States failing to fulfill special education law

WASHINGTON – Four-fifths of the states are falling short of federal requirements for educating students with disabilities, the Education Department says.

The states received their first-ever federal report cards this week judging them on how well they are implementing the nation’s main special education law. The state-by-state results were posted on the Education Department’s Web site Wednesday.

The requirements are outlined in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, as the law is called. The largest part of the act is a $10.5 billion program providing students ages 3 to 21 with specialized programs to fit their educational needs.

Only nine states were found to be fully meeting the requirements of that part of the program. Those states are: Alaska, Connecticut, Hawaii, Michigan, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia and Wyoming.

Maine was rated under “needs assistance.” The rest were labeled as “needs assistance” or “needs intervention.” If they don’t improve within a few years, they could face sanctions such as the loss of federal aid.