OSEP Fast Facts: OSEP Releases Two New Fast Facts on IDEA Section 618 Data Collected on Children with Disabilities Served Under IDEA in the Time of the COVID-19 Pandemic

IDEA Section 618 Data Collected on Children with Disabilities Served Under IDEA, Part C During the Time of the COVID-19 Pandemic

By the Office of Special Education Programs 

The Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) released two new OSEP Fast Facts that take a closer look at the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Section 618 data submitted for School Year (SY) 2020-21 and fall 2021: 

The Part C infographics looks at data related to infants and toddlers, birth through age 2, with disabilities, and the Part B infographic looks at data related to children and youth, ages 3 through 21, with disabilities. 

In these infographics, OSEP highlights examples of state-submitted data notes that reference the impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on these data collections.   

Highlights from IDEA Section 618 Data Collected on Children with Disabilities Served Under IDEA, Part C During the Time of the COVID-19 Pandemic 

  • There was close to a 15% drop in the number of infants and toddlers served under IDEA, Part C in 2020-21. In 2021-22, the number served was back to 95% of the number of infants and toddlers served in 2019. 
  • There was a decrease in the percent of infants and toddlers receiving services in a community-based setting and an increase in those receiving services in the home setting from 2019-20 to 2021-22.  
  • There has been a steady increase in the number of infants and toddlers who reached age three, exiting IDEA, Part C from 2016-17 to 2019-20 and then nearly a 9% drop in 2020-21.   
  • There was an overall drop in written signed complaints, mediations, and due process complaints filed in 2020-21. 

Highlights from IDEA Section 618 Data Collected on Children with Disabilities Served Under IDEA, Part B During the Time of the COVID-19 Pandemic 

  • There was a less than 1% drop in the number of children with disabilities, ages 3-21, served under IDEA, Part B from SY 2019-20 to SY 2020-21. In SY 2021-22, the number served under Part B increased above the number served in SY 2019-20. 
  • The Department of Education (ED) waived the reporting of the statewide assessments in SY 2019-20, and ED offered states flexibilities regarding the timing, length and type of administration of assessments in SY 2020-21. Therefore, assessment data for SY 2020-21 may not be comparable to other years. A visualization in the Fast Fact explores the uncertainty of the assessment data during this time. 
  • After a slight upward trend in the number of total disciplinary removals of children with disabilities, ages 3-21, from SY 2016-17 to SY 2018-19 there was a 73% drop in disciplinary removals from 2018-19 to 2020-21. 
  • There was an overall drop in the number of written signed complaints and mediations in SY 2020-21. However, the trend in the number of total due process complaints filed increased over time from SY 2016-17 to SY 2020-21. 

Visit the OSEP Fast Facts page for existing and future Fast Facts.


Blog articles provide insights on the activities of schools, programs, grantees, and other education stakeholders to promote continuing discussion of educational innovation and reform. Articles do not endorse any educational product, service, curriculum or pedagogy.

Voices from the Field: Interview with Kodey Toney

Toney Kodey

Kodey Toney is the director of the Pervasive Parenting Center, an OSEP-funded Community Parent Resource Center in eastern Oklahoma that helps families support their children with disabilities. He is also the aRPy ambassador for Oklahoma. Most importantly he is a father and husband. He and his wife Jennifer have two sons, Konner and Kruz. Kodey has received multiple awards for his advocacy and has helped to train more than 3000 educators on autism behavior in the classroom and disability acceptance. Kodey has a Bachelor’s Degree in Liberal Arts from Rogers State University and a Master’s Degree in Education Administration from East Central University. He is also a graduate of the Oklahoma Developmental Disabilities Council’s Partners in Policymaking program and William and Mary’s Institute of Special Education Advocacy.

Read More

Discipline Discussions: Preparing Future Educators to Proactively, Positively Address Behavior

Preparing Future Educators to Proactively Positively Address Behavior

Valerie C. Williams Director, Office of Special Education Programs Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services

By Valerie C. Williams
Director, Office of Special Education Programs

Recently, I asked my sixth-grade son to complete this sentence: School is a place where I ______.

Without hesitation, Matthew responded, “School is a place where I go to learn and have fun.” Matthew is my 12-year-old son who happens to have Down Syndrome. His journey has been shaped by the dedicated educators and instructional support personnel who have held high expectations for his success and growth, and I see their efforts echoed in Matthew’s perspective about school.

Read More

From Middle School Student Volunteer to Assistant Secretary: Meet OSERS Assistant Secretary Glenna Wright-Gallo

Glenna Wright-Gallo, Assistant Secretary, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services

By Kristen Kushiyama, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services

The U.S. Department of Education welcomed Glenna Wright-Gallo as the assistant secretary for the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS), May 15.

Wright-Gallo, confirmed by the U.S. Senate as OSERS assistant secretary, May 10, 2023, has spent more than 25 years supporting students and adults with disabilities.

Read More

Voices from the Field: Interview with Jonathan Stricklen

Voices From the Field - Interview with Jonathan Stricklen

Jonathan Stricklen

Jonathan Stricklen

Jonathan Stricklen teaches Spanish at the Ohio State School for the Blind. He holds master’s degrees in Spanish and Special Education and is a certified Teacher of Students with Visual Impairments (TVI). Combining his specialized knowledge and skills with his lived experience as a person with visual impairment, an assistive technology user, and a braille reader, Jon is uniquely positioned both to teach and to be a role-model for his students. During the month of May, in recognition of Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD), OSERS has been highlighting challenges and successes related to digital accessibility. We met with Jon to learn more about his experiences with accessibility as an educator.

Read More

Discipline Discussions: Suspension, Expulsion & Informal Removals: Unexpected Realities in Preschool

Discipline and Behavior Series -- Suspension, Expulsion & Informal Removals: Unexpected Realities in Preschool

Play. Learn. Grow.

Valerie C. Williams Director, Office of Special Education Programs Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services

By Valerie C. Williams
Director, Office of Special Education Programs

These are the words that come to mind when I think about preschool and our youngest learners. But the reality is far different for many children and their families: suspensions, expulsions and other forms of exclusionary discipline remove children from their preschool environment and create stressful and isolating experiences.

Read More

Why I Teach: Paraeducator to Interagency Coordination Specialist

National Teacher Appreciation Week, May 8–12, 2023

This Teacher Appreciation Week, a few Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) Scholars who completed their degree programs with support from a Personnel Development to Improve Services for Children with Disabilities (ALN 84.325) discretionary grant administered by the Office of Special Education Programs shared “Why I Teach.”


Dana Page, Ph.D.

By: Dana Page, Ph.D.

I began my career in special education in 2006 as a long-term paraeducator. I was hired full time the following school year and worked as a paraeducator for many years before becoming a certified teacher. I taught students with emotional/behavioral disorders and loved it!

I also noticed how there weren’t many teachers who looked like me in the school building let alone the district. I wanted that to change as well as the disparities within special education related to the intersectionality of disability and race/ethnicity. This prompted me to pursue my doctoral degree at the University of Louisville where I received an OSEP Leadership Grant.

Read More

Why I Teach: Training the Next Generation of Educators and Scholars

National Teacher Appreciation Week, May 8–12, 2023

This Teacher Appreciation Week, a few Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) Scholars who completed their degree programs with support from a Personnel Development to Improve Services for Children with Disabilities (ALN 84.325) discretionary grant administered by the Office of Special Education Programs shared “Why I Teach.”


Elaine Smolen, Ph.D., CED, LSLS Cert. AVEd

By: Elaine Smolen, Ph.D., CED, LSLS Cert. AVEd

I teach to ensure that every child who is deaf or hard of hearing can achieve their goals through language and literacy. I am hard of hearing, and I was proud to serve as a role model for my students when I worked as a classroom and itinerant teacher of the deaf. Now a Columbia University faculty member, I train the next generation of educators and scholars who will continue to revolutionize the field of deaf and hard of hearing education.

Read More

Why I Teach: Helping Students Transition from High School to Their Futures

National Teacher Appreciation Week, May 8–12, 2023

This Teacher Appreciation Week, a few Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) Scholars who completed their degree programs with support from a Personnel Development to Improve Services for Children with Disabilities (ALN 84.325) discretionary grant administered by the Office of Special Education Programs shared “Why I Teach.”


Joanna Alvarez

By: Joanna Alvarez

I teach because my commitment to students in special education is my purpose of being a lifelong learner.

When my little brother was diagnosed with a disability six years ago, I was committed to learning how to support him in navigating his academic journey. I share the same commitment with my students in the classroom today.

Read More