA Compliance Report Card for 2023

New York IDEA Compliance Report Card for 2023

North Carolina IDEA Compliance Report Card for 2023

North Dakota IDEA Compliance Report Card for 2023

Ohio IDEA Compliance Report Card for 2023

Oklahoma IDEA Compliance Report Card for 2023

Oregon IDEA Compliance Report Card for 2023

Pennsylvania IDEA Compliance Report Card for 2023

Puerto Rico IDEA Compliance Report Card for 2023

Republic of the Marshall Islands IDEA Compliance Report Card for 2023

Republic of Palau IDEA Compliance Report Card for 2023

Rhode Island IDEA Compliance Report Card for 2023

South Carolina IDEA Compliance Report Card for 2023

South Dakota IDEA Compliance Report Card for 2023

Tennessee IDEA Compliance Report Card for 2023

Texas IDEA Compliance Report Card for 2023

Utah IDEA Compliance Report Card for 2023

Vermont IDEA Compliance Report Card for 2023

Virginia IDEA Compliance Report Card for 2023

Virgin Islands IDEA Compliance Report Card for 2023

Washington IDEA Compliance Report Card for 2023

West Virginia IDEA Compliance Report Card for 2023

Wisconsin IDEA Compliance Report Card for 2023

Wyoming IDEA Compliance Report Card for 2023

Get a copy of this report / future reports from Disability Almanac
References
2023 Determination Letters on State Implementation of IDEA
2022 Determination Letters on State Implementation of IDEA
2021 DETERMINATION LETTERS ON STATE IMPLEMENTATION OF IDEA
2020 DETERMINATION LETTERS ON STATE IMPLEMENTATION OF IDEA
2019 Determination Letters on State Implementation of IDEA
2018 Determination Letters on State Implementation of IDEA
Department releases 2017 Determination Letters on state implementation of IDEA
State Performance Plans (SPP) Letters and Annual Performance Report (APR) Letters