State(s) of Early Intervention and Early Childhood Special Education: Looking at Equity

The State(s) of Early Intervention and Early Childhood Special Education: Looking at Equity is the first equity-focused report to look state-by-state at the two federally funded programs for young children with disabilities. The report focuses on the 2020-2021 school year and also includes data beginning with the 2005-2006 school year. It explores four types of variation in early intervention (EI) and early childhood special education (ECSE) services:

1. Impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic

2. Race and Ethnicity

3. Gender

4. The State in which a child lives

The report finds areas were EI and ECSE are unequal, and sometimes clearly inequitable too. Most striking, we find that children living in states with lower median state median incomes are less likely to receive both EI and ECSE. Asian, Black, and Hispanic children are less likely than White children to receive EI and ECSE. The differences are especially large for Black children and flip at school-age. Boys are twice as likely as girls to receive EI and ECSE. And, like other early childhood education programs, the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in many fewer children receiving EI and ECSE.The report explores these themes further, highlighting both within and between state variations in who has access to EI and ECSE and where children receive services. We also lay out recommendations for increased funding, better data, and a national commission to explore the issues highlighted in the report.

 

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Suggested Citation: Friedman-Krauss, A. H., & Barnett, W. S. (2023). The State(s) of Early Intervention and Early Childhood Special Education: Looking at Equity. New Brunswick, NJ: National Institute for Early Education Research.