The Special Education Dashboard shows key metrics related to students with disabilities in Michigan public schools. Data are shown for four topic areas: student count (including graduation/dropout data), performance on target indicators used in annual public reporting, counts of students by disabilities, and proficiency on the M-STEP or PSAT on the subjects of English (ELA/EBRW) and math.
The report is updated in late winter/early spring. See the Recently Posted Reports page for when the report was last updated.
Use the location setting menus to select a location. A five-year trend will be displayed for the selected location on the charts throughout the dashboard where data are available. Users can select a location from the menu or use the search bar to find a location using the entity name or code.
Searching for a district or ISD by name or code:
- Type the name or code in the menu search bar.
- Results will populate the search box.
- Delete text in the search bar for a complete location list to reappear.
If a district is selected, users can click the “Reset Districts” button to reset the district menu.
Location Options
Data are available by: Statewide, ISD, District
Logged-in Users
Data in the Special Education Dashboard are suppressed to protect student privacy. Secure users can view unsuppressed values in the reports listed in the About the Data section for locations for which they have been specifically authorized.
The Center for Educational Performance and Information collects this data from public schools and intermediate school districts via the Michigan Student Data System. For more information on the MSDS application and reporting rules, please see the MSDS Collection Details Manual on the CEPI website.
The data in this dashboard can be found in other reports on MI School Data (listed below). Users can explore more about students with disabilities in these topic areas by visiting the reports, and can learn about the data, historical changes, and more in the About This Report feature for each report.
Student Enrollment Counts – View data on students with disabilities by race, gender and other demographics.
Graduation/Dropout Rate – See data on graduation and dropout rates for students with disabilities by demographics like race and gender.
Annual Public Reporting – See if districts are meeting targets for children with disabilities.
Disability – Learn about students receiving special education services by disability, age and educational setting.
Grades 3-8 State Testing – View M-STEP, MI-Access and PSAT performance data for students with disabilities.
If you have questions not addressed here or in the linked resources, please contact CEPI customer support at [email protected].
Disclosure Avoidance
To protect the privacy of individual students, CEPI uses data suppression rules. Details of these rules can be found in the About This Report for each report on MI School Data listed above.
Report Labels
Economically Disadvantaged - Students who have been determined to be eligible for free or reduced-price meals via locally gathered and approved family applications under the National School Lunch program, are in households receiving food (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) or cash (Temporary Assistance to Needy Families) assistance, are homeless, are migrant, are in foster care, or, beginning in 2017-18, certain Medicaid-eligible children. When any of these conditions are present, a student is considered economically disadvantaged.
English Learners - Students who speak a language other than English as their primary language and have difficulty speaking, reading, writing or understanding English.
Other Completers - Total number of students with disabilities who earned a GED or other certificate or reached special education maximum age.
State Test Proficiency - The percent of students who scored as advanced or proficient in the given subject in M-STEP or PSAT.
Students with Disabilities - Students with one or more specific impairments who require special education or related services and have an Individual Education Plan.
Targets - Targets are specified in the State Performance Plan/Annual Public Reporting, and states must report whether each district met or did not meet the targets.
Total 4-Year Cohort - The number of students with disabilities expected to graduate high school (four years after enrolling in ninth grade).
Total Dropouts - The number of students with disabilities who left high school permanently at any time during the 4-year period or whose whereabouts are unknown.
Total Graduates - The number of students with disabilities who completed high school with a regular diploma in four years or less; or if enrolled in an early/middle college, completed high school with a regular diploma AND an associate degree or other advanced certificate in five years or less.
See the Glossary for additional terms and acronyms used on MI School Data.
Data Calculations
Graduation Rate (Indicator 1): Percent = [(number of youth with IEPs (ages 14-21) who exited special education due to graduating with a regular high school diploma divided by (number of all youth with IEPs who exited special education (ages 14-21)] times 100.
Dropout Rate (Indicator 2): Percent = [(number of youth with an IEP who dropped out of high school in one year) divided by (number of youth with an IEP who were enrolled in grades 9-12 in the same year)] times 100. This includes students ages 14-21 who were in ungraded programs and matched by age to grades 9-12.
Suspension/Expulsion (Indicator 4A): Percent = [(number of ISDs that have a significant discrepancy in the rates of suspensions and expulsions for greater than 10 days in a school year of children with an IEP) divided by (number of ISDs in Michigan)] times 100. The State defines “significant discrepancy” as more than five percent of an ISD’s students with an IEP receiving out-of-school suspensions/expulsions for greater than 10 days cumulatively during the school year.
Students in Gen Ed Environment 80% or more of Day (Indicator 5A): Percent = [(# of children with IEPs aged 5 who are enrolled in kindergarten and aged 6 through 21 served inside the regular class 80% or more of the day) divided by (total # of students aged 6 through 21 with IEPs)] times 100.
Students in Gen Ed Environment less than 40% of Day (Indicator 5B): Percent = [(# of children with IEPs aged 5 who are enrolled in kindergarten and aged 6 through 21 served inside the regular class less than 40% of the day) divided by (total # of students aged 6 through 21 with IEPs)] times 100.
Students in Separate Facilities (Indicator 5C): Percent = [(# of children with IEPs aged 5 who are enrolled in kindergarten and aged 6 through 21 served in separate schools, residential facilities, or homebound/hospital placements) divided by (total # of students aged 6 through 21 with IEPs)] times 100.
Students with Disabilities: Percent = Number of students with disabilities divided by All students
Students with Disabilities who are Economically Disadvantaged: Percent = Number of students with disabilities who are economically disadvantaged divided by All students with disabilities
Students with Disabilities who are English Learners: Percent = Number of students with disabilities who are English learners divided by All students with disabilities