Official State of Rhode Island website

State of Rhode Island Department of Education

Special Education Data - 618 Data Collections

This page contains data relating to the 618 Data Collections as outlined in the IDEA (see IDEA Section 618 Data Products for more information) and Rhode Island's collection and reporting of this data.

Note that any data point with an asterisk (*) denotes a total of less than 10 in that specific category.

Rhode Island's Special Education Population - Child Count

The US Department of Education's Office of Special Education Programs requires yearly reporting of the count of students served under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Part B, by age group. These counts are known as "Child Count" and serve as the basis for the special education population statistics for each entity under the US Department of Education. 

OSEP's guidelines for Child Count include a range of acceptable "as of" count dates, the day on which the count is based. States are able to choose a date between October 1 and December 1 of each school year. Rhode Island's Child Count date is December 1. 

Each year, the Child Count data is submitted to the US Department of Education as part of the EdFacts initiative. As of the 2023-24 school year collections, the data is submitted on through the EDPass platform in July of each year.

The data is submitted in 2 separate files, one for "School Age" counts (students ages 5-21 in Kindergarten through Grade 12) and one for Early Childhood Special Education (students ages 3-5 in Pre-K). These files are outlined by the US Department of Education through the EDFacts initiative and have file specifications that are released yearly. The files for Child Count are FS002 - Children with Disabilities (IDEA) School Age and FS089 - Children with Disabilities (IDEA) Early Childhood. 

Below, see RIDE's Child Count data as it was reported for the most recent completed school year, 2024-25, and submitted to the US Department of Education in July 2025. Please note that any category with a * indicates a count <=10.

Total Students with Disabilities Population: 25,945

 

By Age Group

School Age (K-12): 24,116

Early Childhood (3-5 Pre-K): 2,739

 

By Race and Ethnicity

American Indian or Alaskan Native (AM7) 307
Asian (AS7) 496
Black or African American (BL7) 2,676
Hispanic (HI7) 8,621
Two or More Races (MU7) 1,685
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander (PI7) 39
White (WH7) 13,031
 

By Primary Disability/Disability Category

Emotionally Disordered 1,276
Intellectual Disabilities 836
Orthopedically Impaired 29
Other Health Impaired 4,450
Learning Disabled 7,815
Deaf/Blind *
Hearing Impaired (Deaf or Hard of Hearing) 144
Speech/Language Impaired 4,786
Blind/Visual Impaired 51
Multi-handicapped 417
Developmentally Delayed 3,688
Autism 3,312
Traumatic Brain Injury 47
 

Other Demographic Categories

Age (Calculated as of 12/1/2023)

Age 3

951

Age 4

1,337

Age 5

1,611

Age 6

1,852

Age 7

1,940

Age 8

1,939

Age 9

1,958

Age 10

1,962

Age 11

1,838

Age 12

1,724

Age 13

1,811

Age 14

1,771

Age 15

1,748

Age 16

1,534

Age 17 

1,594

Age 18

728

Age 19

267

Age 20

175

Age 21

115

Age 5  
includes  
PK and K

Gender

Male 17,313
Female 9,537
Other *

Limited English Proficiency Status (MLLs)

Non-MLL Students 19,783
MLL Students ("Dually Identified") 3,413

**As MLL identification happens after Pre-K, LEP status is only applicable to K-12 ("School Age") counts.

Educational Environment Data - Least Restrictive Environment

In addition to the demographic information contained in the Child Count files submitted (FS002 and FS089), the Child Count collection includes information on the educational environment of children with disabilities. Under IDEA, students are entitled to a Free and Appropriate Education (FAPE) in the Least Restrictive Environment, or "LRE" (20 USC 1412(5)(B)).

For the School Age file, RIDE collects data on the location of each student throughout their school day and calculates which of the defined educational environment categories each student falls under. The school age categories are:

In a Regular Classroom 80% or more of the day (RC80) Students who receive special education services and are in a general education classroom with typical peers for at least 80% of the day (averaged across a week).
In a Regular Classroom 40% to 79% of the day (RC79TO40) Students who receive special education services and are in a general education classroom with typical peers for at least 40% but no more than 79% of the day (averaged across a week).
In a Regular Classroom less than 40% of the day (RC39) Students who receive special education services and are in a general education classroom with typical peers less than 40% of the day (averaged across a week).
In a Separate School (SS) Students who receive special education services and are attending a school for children with disabilities, and receive their education and services in this setting .
In a Residential Facility (RF) Students who receive special education services and are placed in a residential facility, and receive their education and services in this setting.
Homebound or Hospitalized (HH) Students who receive special education services and are homebound or hospitalized, and receive their education and services in this setting.
In a Correctional Facility (CF) Students receiving special education services and are in a correctional facility. In Rhode Island, this applies only to students at the Department of Corrections.
Parentally Placed in a Private School (PPPS) Students receiving special education services through an IEP written by their district of residence but are attending a private school in which they were enrolled by their parent/guardian.

 

Early Childhood Special Education has separate categories. These categories are reported to RIDE by the servicing district of each student for the Child Count collection submission. The categories for ECSE are:

 

In a Regular Early Childhood Program and Receiving Majority of Services in EC Setting Students who receive special education services in a regular EC program among typical peers
No Regular Early Childhood Program, and in a Separate Class, School, or Residential Facility Students with no regular EC program and receive special education services in a separate special education class, school, or residential facility
No Early Childhood Program and Receiving Services in Home Students with no regular EC program and receive special education services in their home and have no EC program
No Early Childhood Program and Receiving Services at a Service Provider Location Students with no regular EC program and receive special education services in a service provider location
In a Regular Early Childhood Program but Receiving Majority of Services Elsewhere Students enrolled in a regular EC program with typical peers but receive the majority of their services elsewhere

As part of the yearly State Performance Plan/Annual Performance Report (SPP/APR), LRE data is reported for 3 categories in separate "Indicators" based on age group (see the State's SPP/APR page for more information on this Indicator and all others). 

Indicator 5 is for School Age LRE and has 3 parts: 

5A RC80 - Percent of students.  
State-set target, data should be above the target
5B RC39 - Percent of students. 
State-set target, data should be below the target.
5C SS + RF + HH - Percent of students 
State-set target, data should be below the target.

Indicator 6 is LRE for ECSE, and is also 3 parts:

6A Regular EC Program - Percent of students. 
State-set target, data should be above the target.
6B Separate Class + Separate School + Residential Facility - Percent of students. 
State-set target, data should be below the target.
6C Services in Home - Percent of students. 
State-set target, data should be below the target.

 

LRE data for 2024-25 is as follows:

School Age

RC80 17,577 72.89%
RC79TO40 2,408 9.99%
RC39 2,255 9.35%
SS 1,259 5.22%
RF 101 0.42%
HH 11 0.05%
CF 15 0.06%
PPPS 490 2.037%

Early Childhood

Regular EC Program 1,435 52.41%
Separate Class, Separate School, Residential Facility 500 18.26%
Home * *
Service Provider Location 531 19.39%
In Regular EC Program, Services Elsewhere 266 9.72%

Exiting Data for Students in Special Education

Another component of IDEA's 618 data collections is the exiting collection, collected yearly in the EDFacts file FS009 - Children with Disabilities (IDEA) Exiting Special Education. This collection is defined by OSEP as the number of students (ages 14-21) in special education at the start of the reporting period and not in special education at the end of the reporting period. For purposes of this collection, the reporting period is a school year, starting July 1st and ending June 30th. 

There are 7 categories that a student leaving can fall into. They are:

  • Graduating with a regular high school diploma
  • Receiving a certificate
  • Reaching maximum age (age 22)
  • Dropping out
  • Death
  • Transferring to regular education
  • Moving, and continuing in special education elsewhere

618 Exiting data is on a multi-year lag as a result of the extended collection window and the following reporting window. 

In the last full school year of collected data, the 2023-24 school year, RIDE reported the following totals in the file submitted to OSEP:

Graduated with a regular high school diploma 1,057
Received a certificate (including GED) *
Reached maximum age (age 22) 50
Dropped out 70
Died *
Transferred to regular education 287
Moved, known to be continuing 832

One of the uses for this data file is calculating the Graduation and Dropout rates used for the State Performance Plan/Annual Performance Report submissions for Indicators 1 (Graduation) and 2 (Dropout). Both of these indicators are calculated based solely on the data contained within FS009. Since FS009 does not contain any information on the cohort year of students, the graduation rate is calculated based only on the exiting group, meaning students who returned to school are excluded from the calculation until the year they exit. Due to this, the graduation rate is what percentage of students graduated in a school year, no matter if it took 4, 5, 6, or more years to complete their high school diploma. 

To calculate graduation, the number of graduates is divided by the number of students in the first four categories listed: graduated, received a certificate, reached maximum age, and dropped out. In this case, that would be 1,057/1,186 - a graduation rate of 89.12%.

Similarly, the dropout rate is 70/1,186 - a rate of 5.90%.

For purposes of IDEA performance in the SPP/APR, Rhode Island has met its target graduation and dropout rates each year since the implementation of this calculation method. 

Additional 618 Data Collections

Three other categories of 618 data collections exit as part of the USED EDFacts initiative. These categories are Personnel, Discipline, and Dispute Resolution. 

The Personnel category has 3 files that are uploaded yearly:

  • Special Education Teachers (FTE) (FS070)
  • Special Education Related Services Personnel (FS099)
  • Special Education Paraprofessionals (FS112)

The Discipline category has 6 files:

  • Children with Disabilities (IDEA) Removal to Interim Alternate Educational Setting (FS005)
  • Children with Disabilities (IDEA) Suspensions/Expulsions (FS006)
  • Children with Disabilities (IDEA) Reasons for Unilateral Removal (FS007)
  • Children with Disabilities (IDEA) Disciplinary Removals (FS088)
  • Children with Disabilities (IDEA) Total Disciplinary Removals (FS143)
  • Education Services During Expulsion (FS144)

Dispute Resolution was formerly collected as part of an online survey response form, but as of the 2024-25 school year (collection due November of 2025) was moved to being collected through EDPass as parts of USED's EDFacts initiative. The collected and data has not changed, only the mechanism by which it is reported. The collection is 4 files, which are:

  • IDEA Part B Dispute Resolution Written, Signed Complaints (FS227)
  • IDEA Part B Dispute Resolution Mediation Requests (FS228)
  • IDEA Part B Dispute Resolution Due Process Complaints (FS229)
  • IDEA Part B Dispute Resolution Expedited Due Process Complaints (FS230)

Each of the three collections have the most recent year of data below.

FS070 reports the FTE count of Special Education teachers in the state. The data for the most recently submitted files is:

Special Education Teachers (FTE) (FS070)
Total Special Educator FTE Count 1,670.23
FTE Count for Teachers of Students Ages 3-5 146.75
FTE Count for Teachers of Students Ages 5 (in K) to 21 1,523.48

FS099 is the FTE count of related service personnel in a school year, by area. For FS099, the counts are rounded. The most recent year of data is seen below:

Special Education Related Services Personnel (FS099)
Audiologists 1
Speech-Language Pathologists 339
Interpreters 1
Psychologists 195
Occupational Therapists 2
Physical Therapists 2
Physical Education Teachers and Recreation and Therapeutic Recreation Specialists 134
Social Workers 377
Medical/Nursing Service Staff 294
Counselors and Rehabilitation counselors 363
Orientation and Mobility Specialists 1

FS112 is the third and final IDEA Personnel collection, and reports the FTE count of Special Education Paraprofessionals. It is split similarly to FS070, with a total count as well as a breakdown by age population served. The counts for the most recent year of data were:

Special Education Paraprofessionals (FS112)
Total Special Education Paraprofessional FTE Count 2,208.64
FTE Count for Paraprofessionals of Students Ages 3-5 295.95
FTE Count for Paraprofessionals of Students Ages 5 (in K) to 21 2,012.69

Six different data files make up the IDEA 618 Discipline data collection, with data on the suspension and expulsion and disciplinary removals of students. Note that Rhode Island does not permit the expulsion of students, and as such all expulsion counts in the data are zeroes or, where permitted in file specifications, not reported as they are not applicable. 

Below, find the 2023-24 discipline data reported in February of 2025 as part of the EDFacts initiative.

Children with Disabilities (IDEA) Removal to Interim Alternate Educational Setting (FS005)
Total Count 0 - Not Applicable
Children with Disabilities (IDEA) Suspensions/Expulsions (FS006)
Out of School Suspension - Greater than 10 Days 81
Out of School Suspension - 10 or Fewer Days 1,570
In-School Suspension - Greater than 10 Days 61
In-School Suspension - 10 or Fewer Days 1,065
Children with Disabilities (IDEA) Reasons for Unilateral Removal (FS007)
Total Count 0 - Not Applicable
Children with Disabilities (IDEA) Disciplinary Removals (FS088)
Total Removals 2,383
Children Removed 1 or Fewer Days Total 742
Children Removed 2 to 10 Days Total 1,446
Children Removed Greater than 10 Days Total 195
Children with Disabilities (IDEA) Total Disciplinary Removals (FS143)
Total Disciplinary Removals 5,546
Education Services During Expulsion (FS144)
Total Count 0 - Not Applicable

Discipline Collection Notes

  • FS005, FS007, and FS144 are all not applicable based on Rhode Island not permitting expulsion, and are 0 counts by default for each year of data.
  • FS006 used cumulative days of suspension, grouped by students. For each student counted in the "Greater than 10 Days Suspended" categories, they may have no individual suspensions longer than 10 days but have several shorter suspensions totaling at least 11 days.

IDEA Dispute Resolution data is reported at the state level in 4 categories:

  • Written, Signed Complaints
  • Mediation Requests
  • Due Process Complaints
  • Expedited Due Process Complaints (Related to Disciplinary Decision)

Each of the four categories is reported with a total count as well as several subcounts based on specific outcomes of the dispute process. The 2023-24 school year data is reported below.

Written, Signed Complaints
Total number of written signed complaints filed. 34
Complaints with reports issued. 25
Reports with findings of noncompliance. 25
Reports within timelines. 22
Reports within extended timelines. 0
Complaints pending. 4
Complaints pending a due process hearing. 1
Complaints withdrawn or dismissed. 5
Mediation Requests

Total number of mediation requests received through all dispute resolution processes.		 53
Mediations held. 34
Mediations held related to due process complaints. 0
Mediations held not related to due process complaints. 34
Mediation agreements. 28
Mediations pending. 2
Mediations withdrawn or not held. 17
Due Process Complaints
Total number of due process complaints filed. 16
Resolution meetings. 16
Written settlement agreements reached through resolution meetings. 16
Hearings fully adjudicated. 0
Decisions within timeline (include expedited). 0
Decisions within extended timeline. 0
Due process complaints pending. 0
Due process complaints withdrawn or dismissed (including resolved without a hearing). 16
Expedited Due Process Complaints (Related to Disciplinary Decision)

Total number of expedited due process complaints filed.		 1
Expedited resolution meetings. 1
Expedited written settlement agreements. 1
Expedited hearings fully adjudicated. 0
Change of placement ordered. 0
Expedited due process complaints pending. 0
Expedited due process complaints withdrawn or dismissed. 1

IDEA 618 Assessment Data

IDEA 618 Data Collection and Reporting requirements also include state assessment data. This data covers the assessment of students across all grades. In Rhode Island, the data reported includes data from RICAS, PSAT, SAT, NGSA, and DLM. This data is reported across 6 separate files; ELA, Math, and Science are all reported separately, with each having a file for reporting participation on the respective assessment, and a file for reporting performance.

The files are:

  • Academic Achievement in Math (FS175)
  • Academic Achievement in Reading/Language Arts (FS178)
  • Academic Achievement in Science (FS179)
  • Assessment Participation in Mathematics (FS185)
  • Assessment Participation in Reading/Language Arts (FS188)
  • Assessment Participation in Science (FS189)

Unlike other 618 data files, the assessment collection files contain participation and achievement data for all students in the state. Students with Disabilities are a sub-count within the files, allowing for their use in the assessment indicator in the annual State Performance Plan/Annual Performance Report (SPP/APR, Indicator 3). 

Rhode Island reports state assessment as part of its Assessment Data Portal (ADP). To view the ADP, follow this link: RIDE Assessment Data Portal.

To view the data for Students with Disabilities/Differently Abled Students, use the "By Student Group" filter and select "Special Education".

Other Resources