Meeting of the Board of Regents | April 2003

THE STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT / THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK / ALBANY, NY 12234

TO:	The Honorable the Members of the Board of Regents
FROM:	Lawrence C. Gloeckler
COMMITTEE:	Full Board
TITLE OF ITEM:	Updated Special Education Data
DATE OF SUBMISSION:	April 16, 2003
PROPOSED HANDLING:	Discussion
RATIONALE FOR ITEM:	Update on Progress Towards Regents Goals for the Reform of Special Education and Results of Vocational Rehabilitation
STRATEGIC GOAL:	Goals 1 and 4
AUTHORIZATION(S):

SUMMARY:

In 1996, the Board adopted the following six goals for reforming special education in New York State:

Each year since then, we have reported on the progress in reaching these goals and associated key performance indicators. This report provides results for students with disabilities from the 2001-2002 school year. In addition, this report provides data for results for individuals with disabilities enrolled in institutions of higher education, as well as results of the vocational rehabilitation system in preparing and placing individuals with disabilities into employment from the previous State and federal fiscal years.

The following highlights indicate that we are continuing to make progress in key areas:

• For the first time since we have been analyzing this data, the special education classification rate dropped. It dropped from 11.9 percent to 11.8 percent. The rate has plateaued to within a tenth of one percent around the current rate for five years.
• Compared to 1995-96 when 32.3 percent of preschool children with disabilities were served in either natural settings for preschool children or in settings which include non-disabled children, in 2001-2002, 57.8 percent were served in such settings.
• New York State surpasses the national average rate of placing school-age students with disabilities in general education classrooms for 80 percent or more of the school day. More than one of every two students with disabilities (51.1 percent) were placed in such settings.
• We have reduced the rate at which we place school-age students with disabilities in separate settings, apart from their nondisabled peers, from 10.8 percent in 1995-96 to 7.4 percent.
• We have reduced the extent of disproportionality of minority students� participation in special education. Also, compared to White students, the relative risk of being placed in more restrictive settings decreased for Black, Hispanic and American Indian students.
• Compared to the previous year, significantly lower percentages of students with disabilities performed at Level 1 on each of the elementary and middle school English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics examinations.
• Compared to the previous year, improved results were also demonstrated at Levels 3 and above on the elementary ELA and on the middle school ELA and Mathematics examinations.
• The percentage of students with disabilities who earned a Regents diploma increased to 11.1 percent compared to 4.4 percent in 1995-96. *
• Greater percentages of students with disabilities are making plans to continue their education after high school. Compared to previous years, school districts reported post school plans of a greater percentage of students with disabilities who left school.
• There continues to be a steady increase in the number of individuals with disabilities enrolled in institutions of higher education.
• Graduation rates after four years and six years of individuals with disabilities who entered for the first time, full-time Baccalaureate degree programs in fall 1995 were the same as or better than for all such individuals, with and without disabilities.
• In spite of a challenging economy, the declining number of experienced counselors and changes in federal criteria, VESID prepared and placed 15,040 individuals with disabilities into employment. The percentage of total placements that were competitive increased to 71 percent compared to 68 percent in the previous year.
• In State Fiscal Year 2002-03, individuals with disabilities placed in jobs by VESID represent $223 million in annualized first year earnings.

We continue to face challenges in reducing the gap in performance on all indicators between school districts with relatively fewer resources compared to their needs and other school districts. Even though we have seen improved results on some key indicators for minority students, improvement on many key indicators is still needed. We must continue our efforts in providing necessary support services to students in the general education program, thus avoiding the need to classify students for special education. Although we have made progress in reducing the percent of school-age students placed in separate settings, we are working to lower this rate to reach the national average. Improving performance of students with disabilities on State assessments continues to be a focus of many initiatives in special education. Improved student performance will positively impact most all other indicators. The challenge for vocational rehabilitation is to continue to achieve positive results within significant fiscal constraints.

* Revised on 6/16/03

Attachments

 

Special Education Data

2001-2002 School-Year Results

April, 2003

Classification Rate

• For the first time since we have been analyzing this data, the special education classification rate dropped. It dropped from 11.9 percent to 11.8 percent. The rate has plateaued to within a tenth of one percent around the current rate for five years.
• Among the need/resource capacity categories of school districts, the largest increase in classification rate from the previous year occurred in the Rural High N/RC category, from 13.5 percent to 13.8 percent. The Low N/RC category also experienced a growth from 10.7 percent to 10.8 percent. New York City�s classification rate declined by 0.2 percentage points, from 11.2 percent to 11.0 percent.
• Based on percent of total enrollment, relative to White students, Black students were 1.3 times as likely to be identified for special education, Hispanics were 1.2 times as likely and American Indians were 1.5 times as likely. Asian/Pacific Islanders continue to be underrepresented in special education and were 0.4 times as likely to be identified for special education compared to White students.

Declassification Rate

• The percentage of preschool students with disabilities declassified has continued to increase annually, from 10.7 percent in 1996-1997 to 19.6 percent.
• School-age declassification has decreased by 0.3 percentage point from the previous year to 3.4 percent.

Preschool Integration

• The rate of serving preschool students with disabilities in integrated settings with their non-disabled peers has increased annually, from 45.1 percent in 1997-98 to 57.8 percent.
• Lower percentages of Black (45.5 percent), Hispanic (43.5 percent) and Asian/Pacific Islander (46.6 percent) preschool students with disabilities were served in integrated settings compared to White (66.2 percent) or American Indian/Alaskan Native (60.9 percent) preschool students with disabilities.

School-Age Integration

• New York surpasses the national rate of placing school-age students with disabilities in regular education programs for 80 percent or more of the school day. More than one of every two school age students with disabilities (51.1 percent) attended regular education programs for 80 percent or more of the school day. New York�s rate is 4.6 percentage points higher than the 2000-2001 national average of 46.5 percent.
• New York�s rate of placing students with disabilities in separate education settings has declined annually, from 10.2 percent in 1996-97 to 7.4 percent.
• The number of school districts with more than 15 percent of school age students with disabilities in separate education settings decreased from 47 in 1998-99 to 27.
• Based on percent of total enrollment, relative to White students, Blacks were 2.2 times as likely to be placed in separate education settings, Hispanics were 1.5 times as likely, American Indians were 1.9 times as likely, and Asian/Pacific Islanders were 0.6 times as likely.

Diplomas

• Of students with disabilities who completed high school, 67.7 percent earned a high school or high school equivalency diploma. This rate is 2.0 percentage points higher than the previous year�s rate.
• 11.1 percent of students with disabilities earned a Regents high school diploma. This is a 1.7 percentage points increase from the previous year and a 3.1 percentage points increase from 1999-2000.
• Lower percentages of minority students with disabilities earned high school diplomas compared to their non-minority peers (74.6 percent of White students compared to 51.4 percent of Black students, 55.0 percent of Hispanic students, 57.1 percent of American Indian/Alaskan Native students, and 67 percent Asian/Pacific Islander students).

Postsecondary Plans

• Increasing percentages of students with disabilities are planning to pursue postsecondary education. Of the 15,863 students with disabilities who completed high school, 48.1 percent had plans to pursue a 4-year, 2-year, or other postsecondary education programs. This rate is 3.9 percentage points higher than the rate for 2000-2001.

 

2001-2002 Achievement Results

For Students with Disabilities

Public Schools Only

Grade 4 ELA Examination

• 85.1% percent of 4^th grade students with disabilities were tested, compared to 81.5 percent in 1999.
• 72.4 percent of students with disabilities scored at Level 2 and above on the Grade 4 ELA examination, demonstrating some of the competencies expected of students at this grade level.
• The percentage of students with disabilities scoring at Level 3 and above on the Grade 4 ELA examination increased 10.7 percentage points since 1999, from 19.0 percent to 29.7 percent.
• There was improvement of all racial/ethnic groups of students; however, performance of minority students with disabilities was lower than that of White students with disabilities. For example, 40.9 percent of White students with disabilities achieved a score at or above Level 3, while 16.7 percent of Hispanic and 16.6% percent of Black students with disabilities did so.
• A greater percentage of students who participated in general education programs for 40 percent or more of the school day scored at or above Level 3: 36.9 percent of students who spent 80 percent or more of the day in general education programs scored at or above Level 3, compared to 9.4 percent of students with disabilities who were in general education programs for less than 40 percent of the day.

Grade 4 Mathematics Examination

• 83.7 percent of 4^th grade students with disabilities were tested, compared to 89.9 percent in 1999.
• 74.0 percent of students with disabilities scored at Level 2 and above on the Grade 4 Mathematics examination, demonstrating some of the competencies expected of students at this grade level.
• The percentage of students with disabilities scoring at Level 3 and above on the Grade 4 Mathematics examination increased 1.2 percentage points since 1999, from 36.0 percent to 37.2 percent.
• Performance of minority students with disabilities improved for most minority groups, however it was lower than that of White students with disabilities. For example, 50.5 percent of White students with disabilities achieved a score at or above Level 3, while 23.3 percent of Hispanic and 20.7 percent of Black students with disabilities did so.
• A greater percentage of students who participated in general education programs for 40 percent or more of the school day scored at or above Level 3: 46.2 percent of students who spent 80 percent or more of the day in general education programs scored at or above Level 3, compared to 12.2 percent of students with disabilities who were in general education programs for less than 40 percent of the day.

Grade 8 ELA Examination

• Of 8^th grade students with disabilities, 83.3 percent were tested on the general 8^th grade ELA examination, compared to 81.9 percent in 1999-2000.
• 72.3 percent of students with disabilities scored at Level 2 and above on the Grade 8 ELA examination, demonstrating some of the competencies expected of students at this grade level. This represents an increase of 19 percentage points from the previous year.
• The percentage of students with disabilities scoring at Level 3 and above on the Grade 8 ELA examination decreased 0.1 percentage point since 1999, from 9.3 percent to 9.2 percent.
• Performance of all racial/ethnic groups improved significantly at Level 2 and above. Minority students with disabilities� performance remains lower than that of White students with disabilities. For example, 84.3 percent of White students with disabilities achieved a score at or above Level 2, while 57.7 percent of Hispanic and 57.2 percent of Black students with disabilities did so.
• A greater percentage of students who participated in general education programs for 40 percent or more of the school day scored at or above Level 3: 12.6 percent of students who spent 80 percent or more of the day in general education programs scored at or above Level 3, compared to 1.7 percent of students with disabilities who were in general education programs for less than 40 percent of the day.

Grade 8 Mathematics Examination

• Of 8^th grade students with disabilities, 82.4 percent were tested, compared to 84.7 percent in 1999.
• 48.4 percent of students with disabilities scored at Level 2 and above on the Grade 8 Mathematics examination, demonstrating some of the competencies expected of students at this grade level.
• The percentage of students with disabilities scoring at Level 3 and above on the Grade 8 Mathematics examination increased 6.9 percentage points since 1999, from 7.8 percent to 14.7 percent.
• Performance at or above Level 2 of all racial/ethnic groups improved significantly compared to the previous year. Performance of minority students remains lower compared to that of White students. For example, 64.3 percent of White students with disabilities achieved a score at or above Level 2, while 29.8 percent of Hispanic and 28.2 percent of Black students with disabilities did so.
• A greater percentage of students who participated in general education programs for 40 percent or more of the school day scored at or above Level 3: 20.0 percent of students who spent 80 percent or more of the day in general education programs scored at or above Level 3, compared to 2.5 percent of students with disabilities who were in general education programs for less than 40 percent of the day.

Regents Competency Tests

• Compared to 1996, fewer students with disabilities took each Regents Competency Test. Of the students who took the RCTs, the percent of students with disabilities passing some RCTs decreased compared to the previous year, while passing rates for others increased or remained constant.
• Substantial numbers of students with disabilities still took these examinations in 2001-02 to qualify for a local high school diploma. For example 13,051 students with disabilities took the RCT in Math and 11,536 students with disabilities took the Science RCT.

Regents Examinations

• Since 1997, when 4,419 students with disabilities were tested on the English Regents Examination, there has been a 219 percent increase in the number of students tested, to 14,101 students. Of the 14,101 students, 61.0 percent achieved a score of 55-100.
• Since 1997, when 5,776 students with disabilities were tested on the Sequential Math Course I examination, there has been a 125 percent increase in the number of students tested. Beginning in 1999, the Math A examination was phased in. While Course I is a two-semester course, Math A is three semesters. Most students with disabilities who took a Math examination took Math A in 2002. Of the 8,950 students who took the Math A examination, 38.3 percent passed the examination with a score of 55-100. Additionally, 4,066 students with disabilities took the Sequential Course I examination and 35.4 percent passed with a score of 55-100.**
• Since 1997, when 5,206 students with disabilities were tested in the Global Studies examination, there has been a 220 percent increase in the number of students tested, to 16,636 students. The 2000-01 number includes students with disabilities tested on the Global History and Geography examination that replaced the Global Studies examination. Of the students with disabilities tested, 66.0 percent achieved a score of 55-100 percent.
• Since 1997, when 3,980 students with disabilities were tested on the U.S. History and Government examination, there has been a 235 percent increase in the number of students tested, to 13,314 students. This number includes students tested in the old and revised U.S. History and Government examinations. Of the students tested, 71.2 percent passed the examinations with a score of 55-100.
• Since 1997, when 2,948 students with disabilities were tested on the Biology Regents examination, there has been a 352 percent increase in the number of students tested to 13,314 students. This number represents students tested in the Living Environment examination. Of the students tested, 82.7 percent passed the examination with a score of 55-100.

Cohort Performance

• Compared to the two previous cohorts, a lower percentage of the 1998 cohort met the English and Math graduation requirements by achieving a score of 55-100 on the Regents examinations.
• Fifty-five percent of the 1998 cohort met all graduation requirements after four years compared to 77 percent of the general education students cohort.

Drop-Out Rate

• For students with disabilities, the statewide drop out rate is 5.8 percent, a decrease of 0.9 percentage point from 2000-2001.
• Compared to the previous year, the dropout rates of students with disabilities improved in each of the six need resource categories of school districts.

Suspensions

• Of all out-of-school suspensions of students with disabilities, the majority of suspensions are for 2-5 days (55.9 percent in 2001-2002), while 9.5 percent are for more than 10 days.
• Students with disabilities classified as seriously emotionally disturbed received 25.4 percent of all out-of-school suspensions, but they are 10.8 percent of all students with disabilities.

**  Revised on 7/7/03