Arkansas School Age Special Education Program File
The Arkansas Child Find Awareness Project, in collaboration with the Arkansas Department of Education, Special Education Grants and Data Management Unit, has compiled the following information as a quick reference fact sheet regarding the special education services provided to school-aged students with disabilities in Arkansas. Further information can be obtained by contacting the Arkansas Special Education Resource Center (ASERC) by telephone at 1-800-482-8437 or visiting the Arkansas Child Find Website at www.archildfind.org
State School age Age Child Count
The Arkansas Department of Education, Special Education Unit and local districts report the annual child count of all students with disabilities to the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) on December 1 of every school year. The following statistics reflect the state school age child count for the 2004-2005 school year.
Special Education Child Count
(ages 5-21, as of 12/01/2004): 58,963
By Race:
American Indian |
410 |
Asian/Pacific Islander |
307 |
Black |
15,531 |
White |
40,512 |
Hispanic |
2,203 |
By Gender:
Male |
39,110 |
Female |
19,853 |
By Disability:
| Autism |
1254 |
| Deafblindess |
13 |
| Hearing Impairments (including Deafness) |
584 |
| Emotional Disturbance |
723 |
| Mental Retardation |
10867 |
| Multiple Disabilities |
1278 |
| Orthopedic Impairment |
193 |
| Other Health Impairment |
7722 |
| Speech or Language Impairment |
13385 |
| Specific Learning Disability |
22552 |
| Traumatic Brain Injury |
117 |
| Vision Impairment |
215 |
| 1st Quarter State Average Daily Membership(based on all students counted during 1st quarter of 2004-2005 ) |
449618 |
| Percent Special Education (percent of student in Special Education 1st quarter, 2004-2005) |
13.11% |
State School Age Service Provision
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) ensures that each public agency shall provide students with disabilities a continuum of alternative placement in their educational setting. In addition, the ADE has established standards regarding the licensure of professionals who provide instruction and related services to students with disabilities in the school setting.
Special Education Continuum of Settings (least restrictive environment or LRE)
| Outside Regular classroom Placement: less than 21% of school day |
27,219 |
| Outside Regular Classroom Placement: at least 21% but no more than 60% of school day |
23,000 |
| Outside Regular Classroom Placement: more than 60% of school day |
7251 |
| All Other Placements |
1493 |
Special Education Professionals (as reported for Special Education Program Approval, 2004-2005 school year)
| Special Education Administrators |
360 |
| Special Education Teachers (fully certified) |
2901 |
| Special Education Teachers (not fully certified) |
261 |
| Speech Language Pathologists |
581 |
| Special Education Paraprofessionals |
1989 |
State School Age Financial Information
Special Education Budget (2003-2004)
| Federal VI-B Budget |
$97957412.00 |
| State/Local Budget |
227972909.00 |
Special Education State Average Per Pupil Expenditure (2003-2004)
$8,500.00
Required Proportions Share for Privately Placed Students (2004-2005)
$3,427,707.00
Medicaid Receipts (2003-2004)
| Physical Therapy |
$1834874.00 |
| Occupational Therapy |
2737531.00 |
| Speech Therapy |
3189373.00 |
