Schools throughout the United States served 6,676,974 students in 2015-16 under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), the law that governs special education services provided to school-aged children with disabilities.
Numbers from the federal government's Digest of Education Statistics show that nationwide, 13.2 percent of students in public schools received services under IDEA.
California, the most populous state, also had the most students receiving services under IDEA—727,718. But in other states, the numbers of those served under IDEA does not align with the overall student population.
New York state had 499,551 students served under IDEA, while Texas, with twice as many public students, had 463,238 students served under IDEA. New York is the state with the highest percentage of students receiving services under IDEA —18.4 percent—and Texas had the lowest percentage—8.7 percent.
Here are the 10 states with the most students receiving services under IDEA.
