A growing number of students in the nation’s public school system are identified as having disabilities, according to comprehensive new federal data that also highlights deeply entrenched disparities in how these children experience disciplinary actions, including physical restraint and seclusion.
The findings are part of the U.S. Department of Education’s most recent civil rights data collection, which offers an expansive look at equity and access across the country’s educational landscape. According to the report, students with disabilities now account for 19% of the nearly 50 million children enrolled in public schools nationwide. This figure reflects a notable upward tick compared to data from just two years prior, when students with disabilities made up 17% of the public school population.
The newly released figures are derived from exhaustive reports submitted by 17,591 school districts, representing more than 97,000 individual schools across the United States during the 2023–2024 academic year. While the U.S. Department of Education initially published raw numbers from this collection in August, the agency has now shared a detailed analytical report highlighting key trends and findings on a national scale.
The Office for Civil Rights within the Education Department routinely conducts this extensive data collection cycle every two years. The survey reaches out to all public school districts, charter schools, alternative learning environments, juvenile justice facilities, and other educational entities that receive federal financial assistance. It mandates reporting across a broad spectrum of metrics, encompassing student enrollment figures, student access to advanced academic courses and qualified teachers, disciplinary practices, and various other indicators of educational equity.
A Closer Look at the Legal Framework and Demographics
According to the Department of Education’s findings, the nearly 19% of students receiving specialized support are categorized under two primary federal frameworks. Approximately 15% of public school students receive specialized services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, commonly known as IDEA. Meanwhile, another 4% of students receive accommodations and services under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which ensures that students with physical or mental impairments that substantially limit a major life activity have equal access to an education.
The newly released report underscores that roughly 7.6 million students with disabilities ranging from preschool through high school are currently served under IDEA. A demographic breakdown of these students reveals that roughly two-thirds of the children receiving services under IDEA are boys, highlighting persistent gender disparities in special education identifications.
The steady increase in the percentage of identified students reflects ongoing shifts in how public schools diagnose, evaluate, and support children with diverse learning needs, developmental delays, and medical conditions. However, educational advocates and civil rights organizations emphasize that a larger population of students with disabilities also brings renewed urgency to examining how these children are treated once they step inside the classroom, particularly when it comes to disciplinary policies and school safety measures.
Disproportionate Disciplinary Actions and Restraint
While the growing identification of students with disabilities demonstrates an increasing commitment to recognizing diverse learning needs, the data reveals alarming trends regarding how these students are disciplined compared to their non-disabled peers. The statistics surrounding exclusionary discipline, physical restraint, and seclusion paint a troubling picture of systemic inequities within the nation’s classrooms.
According to the federal data, children with individualized education programs—commonly referred to as IEPs, which are governed by IDEA—account for just 15% of the total public school population. Yet, despite being a minority of the student body, they bear a staggering proportion of the most severe and restrictive disciplinary measures administered in schools.
Specifically, students with IEPs represent 68% of all children who experience seclusion, a practice where a student is involuntarily isolated in a room or area from which they are prevented from leaving. Even more concerning, these same students account for 73% of all children who are physically restrained by school personnel.
The disparities extend well beyond seclusion and restraint into traditional forms of school discipline. Students with disabilities account for approximately a quarter of all students who receive either in-school suspensions or out-of-school suspensions. Furthermore, they represent 23% of all students who face expulsions from their educational environments.
Advocacy Groups Sound the Alarm
These stark disparities have drawn sharp criticism from national advocacy organizations dedicated to protecting the rights of vulnerable students. Denise Marshall, CEO of the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates—widely known as COPAA, a prominent nonprofit organization that champions the legal and civil rights of students with disabilities and their families—spoke out forcefully following the release of the report.
Marshall pointed out that the numbers confirm a long-standing, painful reality for families navigating the public education system. She emphasized that systemic biases continue to place certain groups of children at a severe disadvantage, compounding vulnerabilities based on both disability status and race.
“Students with disabilities and students who are black are still subjected to disproportionately high exclusionary discipline, restraint and seclusion,” Marshall said, addressing the intersectional nature of the data.
She added that every instance in which a school relies on exclusionary practices represents a fundamental breakdown in the educational process. When a child is pushed out of the classroom or physically restricted, the primary mission of the school—to provide instruction and foster growth—is abandoned.
“Every time schools resort to suspending, restraining or secluding, the child is not learning,” Marshall noted. “The program has failed them. We know there are better, evidence-based alternatives available and we need to use them. Just reporting out the data is not enough.”
The release of the comprehensive civil rights data collection serves as a critical mirror for educational leaders, policymakers, and communities across the country. As school districts digest the findings from the 2023–2024 academic year, pressure is mounting from advocates and families to move beyond merely documenting these inequities and to implement concrete, evidence-based interventions that reduce reliance on restraint, seclusion, and exclusionary discipline, ensuring that every student receives a safe, inclusive, and equitable education.
