Characteristics of Preschool Special Education Services and Educators, Data Tables

The data tables present national information on the preschool services funded by IDEA and provided by local school districts and schools. Data are from surveys collected in 2015 from two groups: (1) state agency staff in 50 states and the District of Columbia coordinating grants and services under IDEA Part B Section 619 and (2) preschool special education coordinators in 1,055 school districts selected to represent all districts in the United States.

Tables provide information on the following:

• how preschool special education programs are structured, including where and when children with disabilities receive services, regional coordination of services across districts, and other state and district programs serving children with disabilities;
• the extent to which children with disabilities are educated in schools and classrooms along with their peers;
• the curricula, programs, strategies, and practices being used to support instruction of preschool children with disabilities and how states and districts make decisions about them;
• district-required qualifications to teach preschool, teacher turnover, and the professional development available to preschool teachers; and
• state criteria used to determine eligibility for special education services, the prevalence of specific types of disabilities among preschool children receiving special education services, and their characteristics (race/ethnicity, language proficiency, age).