| For Immediate Release
August 20, 2004
ISBE releases its first Special Education Performance Annual
Springfield, Ill. - The percent of Illinois students ages
6-21 who receive special education services is up slightly
since 2001 and continues to be higher than the national average.
That information and other findings is contained within the
Illinois State Board of Education's "2003 Annual State
Report on Special Education Performance" which outlines
progress achieved by students with disabilities. The report,
the first of its kind from the agency, is a result of the
Illinois Continuous Improvement Plan (ICIP) which calls for
improved outcomes for students with disabilities.
"This is the first in a series of annual reports that
will ensure that the public and parents are regularly informed
of how we are performing as a state," said State Superintendent
of Education Robert Schiller. "As the 2003 report illustrates,
we are effecting positive change on the special education
Critical Performance Indicators and we are now measuring those
The five-year ICIP addresses five goals that center on school
completion, educational environment, personnel, family involvement,
and general supervision and monitoring.
A U.S. Department of Education grant received in 2002 through
the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) made the data
collection, analysis and report possible. The data will also
be used to measure ISBE performance in accomplishing the goals
of the ICIP, all of which relate to ISBE responsibilities
for general supervision under IDEA.
The initial component of the annual report provides background
information about the state of special education in Illinois
such as number of students served, disability categories and
Other sections of the report focus on critical performance
indicators (CPIs) which are measures of academic achievement:
" High School Completion - Obtaining a high school diploma
carries significant psychological and financial importance
for students with disabilities, as it does for all students.
It becomes important, therefore, to track the level at which
students receiving special education services remain in school
and graduate with a standard diploma."
" Student Performance - Assessing the success of an educational
system with disabilities goes beyond gaining access to educational
opportunities. It must move toward a systemic evaluation of
how well students receiving special education services are
" Educational Environments - This refers to the extent
to which students with disabilities receive special education
and related services in classes or schools with their non-disabled
Highlights of the report include:
- The percent of the Illinois students ages 6-21 receiving
special education services has increased slightly since
2001 and continues to be higher than the national average.
The national 2003 national average was 11.55%; Illinois'
average was 14.70%, up from 14.64% in 2002, and 14.42% in
- Both white and black students are slightly over represented
among students receiving special education services, while
Hispanic and Asian students are under represented.
- Formal disputes have decreased overall since 2001 and
more conflicts have been resolved through mediation.
With the January of 2002 implementation of the Illinois Continuous
Improvement Plan, ISBE established several broad improvement
goals for special education including:
- To better measure and account for progress, ISBE has obtained
grants from the U.S. Department of Education Office of Special
Education Programs. Funds help enhance and align the Illinois
student and school data system with the data collection
and analysis needs identified at the state and local levels.
- The gap between graduation rate of students with and without
disabilities decreased from 2002 to 2003. However, the increase
of 3.4% for students with disabilities was less than the
4.5% goal as stated in the Illinois Continuous Improvement
Plan for Students with Disabilities.
- To increase by 4.5 percentage points (per year), the percentage
of youth with disabilities who exit school with a standard
diploma and increase employment and/or post-secondary education.
- To increase by 4.5 percentage points (per year), the number
of students with disabilities who are provided Free and
Appropriate Public Education in general education classrooms
in the school they would attend if not disabled. While the
4.5 percent annual gains has not been met, annual gains
over two percent were realized.
- The percent of students receiving special education services
outside of the general education classroom less than 21%
of the time increased in 2003, while the percent of students
with disabilities receiving special education services in
a separate educational facility has remained the same.
The report will be available shortly on the Special Education
section of the ISBE website
James Gunnell, Division Administrator,
Special Education Services, ISBE
Annual State Report on Special Education Performance