Researchers and Advocates Join Letter Urging Improved Public Reporting of Discipline Data

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires states to annually report racial disparities in discipline to the public. Research by CRP's Center for Civil Rights Remedies jointly conducted with the Council of State Governments found only 17 states reporting any discipline data on students with disabilities. The U.S. Department of Education's Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), which monitors and enforces the implementation of the IDEA, recently stated that they planned to drop the indicator 20 requirement that states review the timeliness and accuracy of data reporting. In this letter, researchers and advocates instead urge OSEP to revise and improve indicator 20 to ensure that the public is made aware of the disturbing discipline disparities specifically and the connection to racial inequity in special education more generally.