In the second annual update to our analysis of national public school special education funding and enrollment, fiscal year (FY) 2024 data show that federal and state special education funding, adjusted for inflation, failed to keep pace with public special education enrollment, which rose to 7.8 million students.
To better support individual stakeholders, including policymakers, education leaders, families, and educators, Bellwether updated our interactive special education finance equity tool to include state and federal special education funding and enrollment data breakdowns from FY16 to FY24, along with new insights on disability data categories.
The updated datasets in Bellwether’s tool point to three key takeaways about K-12 special education funding trends and what they mean for state policymakers.
NEW IN FY24: DISABILITY DATA BY CATEGORY
For the first time, Bellwether’s interactive tool lets users examine enrollment trends across the 13 individual disability categories the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) tracks. This breakdown is important because students with disabilities are not a monolith, and looking at the data through one number flattens meaningful differences across categories. Breaking the numbers out by category adds the detail and nuance needed to see which student populations are driving special education funding trends.
For example, from FY23 to FY24 alone, Autism grew 10%, and Developmental Delay grew almost 9% — with both categories far outpacing every other category. Zooming out and looking longitudinally, from FY16 to FY24, those same two categories roughly doubled nationally: Autism grew 82%, from about 546,000 to 992,000 students, and Developmental Delay grew 83%, from about 164,000 to 301,000 students. Other Health Impairment (33%, to about 1.18 million) and Speech or Language Impairment (27%, to about 1.30 million) also grew well above most other categories during the same period. By contrast, Specific Learning Disability, the category with the highest number of students, grew just 8% from FY16 to FY24, from about 2.29 million to 2.47 million students. However, some lower-incidence categories have declined since FY16, including Orthopedic Impairment (-32%), Traumatic Brain Injury, Visual Impairment, Emotional Disturbance, and Hearing Impairment (each down roughly 5%).
Takeaway 1: K-12 Special Education Enrollment Continues to Rise as Overall Student Enrollment Declines
About 7.8 million students were identified for special education services in FY24, or nearly 16% of all K-12 public school students nationwide. This is an increase of about 250,000 students from FY23. Nationally, special education enrollment has grown approximately 17% since FY16 (from 6.7 million to 7.8 million students). Meanwhile, overall K-12 enrollment has declined by almost 2% over the same period (from 50.3 million to 49.4 million students). This suggests that special education is becoming a larger and more resource-intensive share of a smaller overall K-12 education system.Â
Every state with available FY24 data (except New Mexico, whose FY24 special education enrollment was not reported) saw special education enrollment increase from FY16 to FY24. Texas continued to see the largest increase, up 67% since FY16, a further acceleration from the 52% growth it posted through FY23. However, this is likely largely a catch-up effect from Texas’ since-eliminated 8.5% enrollment cap, which a 2018 federal investigation found had suppressed special education identification statewide (Figure 1).
Figure 1: Change in Special Education Enrollment From FY16 to FY24
Source: U.S. Department of Education, “IDEA Section 618 Data Products,” Open Data Platform, 2026.
Takeaway 2: Federal Per-Pupil Funding Fell to a New Low in FY24
IDEA Part B, Grants to States funding accounts for more than 90% of all IDEA funding annually. Preliminary FY24 Federal Grants to States funding indicates that funding will remain flat in nominal terms from FY23 to FY24, at about $14.2 billion. Since FY16, nominal Grants to States funding has grown about 22%, from $11.7 billion to $14.2 billion. However, that growth looks different once inflation is factored in. After adjusting for inflation, Grants to States funding fell about 6% over the same period. Because the number of students identified for special education has climbed every year since FY16, that shrinking pool of inflation-adjusted dollars is being spread across more students, so per-individualized education program (IEP) federal support for students with disabilities is falling both because there’s less money in real terms and because there are more students to divide it among.
Real IDEA per-IEP funding fell in FY24 due to a combination of enrollment increases and flat nominal funding. Inflation-adjusted IDEA per-IEP funding fell from roughly $2,270 in FY16 to about $1,820 in FY24, a new low and a cumulative 20% decline since FY16.
States’ federal IDEA per-IEP funding also varied widely. For example, in Delaware, real IDEA per-IEP funding fell 31% over the same period, from about $2,240 to $1,540, well above the national decline. By contrast, Wyoming’s per-IEP decline was a comparatively modest 6%, from about $2,470 to $2,330. Notably, every state’s real IDEA per-IEP federal funding remains below its FY16 level. The gap narrowed the most in Wyoming, Hawaii, and North Carolina, but none has reached its FY16 level of IDEA per-IEP funding (Figure 2).
Â
Figure 2: Change in Inflation-Adjusted IDEA Per-IEP Funding From FY16 to FY24Â
Sources: U.S. Department of Education, “Budget History Tables,” 2026; U.S. Department of Education, “IDEA Section 618 Data Products,” Open Data Platform, 2026.
Takeaway 3: State Special Education Funding Remains Highly Uneven
Aggregate state special education funding across the 34 states with data available for this funding stream rose from $26.7 billion in FY23 to $29.4 billion in FY24, a 10% nominal increase. Even after adjusting for inflation, that gain largely holds up, with real state funding growing nearly 7% in a single year. This is the largest real year-over-year increase in the FY16 to FY24 analysis. Real per-IEP state funding rose about 3% over the same year, which is a smaller gain than the aggregate figure because rising enrollment continues to absorb part of that new funding.
Since FY16, aggregate state special education funding has grown about 50% in nominal terms. However, after adjusting for inflation, that increase drops to 16%, meaning inflation has erased roughly two-thirds of the nominal growth in state special education funding during this period. When you look at state special education per-IEP funding, it actually reverses to a 1% loss after adjusting for inflation. In other words, real per-IEP state special education funding is essentially no higher than in FY16 once you factor in both inflation and rising enrollment.
States and districts are currently feeling that squeeze. In Connecticut, special education is about 27% of a typical town’s budget, and per-IEP special education spending has climbed to roughly $34,700, compared with about $22,700 for all students. In Pennsylvania, special education expenses have grown 104% since school year 2009-10 while combined state and federal funding rose just 21% over the same period. Connecticut and Pennsylvania are two examples of a larger issue that several other states are feeling: special education enrollment and related costs are outpacing real, inflation-adjusted state and federal funding, leaving already budget-constrained districts responsible for closing the funding gap (Figure 3).
Â
Figure 3: Change in Inflation-Adjusted State Special Education Per-IEP Funding From FY16 to FY24Â
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, “Annual Survey of School System Finances,” 2026; U.S. Department of Education, “IDEA Section 618 Data Products,” Open Data Platform, 2026.
Implications for State Policymakers
FY24 data didn’t reverse the federal and state K-12 special education funding trends we observed between FY16 and FY23. They complicated them. Real per-IEP state special education funding rose for the first time since FY21, while real per-IEP federal IDEA funding fell again and to a new low. The pressure underneath both numbers isn’t easing as special education enrollment keeps climbing. This isn’t a new problem. It’s just getting more expensive to ignore.
While states have started to respond with special education funding increases, federal IDEA funding is moving in the opposite direction. Federal per-IEP IDEA funding just hit a new low, and Congress has never come close to funding its 40% share of special education costs. One government stepping up doesn’t make up for another standing still, and with no sign that special education enrollment is leveling off, that math only gets harder for states and districts to tackle.
Every year the special education funding gap goes unaddressed, someone has to pay for it, whether it’s a district drawing from its local or general fund dollars, or a student who doesn’t get the services they’re entitled to. For state policymakers, sustainable and equitable special education funding is not just a fiscal necessity; it’s also a critical investment in the educational rights and long-term success of students with disabilities and their families.
Explore state-by-state federal IDEA and state special education funding and enrollment data from FY16 to FY24 in Bellwether’s updated interactive special education finance equity tool.
